Giuseppe Piazzi

Giuseppe Piazzi
Portrait by Costanzo Angelini, c.1825
Born(1746-07-16)16 July 1746
Died22 July 1826(1826-07-22) (aged 80)
NationalityItalian
Known forDiscovery of the first dwarf planet, Ceres
AwardsLalande Prize (1803)
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
Institutions

Giuseppe Piazzi CR (US: /ˈpjɑːtsi/ PYAHT-see, Italian: [dʒuˈzɛppe ˈpjattsi]; 16 July 1746 – 22 July 1826) was an Italian Catholic priest of the Theatine order, mathematician, and astronomer. He established an observatory at Palermo, now the Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo – Giuseppe S. Vaiana. He is perhaps most famous for his discovery of the first dwarf planet, Ceres.