Cesare Lombroso

Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) was an influential Italian criminologist and the founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology. Born in Verona to a Jewish family, Lombroso initially studied various subjects before earning a medical degree at the University of Pavia. He became notable for his theories on criminal behavior, particularly his concept of "atavism," which suggested that certain criminals are evolutionary throwbacks identifiable by specific physical traits. His seminal work, "L'Uomo delinquent" (The Criminal Man), proposed that biological determinism could explain criminal tendencies through identifiable anatomical features. While his emphasis on atavism and physical characteristics has been largely discredited, Lombroso's scientific approach to studying crime marked a significant departure from purely philosophical or moralistic views. He advocated for humane treatment of prisoners and reforms in the penal system. Despite the decline in popularity of his theories, Lombroso's contributions laid foundational elements for modern criminology, influencing law and psychology studies. He passed away in Turin, leaving a complex legacy that continues to evoke discussion in contemporary criminological discourse.

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  • Education: University of Pavia; University of Padua; University of Vienna; University of Genoa; and University of Turin.

Significance: Cesare Lombroso was an Italian criminologist, professor, author, and the founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology.

Background

Cesare Lombroso was born on November 6, 1835, in Verona, Italy, to Jewish parents. Lombroso’s father, Aronne Lombroso, was a wealthy tradesman, and his mother, Zefira Levi, was a housewife. Lombroso flitted around from university to university studying literature, linguistics, and archaeology. However, in 1858 Lombroso received a degree in medicine from the University of Pavia. In 1859, Lombroso graduated from the University of Genoa with a degree in surgery and became an army surgeon during the Austro-Italian war, also known as the Second War for Italian Independence, that same year.

In 1862, Lombroso was appointed a professorship at the University of Pavia in psychiatry. In 1871, Lombroso became the director of the mental asylum at Pesaro. While at Pesaro, Lombroso studied anthropometry using cadavers, focusing on the shape of the skull, as it was speculated that it would indicate any form of abnormality. German physician Franz Joseph Gall dealt in phrenology and innate sociopathology and was one of the first to conduct anthropometric studies.

In 1876, Lombroso was appointed professorship of forensic medicine and hygiene at the University of Turin. That same year, Lombroso published his principal and most influential work, L’Uomo delinquent or The Criminal Man. L’Uomo delinquent went through five editions in Italian and was published in several European languages. It was not until 1900 that the first English version of L’Uomo delinquent was published. In 1896, Lombroso was elected professor of psychiatry at Turin University, and in 1906, he became a professor of criminal anthropology at the same university.

Life’s Work

Lombroso studied every aspect of the life, mind, body, lifestyle, and behavior of criminals with the desire to find out the absolute cause of crime. Lombroso’s primary theory was his notion of atavism. Lombroso’s preoccupation with the criminal mind began in Italy in 1871 with a criminal named Giuseppe Villella. Villella was a Calabrian thief and arsonist. Lombroso found Villella fascinating, and after Villella’s death, Lombroso conducted a post-mortem and discovered that Villella had a depression at the back of his skull, a depression that was similar to that found in apes, lower primates, and early man. Lombroso determined from this evidence and the anthropometric measurements of 3000 soldiers he had studied from different parts of Italy in 1862, and his studies of other criminals, that some people who were born with a predilection to offend were also atavistic, or throwbacks to a primitive stage of evolution.

Lombroso believed that atavism could be identified by a number of measurable physical features: a protruding jaw, drooping eyes, large ears, a twisted and flattish nose, long arms relative to the lower limbs, sloping shoulders, and a coccyx that resembled the stump of a tail, which he wrote about extensively in L’Uomo delinquent, the third edition.

Lombroso popularized the concept of a "born criminal" through biological determinism. Lombroso believed that criminals could be anatomically identified by precise physiognomic characteristics or deformities. Physiognomy endeavors to assess character and personality traits from physical structures of the face or the body. Lombroso postulated that whereas most individuals evolve, the vicious criminal devolves, and is a societal or evolutionary deterioration.

Although Lombroso was cognizant of the consequences of social and psychological factors in the creation of criminals, his main emphasis was on the idea of the atavistic criminal. Lombroso’s theories were very prominent in Europe for a period of time. However, due to the emphasis he placed on the atavistic causes of crime, Lombroso’s work fell out of favor and was replaced by theories that placed more weight on environmental factors as well. However, by the fourth edition of L’Uomo delinquent, Lombroso extended his typology to include the insane criminal, the epileptic criminal, and the criminaloid. The criminaloid has no physical characteristics of a born criminal but transforms into a criminal during their life due to environmental factors. Criminaloids theoretically committed less severe crimes than other types of criminals.

Lombroso tried to reform the Italian penal system. He encouraged more humane and constructive treatment of convicts. He believed that society should use the skills and labor of criminals and that criminals should be made to pay compensation to their victims. He also believed that the death penalty should be used sparingly and only then when absolutely necessary.

Lombroso was the founder of the Italian School of Positive Criminology, which was a school of thought originating from Italy during the mid-nineteenth century. The school was headed by Lombroso and, after his death, succeeded by Ferri and Raffaele Garofalo.

Cesare Lombroso died in Turin, Italy, on October 19, 1909.

Impact

Although Lombroso’s work has been largely debunked, he was one of the first to use scientific methodology to study crime. Lombroso’s work on criminality laid the foundation for the study of modern criminology, and his theories are studied in law schools and at universities as part of their sociology and psychology syllabi.

Personal Life

Lombroso married Nina De Benedetti on April 10, 1870. Lombroso and Benedetti had five children together. One of their daughters, Gina Lombroso, edited and published her father’s later works after his death.


Bibliography

Arford, Tammi, and Eric Madfis. "Whitewashing Criminology: A Critical Tour of Cesare Lombroso’s Museum of Criminal Anthropology." Critical Criminology, vol. 30, 5 Feb. 2022, pp. 723-40, doi.org/10.1007/s10612-021-09604-x. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

Bretherick, Diana. "The ‘born Criminal’? Lombroso and the Origins of Modern Criminology." History Extra, www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/the-born-criminal-lombroso-and-the-origins-of-modern-criminology/. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

Brookes, Elisabeth. "Cesare Lombroso: Theory of Crime, Criminal Man, and Atavism." Simply Psychology, 13 Oct. 2025, www.simplypsychology.org/lombroso-theory-of-crime-criminal-man-and-atavism.html. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

"Cesare Lombroso." Britannica, 2 Nov. 2025, www.britannica.com/biography/Cesare-Lombroso. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

DeLisi, Matt. "Cesare Lombroso." Oxford Bibliographies, 25 June 2013, www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396607/obo-9780195396607-0165.xml. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

Kurella, Hans, and Eden Paul. Cesare Lombroso, a Modern Man of Science. Rebman Limited, 1911.

"Lombroso, Cesare." Encyclopedia.com, 21 May 2018, www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Cesare_Lombroso.aspx#4. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

Lombroso, Gina, and Cesare Lombroso. Criminal Man, According to the Classification of Cesare Lombroso. Smith, 1972.

Rust, Robert S. “Cesare Lombroso MD, PhD.” Child Neurology Society, www.childneurologysociety.org/memoriam/cesare-lombroso-md-phd/. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.