Cesare Lombroso

Italian, 1836-1909

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A criminologist who argued that criminal behaviour was hereditary, Cesare Lombroso's name is included in Photographydatabase.org, though it is not clear what, if any, relation to photography he had. NYPL has a copy of his Femme Criminelle, which is extra-illustrated with 19th century pornography and street scenes by Atget, but this was assembled by Pierre MacOrlan, not Lombroso. It is said that later in life, with his mental faculties failing, he became a believer in spirits, mediums, and fooled by spirit photographs.