Voting Station

Cesare Lombroso

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Crime Fighter

The Resume

    (November 6, 1835-October 19, 1909)
    Born in Verona, Italy
    Physician and criminologist
    Professor of forensic medicine, psychiatry and criminal anthropolgy at the University of Turin
    Wrote 'Criminal Man' (1876)

Why he might be annoying:

    He claimed criminals were a biological throwback to early man or the apes.
    He claimed 'born criminals' could be identified by 'physical stigmata,' including a sloping forehead, ears of unusual size, a protruding jaw, an asymmetric face or excessively long arms.
    He appeared in court as an expert witness to argue in favor of convicting a defendant based on his appearance.
    Fellow criminologist Charles Goring described his ideas as 'an organized system of self-evident confusion whose parallel is only to be found in the astrology, alchemy, and other credulities of the Middle Ages.'
    He became an enthusiastic spiritualist after attending seances and being taken in by a medium's standard tricks, such as making the table levitate.
    Leo Tolstoy dissed him in the novel 'Resurrection.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    Despite their dubiousness, his theories spurred an interest in the scientific study of criminals.
    Fortunately, he got to testify at only a handful of trials. (Not because the judges thought his ideas were wrong, but because they resented scientists intruding on their turf.)
    He was an advocate of penal reform, including introducing work programs for a more humane and constructive treatment of prisoners.
    At his own expense, he printed pamphlets on how to prevent pellagra and distributed them to Italian peasants.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 34 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 62 Votes: 72.58% Annoying