Cesare Lombroso
Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) was an influential Italian criminologist and the founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology. Born in Verona to a Jewish family, Lombroso initially studied various subjects before earning a medical degree at the University of Pavia. He became notable for his theories on criminal behavior, particularly his concept of "atavism," which suggested that certain criminals are evolutionary throwbacks identifiable by specific physical traits. His seminal work, "L'Uomo delinquent" (The Criminal Man), proposed that biological determinism could explain criminal tendencies through identifiable anatomical features. While his emphasis on atavism and physical characteristics has been largely discredited, Lombroso's scientific approach to studying crime marked a significant departure from purely philosophical or moralistic views. He advocated for humane treatment of prisoners and reforms in the penal system. Despite the decline in popularity of his theories, Lombroso's contributions laid foundational elements for modern criminology, influencing law and psychology studies. He passed away in Turin, leaving a complex legacy that continues to evoke discussion in contemporary criminological discourse.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Cesare Lombroso
Italian criminologist
- Born: November 6, 1835
- Place of Birth: Verona, Italy
- Died: October 19, 1909
- Place of Death: Turin, Italy
Education: University of Pavia; University of Padua; University of Vienna; University of Genoa; and University of Turin.
Significance: Cesare Lombroso was an Italian criminologist, professor, author, and the founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology.
Background
Cesare Lombroso was born on November 6, 1835 in Verona, Italy to Jewish parents. Lombroso’s father, Aronne Lombroso was a wealthy tradesman and his mother, Zefira Levi, was a housewife. Lombroso flitted around from university to university studying literature, linguistics, and archaeology. However, in 1858 Lombroso received a degree in medicine from the University of Pavia. In 1859 Lombroso graduated from the University of Genoa with a degree in surgery and became an army surgeon during the Austro-Italian war, also known as the Second War for Italian Independence, that same year.
In 1862 Lombroso was appointed a professorship at the University of Pavia in psychiatry. In 1871 Lombroso became the director of the mental asylum at Pesaro. While at Pesaro Lombroso studied anthropometria using cadavers, focusing on the shape of the skull as it was speculated that it would indicate any form of abnormality. German physician Franz Joseph Gall dealt in phrenology and innate sociopathology and he was one of the first to conduct anthropomometric studies.
In 1876 Lombroso was appointed professorship of forensic medicine and hygiene at the University of Turin. That same year Lombroso published his principal and most influential work, L’Uomo delinquent or The Criminal Man. L’Uomo delinquent went through five editions in Italian and was published in several European languages. It was not until 1900 that the first English version of L’Uomo delinquent was published. In 1896 Lombroso was elected professor of psychiatry at Turing University and in 1906 he became a professor of criminal anthropology at the same university.
Life’s Work
Lombroso studied every aspect of the life, mind, body, lifestyle, and behavior of criminals with the desire of finding out the absolute cause of crime. Lombroso’s primary theory was his notion of atavism. Lombroso’s preoccupation with the criminal mind began in Italy in 1871 with a criminal named Giuseppe Villella. Villella was a Calabrian thief and arsonist. Lombroso found Villella fascinating and after Villella’s death, Lombroso conducted a post-mortem and discovered that Villella had a depression at the back of his skull, a depression which was similar to that found in apes, lower primates, and early man. Lombroso determined from this evidence and the anthropometric measurements of 3000 soldiers he had studied from different parts of Italy in 1862 and his studies of other criminals, that some people who were born with a predilection to offend were also atavistic, or throwbacks to a primitive stage of evolution.
Lombroso believed that atavism could be identified by a number of measurable physical features: a protruding jaw, drooping eyes, large ears, twisted and flattish nose, long arms relative to the lower limbs, sloping shoulders, and a coccyx that resembled the stump of a tail, which he wrote about extensively in L’Uomo delinquent, the third edition.
Lombroso popularized the concept of a "born criminal" through biological determinism. Lombroso believed that criminals could be anatomically identified by precise physiognomic characteristics or deformities. Physiognomy endeavors to assess character and personality traits from physical structures of the face or the body. Lombroso postulated that whereas most individuals evolve, the vicious criminal devolved, and is a societal or evolutionary deterioration.
Although Lombroso was cognizant of the consequence of social and psychological factors in the creation of criminals, his main emphasis was on the idea of the atavistic criminal. Lombroso’s theories were very prominent in Europe for a period of time. However, due to the emphasis he placed on the atavistic causes of crime, Lombroso’s work fell out of favor and was replaced by theories that placed more weight on environmental factors as well. However, by the fourth edition of L’Uomo delinquent, Lombroso extended his typology to include the insane criminal, the epileptic criminal, and the criminaloid. The criminaloid has no physical characteristics of a born criminal but transforms into a criminal during their lives due to environmental factors. Criminaloids theoretically committed less severe crimes than other types of criminals.
Lombroso tried to reform the Italian penal system. He encouraged more humane and constructive treatment of convicts. He believed that society should use the skills and labor of criminals and that criminals should be made to pay compensation to their victims. He also believed that the death penalty should be used sparingly and only then when absolutely necessary.
Lombroso was the founder of the Italian School of Positive Criminology, which was a school of thought originating from Italy during the mid-nineteenth century. The school was headed by Lombroso and after his death succeeded by Ferri and Raffaelo Garofalo.
Cesare Lombroso died in Turin, Italy on October 19, 1909.
Impact
Although Lombroso’s work has been largely debunked, he was one of the first to use scientific methodology to study crime. Lombroso’s work on criminality laid the foundation for the study of modern criminology and his theories are studied in law schools and at universities as part of their sociology and psychology syllabus.
Personal Life
Lombroso married Nina De Benedetti on April 10, 1870. Lombroso and Benedetti had five children together. One of their daughters, Gina Lombroso, edited and published her father’s later works after his death.
Bibliography
Bretherick, Diana. "The ‘born Criminal’? Lombroso and the Origins of Modern Criminology." History Extra. Immediate Media, 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.historyextra.com/article/feature/born-criminal-lombroso-origins-modern-criminology>.
Brookes, Elisabeth. "Cesare Lombroso: Theory of Crime, Criminal Man, and Atavism." Simply Psychology, 8 Feb. 2023, www.simplypsychology.org/lombroso-theory-of-crime-criminal-man-and-atavism.html. Accessed 29 Sept. 2024.
"Cesare Lombroso." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2016. Web. 01 Feb. 2016. <http://www.britannica.com/biography/Cesare-Lombroso>.
"Cesare Lombroso." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. Cengage Learning, 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Cesare‗Lombroso.aspx#2>.
DeLisi, Matt. "Cesare Lombroso." Oxford Bibliographies. Oxford UP, 25 June 2013. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396607/obo-9780195396607-0165.xml>.
Kurella, Hans, and Eden Paul. Cesare Lombroso, a Modern Man of Science.London: Rebman Limited, 1911. Print.
"Lombroso, Cesare." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. Encyclopedia.com.Cengage Learning, 2016. Web. 01 Feb. 2016. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Cesare‗Lombroso.aspx#4>.
"Lombroso, Cesare." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.1968. Encyclopedia.com. Cengage Learning, 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Cesare‗Lombroso.aspx#1>.
Lombroso, Gina, and Cesare Lombroso. Criminal Man, According to the Classification of Cesare Lombroso. Montclair: Smith, 1972. Print.