FRANCHETTI, AUGUSTO:
Italian lawyer and historian; born at Florence July 10, 1840; attended the lycée at Marseilles; studied law at Pisa, where he was admitted to the bar in 1863; and then settled at Florence. As dramatic critic of "La Nazione" and the "Nuova Antologia," he devoted much time to the drama, and especially to Aristophanes, whose works he translated into Italian verse. In 1874 he was appointed professor of modern history at the Istituto di Scienze Sociali. In view of his services rendered to Italian literature and especially to the study of Dante, he was elected corresponding member of the Accademia della Crusea of Florence.
Since 1872 Franchetti has been a member of the Consiglio Comunale; and since 1886 he has been almost continuously in the municipal council. For forty years he has been one of the directors of the Jewish community of Florence (president 1870-99), rendering valuable services while the new synagogue was being built. In 1899 he was elected president of the Florentine commission of the Collegio Rabbinico Italiano, taking a prominent part in the reorganization of the institution.
Franchetti's works include: "Le Nuvole di Aristofane Tradotte in Versi Italiani con Introduzione e Note di Domenico Comparetti," 1881; "Storia d'Italia dal 1789 al 1799," 2d ed., Milan, 1903, a large and valuable work; and many historical essays relating to the French Revolution, published in "Rassegna Settimanale," "Nuova Antologia," and "Archivio Storico Italiano."
- De Gubernatis, Les Ecrivains du Jour.
