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Luigi Cremona was the originator of graphical statics and wrote papers on geometrical transformations, projective geometry and graphical solutions.
Cremona was appointed to a chair in the University of Bologna in 1860. From there he moved to the Polytechnic Institute of Milan in 1866. Next he moved to Rome (1873) first as director of the newly established Polytechnic School of Engineering and later (1877) to a chair at the University of Rome.
He was the originator of graphical statics, the study of forces in equilibrium, using graphical methods. He wrote papers on geometrical transformations (1863) and projective geometry (1885) and on graphical solutions (1874).
In paper of 1872 Cremona took an idea of Maxwell's on forces in frame structures that had appeared in an engineering journal in 1867 and interpreted Maxwell's notion of reciprocal figures as duality in projective 3-space. Many of Steiner's proofs on synthetic geometry were revised and improved by Cremona.
Cremona had a large influence on geometry in Italy. He had many pupils who were to make major contributions to geometry, for example Bertini, Veronese and Guccia.
His most important research work was done during his time in Bologna and Milan, research work becoming impossible due to the administrative duties once he moved to Rome.
His move away from mathematics continued in 1879 when he entered politics as a senator in the Italian parliament. He became Minister of Public Education and ended his political career as Vics-President of the Senate.
However also in 1879 he received the scientific honour of becoming a corresponding member of the Royal Society of London.
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