lanette prediger - the rise and fall of jerome cardano
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The Proceedings of the
12th Annual
HISTORY
OF
MEDICINE DAYSFa c u l t y o f M e d i c i n e
T h e U n iv e r s i t y o f C a l g a r y
ANIETATE TA APXAIA
INA EnEYAHTE TA KAINA
March 21st and 22nd, 2003
Health Sciences CentreCalgary, AB
Edited By
Dr. W. A. Whitelaw
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THE RISE AND FALL OF JEROME CARDANO
B y
Lanette Prediger
University o f Calgary
Preceptor: Dr. K. Todd
ABSTRACT
Jerome Cardano is not a name that rings familiar with most people. This is
surprising, as he was a man of great accomplishments in an astounding
number of fields whose ideas and inventions are still relevant today.
Amongst his brightest achievements were: developing the first mathematical
theory of probability and risk, inventing the Cardan shaft (commonly seen in
rear wheel drive automobiles), describing a way to solve quadratic equations
using radicals (“Cardan’s solution”), writing over 200 books on topics
ranging from philosophy to physics, being offered many prestigious positions
as court physician to historical figures such as the Pope, Mary Queen of
Scots and Charles the V, and being heralded as “the best physician in the
world” during the peak of his success. This is but a sampling of his
achievements.
Why, then, is Cardano ’s name is not more widely recognized? Perhaps it
was due to his terrible personal life. It was marred by a number of public
and private scandals, including charges of plagiarism and the arrest and
execution of his eldest son. Much of his misfortune was his own fault,
however, as he had a well known outspoken and abrasive character. In
Cardano’s own words: “unique an d outstanding amongst my fau lts - the habit,
which I persist in, o f preferring to say above a ll things what I know to be
displeasing to the ears o f my hearers. I am aware o f this, yet I keep it up
wilfully, in no way ignorant o f how many enem ies it makes fo r m e”(6).
Jerome Cardano was a fascinating physician of the Renaissance whose
diverse array of achievements was accomplished despite overwhelming
personal faults.
The Life History of Jerome Cardano
Jerome Cardano was a brilliant man of the Renaissance with significant accomplishments in
a large variety of disciplines. He was a highly regarded Renaissance physician; at one point
he was referred to as the “greatest physician in the world”(1). He received countless offers
from many such as Pope Gregory XIII, King Charles V and Mary Queen of Scotts to serve as
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court physician, and was appointed Rector o f the College o f Medicine in Milan. He was
also a prolific author, with a staggering 233 works to his name. The topics varied from
medicine, cosmology, and religion to how to be a successful gambler. He was also a
prominent Renaissance polymath who contributed to physics, biology, mathematics and
philosophy. Many of Cardano’s theories and inventions are still used today. So why is it
then that many of us have never heard of the Cardano? Perhaps there is more to him than
meets the eye. Let us travel back into the life history of Cardano, whose personal life is as
intriguing and colourful as his academic career.
Cardano was born in Pavia, Italy in 1501(1). He was born illegitimately, a fact that would
haunt him in his adult life, to a notorious Italian lawyer and a widow more than 20 years his
junior. He was also born despite the fact that his mother tried in vain to abort him twice (2).
Cardano’s childhood was unremarkable except for the fact that he was sickly, which made
him more inclined to pursue academics pursuits. Also, his parent’s relationship was
extremely tumultuous. His mother and father didn’t live together until late childhood, and
Jerome was constantly reminded of how he was a burden to his young and poor mother.
After Cardano’s father moved into the household he became an important influence on
Jerome (2). Fazio was a lawyer by trade, but was remembered in history instead for his
mathematical acuity. Fazio was an expert in geometry and taught mathematics at the
University of Padua. He was even an occasional consultant for Leonardo da Vinci (3). He
was a well-known member of the community, but perhaps not for his academic
contributions, but his abrasive nature and addiction gambling. Fazio’s personality and
gambling problem eventually cost him his life - he was killed during a card game as a result
of being caught cheating.
