Elena Piscopia Biography

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Chemistry Research Paper Elena Cornaro Piscopia I know for a fact that I could never handle becoming a Mathematician since I find math so difficult and I have no patience for it. It makes me wonder how someone can be happy with that as a career path, but everyone has different opinions on what they enjoy and Elena Cornaro Piscopia is a person who loves what she does. Elena was born on June 5, 1646 in Venice, Italy. She began her studies early, being tutored by the family priest, Monsignor Gianbattista Fabris, in philosophy and theology. Other teachers filled in the gaps in her education by teaching her grammar, dialectics, mathematics, astronomy, science, music, and languages. She excelled especially at philosophy and theology, as well as at languages; she spoke and read Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chaldaic. Her excellence in languages earned her the title "Oraculum Septilingue," a phrase which meant that she was a master at seven languages besides her own native language of Italian. She was musically talented, by the time she was seventeen years old she could sing, compose, and play such instruments as the violin, harp, and harpsichord. Elena secretly practiced the disciplines of the Order and turned down marriage proposals, spending time serving the sick and the poor. Her father refused for her to become a nun, so she continued in school. Piscopia was disappointed at being denied to take orders as a nun, but she came around to the idea quickly and soon expanded her learning with enthusiasm. I think her father was the person who had motivated her into achieving everything she has become. He was remarkably supportive of his daughter, but he wanted her to make the most of her God given talents, and those talents leaned towards higher education. Although some other women had studied science and math in Italy in her time, Elena

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