Portrait of Louis XVI of France, painted by D'après Antoine-François Callet
The Italian scientist Poli invented an explosive ten times more powerful than gunpowder and he detonated it during an exhibition before Louis XVI.
Giuseppe Saverio Poli, 1746-1825, was an Italian physicist, biologist and natural historian.
Pondering on the destructive power he had just seen, the king turned to Poli and said: “Your invention is most terrible and I will reward you for your studies. However, war is already too deadly and cruel so I do not want your invention to be used. I command that it remain absolutely secret.”
Giuseppe Saverio Poli
Fernando Palazzi, Enciclopedia degli Aneddoti (Milan: Ceschino, 1935), col. 3999.
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 122
