Ulrico Hoepli

Born into a farming family in Tuttwil, a small village now part of Wängi, in the Swiss canton of Thurgau, Hoepli began his career at 14 as an apprentice at the Schabelitz bookstore in Zurich. He later moved to Germany, then to Poland, and eventually to Trieste. While on a trip to Cairo, he was appointed by the Khedive of Egypt Isma'il Pasha to reorganize a library collection. In 1870, Hoepli purchased a small bookstore in Milan, near the Duomo, and moved to the city. His bookstore quickly became a cultural hub for Milan's educated bourgeoisie, offering rare antique books and scientific and technical texts in multiple European languages. Hoepli died in Milan after sixty-four years of publishing activity. In 1958, the bookstore, then managed by his nephew Carlo, relocated to Via Hoepli, the street posthumously named in his honor. An asteroid, 8111 Hoepli, was also named after him. ==Publishing activity==

In 1871, Ulrico Hoepli expanded into publishing, founding the Hoepli Publishing House, now Hoepli Editore. The first publication was a small French grammar book. He collaborated with institutions like the Milan Polytechnic and the Brera Astronomical Observatory to address the lack of scientific and technical literature in Italy. He created the Hoepli Manuals series in 1875, which eventually comprised over 2,000 titles, including the Manual of the Engineer by Giuseppe Colombo. In 1934, Hoepli also published Writings and Speeches by Benito Mussolini. Additionally, the publishing house produced prestigious works, such as a reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus and the monumental History of Italian Art. ==Philanthropy==

Hoepli was also a philanthropist. In 1921 he founded the Ulrico Hoepli Popular Library, and in 1930 he commissioned the construction of the Milan Planetarium, which now bears his name. In Switzerland, he established the Ulrico Hoepli Foundation, dedicated to supporting public initiatives that promote science and the arts. == References ==