Renaissance naturalist and physician noted for his systematic and accurate observations of animals, plants, and minerals. After studying mathematics, Latin, law, and philosophy, Aldrovandi went to Padua in about 1545 to continue his studies. There he began to study medicine, the field in which he eventually earned a degree in 1553. He became professor at the University of Bologna, instigated the establishment (1567) of the Bologna Botanical Garden and wrote an early pharmacopoeia. His chief work was the Natural History (14 volumes), of which four volumes (some sources say five) were published before his death; the rest were prepared for publication from his manuscripts. //