Name: Tito Livio Burattini

Born: March 8, 1617, in Agordo, Italy

Death: November 17, 1681 (Age: 64)

  • Italian inventor, Scientist, architect, Egyptologist, instrument-maker, and engineer.
  • Early creator of the calculating machine.
  • Used measurements made by Greaves in an attempt to accurately determine the circumference of the Earth.
  • Built a model aircraft with four fixed glider wings (1647), which was said to have lifted a cat.
  • Developed an early system of measurement based on time, similar to today’s International System of Units.
  • Considered the first to recommend the name metre for a unit of length.

Significant publications

  • Misura universale (lit. “Universal Measure”) (1675).