Tiberius Cavallo was born on 30 March 1749 at
Naples, Italy In 1771 he moved to England. He is often cited as the inventor of
Cavallo's multiplier. He also developed a "pocket
electrometer" that he used to amplify small electric charges to make them observable and measurable with an
electroscope. Parts of the instrument were protected from drafts by a glass enclosure. He also worked on
refrigeration. Following the work of
William Cullen in 1750 and
Joseph Black in 1764, Cavallo was the first to carry out systematic experiments on refrigeration using the evaporation of volatile liquids, in 1781. He was interested in the physical properties of "airs" or gases, and carried out experiments on "inflammable air" (
hydrogen gas). In his
Treatise on the Nature and Properties of Air (1781) he made "a judicious examination of contemporary work", discussing both the
phlogiston theory of
Joseph Priestley and the contrasting views of
Antoine Lavoisier. In June 1782, a paper of Cavallo's was read at the Royal Society, describing the first attempt to lift a hydrogen-filled balloon into the air. His
History and Practice of Aerostation (1785) was considered "one of the earliest and best works on aerostation published in eighteenth century England". In it, Cavallo discusses both recent experiments in ballooning, and its underlying principles. Cavallo targeted a more general audience in this work, avoiding technical jargon and mathematical proofs, File:History and Practice of Aerostation pz50gx12x 1 qn59q4962.tiff |
History and Practice of Aerostation, Tiberius Cavallo, 1785 File:History and Practice of Aerostation plate i hh63sw95g 0 ms35t986s.tiff | Plate I, Illustrating the chemical apparatus and balloons used for hydrogen generation File:History and Practice of Aerostation plate ii n296x033r 0 05741s87d.tiff | Plate II, Illustrating the chemical apparatus and balloons used for hydrogen generation Cavallo also published on
musical temperament in his treatise
Of the Temperament of Those Musical Instruments, in Which the Tones, Keys, or Frets, are Fixed, as in the Harpsichord, Organ, Guitar, &c. , Old St Pancras. Cavallo's name is towards the bottom, but the letters B and C are missing. He died in London on 21 December 1809. He was buried in
Old St Pancras Churchyard, reportedly in a vault near that of
Pasquale Paoli. The grave is lost but he is listed on the
Burdett Coutts memorial of 1879 to the many important persons buried therein. ==Works==