Boscovich, Ruggiero Giuseppe

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Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich (rōōd-jā´rō jōōzĕp´pā bôs´kōvēch), 1711–87, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. He became a Jesuit and taught at Rome, Pavia, and Milan. Later he was director of optics for the French navy. An early advocate of Newton's theories, he wrote many works including one in which he introduced his molecular theory.