Lacchini, Giovanni Battista

Born Faenza, (Emilia‐Romagna), Italy, 20 May 1884

Died Italy, 6 January 1967

Originally an Italian postal worker, Giovanni Lacchini became a professional astronomer when a special position was legislated just for him. Lacchini's status was due to his enthusiasm for variable stars: He made observations of variables (53,000+) from locations all over Italy - even from moving trains between stations! Lacchini's skill was such that he could estimate the brightness of a star visually