Schiaparelli Giovanni

Schiaparelli first studied at the University of Turin as a hydraulic engineer,  then dedicated himself to astronomy. He worked at the Berlin Observatory and then for the rest of his life in the Brera observatory near Milan. He is best known for having “discovered“ the canals of Mars in 1877. This observation raised a huge interest until it was shown around 1909 that these canals were optical illusions. Most notable is his demonstration that the meteor showers called the Perseids and Leonids occur when the Earth crosses the orbit of comets.