Cavour

Cavour, Count Camillo Bonso Di, statesman, was born in 1810 at Turin. At the age of sixteen he was appointed sub-lieutenant in the Engineers. His liberal sympathies, however, led him to incur the displeasure of the authorities, and in 1831 he resigned. He came to England and spent several years in studying the British constitution, and making valuable friendships, his object being the regeneration of Italy. At length he thought the time had arrived for more direct action, and in 1847 he established the Risorgimento, a newspaper, in which he advocated the principles of representative government. He took the lead in getting the king to grant the Constitution of 1848, and he himself was returned as one of the representatives for the Capitol. After the battle of Novara he, having counselled peace, rose in popularity, and became successively Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, Minister of Marine, and Minister of Finance. In 1852 he succeeded to the premiership, and henceforth till his death, excepting a brief period, was the first minister and ruler of his country. His policy throughout was designed to accomplish the unification of Italy (q.v.), which he lived to see practically realised; for in 1861, the year of his death, an Italian parliament met, and Victor Emmanuel (q.v.) was proclaimed King of Italy.