Lombroso Cesare

Lombroso Cesare

(1836-1909) Italian criminologist who argued that certain individuals had criminal tendencies inbuilt at birth. Such people could be recognized by particular physical characteristics, such as the shape of the skull. Although Lombroso was prepared to accept that criminal behaviour could in some degree be learnt by ‘normal’ people, he clearly regarded most crime as the product of degenerate individuals, who were really biological ‘throwbacks’. See also CRIMINOLOGY.