In 1518 Cardano began university studies at Pavia University and received a B.A. in 1521(3).
After his first degree, he decided to pursue an MD. It is from here that Cardano’s life
becom es increasingly interesting. He inherited his father’s mathematical inclination but also
his undesirable personality and interest in gambling. In fact, Cardano used his gambling
winnings to finance his way through medicine. Unlike his father who resorted to cheating to
win, Jerome developed the theory o f mathematical probability and applied this knowledge to
calculate odds in games o f cards and dice. The first book he wrote at the age of 23, called
“The book on games o f Chance” described his new theories o f probability (4). The theories
described in this book were found to be useful in trade and commerce, and the general
principles are still used in almost every major business today (see Appendix)(5).
It was during his medical education that Cardano’s confrontational personality began to
hinder his career. He was well aware o f his nature, which he described himself as:
Unique an d outstanding amongst my fau lts- the habit, which I persist in, o f
preferring to say above all things what I know to be displeasing to the ears o f
my hearers. I am aware o f this, ye t I keep it up wilfully, in no way ignorant of
how many enemies it makes fo r me. (6)
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Upon graduation in 1525, he was declined admission into the College o f Physicians in
Milan for the first time. Although it was well known that it was because o f his personality,
the official reason for the rejection was because of his illegitimate birth.
Because he was denied admission into the College of Physicians, Cardano could not practice
medicine in Milan and was forced to move to a small Italian village called Saccolongo in
1526 (2). He set up a small and largely unsuccessful practise here that went bankrupt
numerous times. In 1531 he married a woman called Lucia and together they had three
children- Giambatista, Aldo, and a daughter whose name he did not mention once in his
autobiography (she became a prostitute who died of syphilis, and hence not highly regarded
by her father)(5). Cardano continued to apply to the College, but was rejected again and
again. He reverted back to gambling. However, his luck was not so good this time around
and he spent what was left of an inheritance from the death of his father as well as pawned
most of his fam ily’s belongings (3).
Poverty stricken, the Cardano’s moved back to Milan where Jerome was fortunate enough to
take the position that his father used to hold as a math lecturer in Pavia. From here his life
began to improve for the better. In his free time he began to see a few patients unofficially
and started to develop a reputation as a marvellous physician. Most of his clients were
nobility, who claimed Cardano hailed “miraculous cures”(2). Despite this, Cardano was
once again refused admission into the College in 1536. This infuriated Cardano and he
foolishly decided to publish a book called “The Bad Practice of Medicine by Physicians”
which openly criticized the member o f the College:
The result o f tribal insecurities o f men who b anded themselves together and
showed to the world a surface o f pom p and learning that satisfactorily
concealed from the beholders the depth o f ignorance beneath. (7)
After a few years, Cardano’s reputation as a good physician grew dramatically. Eventually it
becam e so widespread that with considerable pressure from the local nobles the College did
finally grant him admission. Cardano’s career began to flourish.
Aside from a successful medical practice, Cardano spent a significant amount of time pursing
other fields of interest. In 1545 he published what is considered his greatest work - Ars
Mag na (The Great Art) - that explained how to solve cubic equations by using radicals (2).
This is considered one of the greatest mathematical works to emerge from the Renaissance,
but it too is not without controversy. It is alleged that Cardano stole this method from a close
friend Niccolo Tartaglia. It is said that Tartaglia revealed his theory to Cardano one night,
but only after making Cardano swear an oath:
I swear to you by G od’s holy Gospels, and as a true man o f honour,
not only never to pub lish your discoveries, i f you teach me them,
but I also promise you, and I pledge m y faith as a true Christian, to
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note them down in code, so that after my death no one will be able to understand
them. (3)
Despite this oath, Cardano proceeded to publish Tartaglia’s method. In his defence, it is
thought that Tartaglia did invent the method but did not truly understand why it worked or its
applications in the more advanced way that Cardano did. Also, Cardano claimed that the
method had been developed a number of years earlier by a man called Scipione del Ferro,
and therefore he felt justified in breaking his oath to Tartaglia (3). Although Cardano
claimed innocence his betrayal o f Tartaglia came back to haunt him in later years.
