Domenico Angelo

Domenico Angelo (1716 Livorno,[1] Grand Duchy of Tuscany – 1802, Twickenham, England), was an Italian sword and fencing master who became the celebrated swordsman of mid-eighteenth English society.

[3] In the town of Leghorn and a bit throughout Tuscany he had perhaps faced too many duels which ended tragically for his adversaries and therefore he deemed it appropriate to move abroad to escape the revenge of the relatives of his victims.

[1][4] Angelo studied the classical French style with the foil at the Royal Association of Masters of Yielding Weapons of the City and Suburbs of Paris under the guidance of Teillagory, who also trained Chevalier d'Éon.

[4] In London, he quickly established his reputation as an excellent swordsman, expert fencer, and undisputed winner of many duels[citation needed], and therefore, he eventually gained the patronage of Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke, and three years later, in 1758, Angelo became a fencing master of the British royal family after he gained the patronage of the dowager Princess of Wales, who appointed him as riding and fencing master to George, Prince of Wales, and his brother Edward, duke of York.

[1][3][5] Thanks to his skill of Master Angelo, as he was named in England, his school immediately became famous and was attended over the years by the most illustrious personalities of the British capital of the time, such as the painters Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough and George Stubbs, the actor David Garrick, as well as Giacomo Casanova, the Chevalier d'Éon, and the future King William IV.

[3] His school was also famous for accepting female students, some of whom were actresses from London theatres who first accompanied their male colleagues and then decided to take lessons.