Just a Grand Duke who Loves Chemistry. Peter Leopold of Habsburg-Lorraine (1747–1792) and his Chemical Cabinet at the Imperial and Royal Museum of Physics and Natural History

Abstract

This article dealt with the history of the chemical cabinet established by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Peter Leopold of Habsburg-Lorraine (1747–1792), at the Imperial and Royal Museum of Physics and Natural History in Firenze during his regency. To achieve this goal, it investigated untapped archival sources (e.g., administrative and commercial documents, minutes, correspondences, inventories) concerning the museum management from its foundation in 1775 to the departure of the Grand Duke for Vienna to be crowned as Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II in 1790. The article analyzed the chemical cabinet’s manuscript catalog, whose entire transcription is presented in the Supplementary Information Files. The work then examined the connections between the activities performed at the chemical laboratory and Peter Leopold’s interests in experimental chemistry. Concerning this research question, the scientific relationship he held with the naturalist Giovanni Valentino Mattia Fabbroni (1752–1822) – Vice-director and then Director of the Imperial and Royal Museum of Physics and Natural History – who helped the Grand Duke navigate all aspects of his interests in chemistry and natural sciences, was also discussed.