After the death of his wife Lucia in 1546 Cardano entered into a period of great prosperity.
His books became bestsellers. He was appointed Rector of the Medical College in Milan and
earned the reputation of “best doctor (and even best scientist) in the world”(3). During this
time he was offered many prestigious positions as court physician, as mentioned earlier, for
people such as Pope Gregory XII and Charles the V, all of which Cardano declined. One of
the more lucrative offers was from the King of Denmark. He offered Cardano a very large
annual wage in addition to living expenses, five personal servants and three horses (3).
Cardano quickly declined this offer, however, because o f Denmark’s inhospitable climate.
Cardano did accept one position in 1552 for the Archbishop of St. Andrew in Scotland (6).
The Archbishop was near death and desperate for a cure for his severe asthma. Cardano’s
fame preceded his arrival, and upon setting foot in Scotland he was treated as a celebrity.
Whether by luck or intelligence Cardano quickly discovered that the bishop’s ailing health
was due to a feather allergy. He replaced the Archbishop’s down-filled pillows and
mattresses with silk spun ones. Within two months the Archbishop had a complete and
“miraculous” recovery (3). Although the Archbishop pleaded for Cardano to remain on as
court physician, he returned to Italy and to his medical practice and professorship. Before
leaving, however, Cardano did gain the favour o f the Archbishop who promised his help to
Cardano in any way he may need in the future.
Cardano’s success continued for the next few years until 1557- the year that marked the
beginning of the end. It began with troubles with his eldest son, Giambatista. Giambatista
was the treasure o f Cardano’s life. He followed in his father’s footsteps and became a
medical doctor in 1557(3). After graduation he met a woman called Brandoni di Seroni,
whom Cardano loathed and called “a worthless, shameless woman”(6). Despite his father’s
objections, Giambatista married Brandoni and they moved in with her parents. The di Seroni
family began to extort the Cardano’s for money as the wealth and influence of Jerome
Cardano was well known. In addition Brandoni was an unloving and unfaithful wife. She
bore Giambatista three children, yet claimed that they were not his. Eventually, the di
Seroni’s drove Giambatista over the edge and he poisoned his wife (3). He was arrested,
confessed to his crime, and despite the resources of his father was convicted of murder. He
was sentenced to death. The only hope to save his life was to pay the di Seroni’s an
enormous sum o f money, the likes of which even Jerome Cardano did not come close to
possessing. Despite his greates t efforts on April 13, 1560, Jerome’s son was executed (6).
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Jerome was tortured by the fact that even with all his money and power he could not save his
son’s life. Also, his battle to save his son turned public opinion against him. Cardano was
now the father of a convicted murderer. With his life once more in shambles, he abandoned
his post in Milan and moved to Bologna, where he took up a post of professor of medicine
(2).
Despite the move things did not improve for Cardano. Enter Aldo, Cardano’s youngest son.
Aldo was a compulsive gambler who possessed the base character of his father and
grandfather. In 1959 Aldo gambled away all his possessions in addition to a large sum of his
father’s money. In a move of desperation, Aldo broke into his father’s home and stole as
much money and valuable items as he could find. Cardano discovered that Aldo was
responsible for the burglary and reported him to the local authorities (2). Aldo was banished
from Bologna. Jerome Cardano had created another enemy.
In 1570 Cardano was questioned and imprisoned by the Inquisition. He was arrested for a
number of reasons but primarily because he cast the horoscope of Jesus in which he
attributed the events o f Jesus’ life to cosmology rather than divinity, and because he didn’t
use Roman numerals in his algebraic publications (7). However, it is likely that he wouldn’t
have been imprisoned had it not been for his son Aldo and Tartaglia. They collected
evidence against Jerome and repeatedly disclosed incriminating details to the Inquisition in
order to get revenge. In return for his disclosure, Aldo was rewarded by being appointed to
the position o f public torturer and executioner for the Bologna Inquisition (7).
