Avogadro was born in Turin, Italy, on August 9, 1776, the son of Count Filippo Avogadro and Anna Maria Vercellone. Count Avogadro was a lawyer, civil servant, and senator for the state of Piedmont. Amedeo followed his father into the law and received his doctorate in ecclesiastical law in 1796.

He practiced law for only a few years, however, before his interests shifted to the sciences. He studied mathematics and physics on his own and, in 1806, was appointed demonstrator in physics at the Academy of Turin. In 1809, he was appointed professor of natural philosophy at the College of Vercelli. A decade later he became the first professor of mathematics at Turin although he lost his chair in the revolution of 1822. He was reappointed in 1835 and remained at Turin until he retired in 1850. He died in Turin on July 9, 1856.

Avogadro's name is best known in connection with his hypothesis about the composition...