American Philosophical Society
Member History

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1Name:  Domenico Maria Leone Cirillo
 Year Elected:  1768
 Residency:  International
 Living? :   Deceased
 Birth Date:  04/10/1739
 Death Date:  10/29/1799
   
 
Born in Grumo Nevano, Italy. Cirillo graduated in Medicine from the University of Naples in 1759 and became Professor of Botany there the following year. He was the first to introduce the Linnaean system in the Kingdom of Naples. He conducted several botanical expeditions and authored numerous publications in the fields of botany and entomology. He was also a masterful illustrator and provided descriptions and illustrations for over thirty new plant species, many of which are still recognized today. An excellent microscopist, he discovered the contribution of pollen to the fertilization of plants. In 1777 he became professor of Medicine at the University of Naples. He also became physician at the Naples Hospital of the Incurables, where he taught Physiology and Obstetrics, and Court Physician of the Kingdom of Naples. His patients included members of the local establishment and foreign dignitaries, but also the poor and unfortunate, whom he treated free of charge. He authored several medical publications and devised a new treatment for syphilis. He was one of the first physicians in Italy to keep a medical journal of his patients. In 1799, the Kingdom of Naples was overthrown and the Neapolitan Republic was established. He submitted a National Charity Plan to the Provisional Government and joined the Neapolitan Republic’s Legislative Commission, eventually becoming its President. Following the restoration of the Kingdom of Naples, he was sentenced to death and executed in Piazza Mercato on 29 October 1799. He was elected to the American Society on April 15, 1768 and recorded as “Famitz”. The correct name for this member was entered on January 3, 2023.
 
Election Year
1768 (1)