Cardano’s imprisonment only lasted a few weeks as he was granted a favour from the
Archbishop of St. Andrews, whom he had cured of asthma years earlier. The Archbishop
appealed for Cardano’s release to the Pope with the words “For he is a scholar who troubles
only with preserving and curing bodies in which God’s soul may live to their greatest
length”(7).
As he predicted through astrology (to the day) nearly thirty years earlier, Jerome Cardano
died poor and alone in Rome on September 21, 1576, at the age of 75(3). However, keeping
true to form he managed to make this moribund prediction come true by committing suicide.
And thus ended the tumultuous life of a controversial, bitters and perhaps ingenious man.
References
1. Shumaker, Wayne. Renaissance Curiosa. Birminham, N.Y. Center for Medieval and Early RenaissanceStudies. 1982. p 53-90.
2. J J O'Connor and E F Robertson. Girolamo Cardano. http://www-gap.dcs.st- and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Cardan.html. Accessed: Nov. 15, 2002.
3. Richard S. Westfall. Cardano, Girolamo. Catalog of the Scientific Community.http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Catalog/Files/cardano.html. Accessed: Nov 15, 2002.
4. Cardano, Girolamo. The Book of games of chance (Liber de ludo alease). New York. 1961.5. Ashworth, Allan. Cardano’s Solution. 1999.
http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Catalog/Files/cardano.html. Accessed: Nov. 15, 2002.
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6. Cardan, Jerome. The Book of My Life (De Vita Propria Liber). London. 1931.7. Wykes, Alan. Physician extraordinaire. Frederick Muller Ltd. 1965.8. http://www.bartleby.com/65/ca/Cardano.html. Accessed: Nov 16, 2002.9. Cardan, Jerome (ca 1546). De Musica. Published as Hieronymi Cardani Mediolensis opera omnia, Sonius,
Lyons (1663); transl. & ed. with an introduction by C.A. Miller as Hieronymus Cardanus, Writings on Music, American Institute of Musicology, Rome (1973).
Additional Contributions
• As mentioned in the essay Cardano wrote 233 works on many topics including medicine, math physics, philosophy, religion, music and astrology. His most famous works are(3):
- De ledo aleae, The Book on Games of Chance (1520)- The Bad Practice of Medicine by Physicians (1536)- the book in which Cardano openly criticized
the College of Physicians in Milan- Artis magnae sive de regulis algebraicis liber unus (1545)-The book that caused a flurry of
controversy due to alleged plagiarism- De Subtilitate (1550) and De rerum varitate (1557)- treatises on physics, mechanics, cosmology and
various occult sciences- De Vita Propria Liber (1575)- An autobiography, one of the first to ever be published
• Invented the Cardan shaft that is used today in rear wheel drive cars. It absorbs the vertical movement of thevehicle, which provides a smoother ride and better efficiency (2).
• Developed the first mathematical theory of probability and risk. Cardan used this to improve his chances ingambling, but it was later used by banking houses to calculate the odds of return of investment for tradingcompanies. This method is still used in commercial business (3).
• Invented Gimbal suspension, which is a device with two independent concentric rings free to turn aroundtheir respective axis. They are used to help to determine navigational position on a ship regardless of pitching (2).
• Was the first to publish a method to solve cubic equations using radicals. This method is referred to as“Cardano’s Solution” today. During his time it was practically useless, but became valuable later during thedevelopment of quantum and electrical physics (5).
• Wrote about the idea of evolution (creation as natural development) 300 years before “Origin of Species”(8)• Developed several theories in geology such as erosion and the cycling of water (2)
• Developed “Metoscopy”, which is the art of interpreting the character and destiny of a person by the lines intheir forehead (6)
• Improved the idea of the “camera obscura” by adding a lens• In the field of mechanics, he was the first to prove the impossibility of perpetual motion (6)• Helped develop the technique of “bell stopping”, used today by bagpipers (9)
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