ORIANI, BARNABA. - Astronomer and priest, b. 17 July 1752 at Garegnano (Milan), d. 12 Nov. 1832 at Milan. Son of extremely poor parents, his intelligence was noticed by the Fathers of the Charterhouse there, who directed him to his studies at the Barnabites in Milan.
Having taken holy orders, he entered the Brera Observatory and succeeded in 1777, as astronomer, to Lagrange. After the discovery of the planet Uranus by Herschel in 1781, O. accumulated a whole series of observations on it which brought him great fame throughout Europe, so much so that in 1796 Bonaparte, upon entering Milan, addressed a public letter to him, urging him to bring to his attention the needs of Milanese scientists, ready to ensure a comfortable position in France for all who wished to go there. O. replied to him with dignity that men of learning had also been honored by the previous government and complained that, on the contrary, with the arrival of the French, the payment of their salaries had ceased. He later protested against the provision of the "Constitution exemplaire" which decreed an oath for public officials. Deputy for the Brera Lyceum to the Lyon comitia in 1801, he was appointed the following year director of the Milan Observatory. Senator in 1809, Napoleon also offered him the portfolio of Public Instruction, which O. refused. On Laplace’s proposal, the Emperor that same year entrusted him with measuring the latitudes of Rome and Rimini, a fundamental operation for completing the general map of the Kingdom of Italy, begun at his command. In the field of astronomy and geodesy, O. was among the greatest minds of his time.