Lazzaro Spallanzani

Lazzaro Spallanzani
Born	(1729-01-12)12 January 1729[1] Scandiano, Duchy of Modena and Reggio
Died	11 February 1799(1799-02-11) (aged 70) Pavia, French First Republic
Nationality	Italian
Alma mater	University of Bologna
Known for	Digestion Animal fertilisation Discrediting spontaneous generation Animal echolocation
Scientific career
Fields	Biology
Institutions	University of Modena and Reggio Emilia University of Pavia University of Padua

Lazzaro Spallanzani (Italian pronunciation: [ˈladdzaro spallanˈtsaːni]; 12 January 1729 – 11 February 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily functions, animal reproduction, and animal echolocation.^[2] His research on biogenesis paved the way for the downfall of the theory of spontaneous generation, a prevailing idea at the time that organisms develop from inanimate matters, though the final death blow to the idea was dealt by French scientist Louis Pasteur a century later.

His most important works were summed up in his book Experiencias Para Servir a La Historia de La Generación De Animales y Plantas (Experiences to Serve to the History of the Generation of Animals and Plants), published in 1786. Among his contributions were experimental demonstrations of fertilisation between ova and spermatozoa, and in vitro fertilisation.