Cauiillo Benso Cavoir, count, an Italian statesman, born in Turin, Aug. 10, 1810, died there, June 6,1861. Being a younger son of a noble and wealthy family, he was destined for the army, entered the military academy at an early age, and in 1828 was appointed lieutenant of engineers, and stationed at Genoa. In 1831 he left the army because he disliked garrison life, and had moreover incurred the displeasure of King Charles Albert by speaking favorably of the French revolution of 1830. He retired to his estates, and devoted himself to their improvement, but still gave much attention to science and political economy, He made long visits to France and England, in order to study the industrial and political systems of those countries. Returning to Turin, he became attached to the reform party, and in 1842 was one of the founders of the associa-zione agraria, a semi-political society, and in 1847, in conjunction with Cesare Balbo, established the journal II Risorgimento ("The Resurrection" ), which became a powerful political organ. He was elected to the Sardinian parliament, and had much to do in inducing the king to grant the constitution of 1848, and to declare war against Austria. The campaigns both of 1848 and 1849 ended disastrously, and Charles Albert abdicated.

In 1850 Cavour was called to the cabinet of Victor Emanuel as minister of commerce and agriculture. Soon after he became also minister of the marine and finance, and in 1852 was named president of the council, in place of D'Azeglio. At this time what is now the kingdom of Italy was divided into several governments, having in all a population of about 25,000,000, and all overawed by the military power of Austria, which had reconquered Lombardy and Venetia, reestablished the archducal and ducal authorities in Tuscany, Modena, and Parma, and occupied a portion of the papal territory by its troops. Though one of the smaller divisions in point of population, Sardinia was by far the most advanced in industry and national military force. All the energies of Cavour were now bent on preparing his state, which was slowly but steadily recovering from the shocks and humiliations suffered in 1848-'9, for the speedy resumption of the struggle with the Ilapsburgs, with the object of uniting all Italy into one nation under the king of Sardinia. He obtained a European reputation by the course he took in opposing the pope and the ultramon-tanes at home, and in joining France, Great Britain, and Turkey against Russia in the Crimean war.

In conjunction with the marquis Villamarina, he represented Sardinia in the peace conference held at Paris in the spring of 1856. During the sittings of this conference he succeeded in winning over Napoleon III. almost completely for his purposes, energetically protested against the continued occupation of the Pontifical States by foreign troops, and represented the necessity of inducing the king of Naples to moderate his system of government. He also carried through the Sardinian parliament the measure for suppressing convents and monasteries, and secularizing their estates, which drew down upon him, and all who participated in the enactment and execution of this statute, the major excommunication of the pope, and the hostility of a large portion of the Sardinian clergy and their supporters in parliament. Early in 1859 the contest between Austria and Sardinia broke out afresh, the latter counting upon the support of France. The Sardinian army was put upon a war footing; and on April 23 Austria demanded by an ultimatum that Sardinia should at once disarm.

This was refused, and on the 27th the Austrians invaded Piedmont. The emperor Napoleon had promised to support Sardinia in case of invasion, and on May 3 he declared war against Austria. The victories of Magenta and Solferino put it in the power of the allies to dictate their own terms, and nothing less than the entire abandonment of Italy by the Austrians was looked for. The treaty of Villafranca, leaving Austria in possession of Venetia, and eventually involving the cession of Savoy and Nice to France, which Napoleon unexpectedly concluded with Francis Joseph, without consulting Victor Emanuel, disgusted Cavour. He resigned his post as prime minister, and was succeeded by Ratazzi, whose administration proved unsuccessful. In January, 1860, Cavour was again placed at the head of the government, with a ministry of his own choice. He ostensibly opposed the movement of Garibaldi against Sicily and Naples, but soon secretly aided him with all means at his disposal; and Garibaldi, having been proclaimed dictator there, made over his authority to Victor Emanuel, and the people of the Two Sicilies accepted him as their sovereign.

Gen. Cialdini, first operating in the north against Lamoriciere, and then cooperating with Garibaldi, completed the work, with the aid of the Sardinian fleet under Persano. On Dec. 23, 1860, the decree appeared by which Sardinia (which had already absorbed Lombardy, Tuscany, Parma, and Modena) and the Two Sicilies, together with Umbria and the Marches, wrested from the pope, were united together as the kingdom of Italy, under the sceptre of Victor Emanuel. On Feb. 18, 1861, Cavour opened the first parliament of united Italy. Near the end of April there was a public avowal of the reconciliation between him and Garibaldi, who had reproached him, among other things, with supineness in resisting the encroachments of Napoleon. This was the last public act of Cavour. On May 30 he was attacked with a fever which ended his life. Cavour was one of the most enlightened, versatile, and energetic statesmen of the age; and though by several of his proceedings he incurred the bitter censures of D'Azeglio, Garibaldi, and Mazzini, it is now conceded on all hands that to him more than any other man is owing the achievement of the unity of Italy. - See Botta, "Life, Character, and Policy of Count Cavour" (New York, 1862), and Treitschke's brilliant essay, Cavour, in his Historische und politisclie Aufsatze (new series, Leipsic, 1870).