Born: 1824, Italy (assumed)
Died: 1904
Country most active: Italy
Also known as: Adele Masi, Adele Pollonera
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women creator Allison Tyra’s book Uncredited: Women’s Overlooked, Misattributed, and Stolen Work.
Although Italian zoologist Michele Lessona is credited with translating the work of Darwin and other natural history texts into Italian, his own letters indicate that much of the work was done by his wife, naturalist and linguist Adele Masi Lessona. Published in 1880-82, the massive Universal Dictionary of Sciences, Letters and Arts was officially edited by her husband and Carlo A. Valle, but Michele Lessona later declared, “my wife did almost all of it herself.”
IW note: When they grew old enough, Lessona’s daughters, Elena, Clelia, Luigia and Teresa, were also involved in the family’s editorial output. In addition to her scientific translations, Lessona also translated literary works like Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe and John Halifax, Gentleman (1857) by Dinah Maria Mulock, as well as writing essays on literary criticism.