<P> Cesare Lombroso ( / lɒmˈbroʊsoʊ / ; Italian : ( ˈtʃeːzare lomˈbroːzo , - so ) ; born Ezechia Marco Lombroso ; 6 November 1835 -- 19 October 1909 ) , was an Italian criminologist and physician , founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology . Lombroso rejected the established classical school , which held that crime was a characteristic trait of human nature . Instead , using concepts drawn from physiognomy , degeneration theory , psychiatry and Social Darwinism , Lombroso 's theory of anthropological criminology essentially stated that criminality was inherited , and that someone `` born criminal '' could be identified by physical ( congenital ) defects , which confirmed a criminal as savage or atavistic . These theories do not have widespread support by scientists in Western countries . </P>
<P> Cesare Lombroso ( / lɒmˈbroʊsoʊ / ; Italian : ( ˈtʃeːzare lomˈbroːzo , - so ) ; born Ezechia Marco Lombroso ; 6 November 1835 -- 19 October 1909 ) , was an Italian criminologist and physician , founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology . Lombroso rejected the established classical school , which held that crime was a characteristic trait of human nature . Instead , using concepts drawn from physiognomy , degeneration theory , psychiatry and Social Darwinism , Lombroso 's theory of anthropological criminology essentially stated that criminality was inherited , and that someone `` born criminal '' could be identified by physical ( congenital ) defects , which confirmed a criminal as savage or atavistic . These theories do not have widespread support by scientists in Western countries . </P>
who argued that criminals are by birth a distinct type
who argued that criminals are by birth a distinct type
Cesare Lombroso
Cesare Lombroso