Ernesto Padova (17 February 1845 – 9 March 1896) was an Italian mathematician born in Livorno, Italy.

He first taught in a high school in Naples and in 1872, having been put forward by Enrico Betti, he was appointed professor of rational mechanics at the University of Pisa.

From there he moved on to Padua, where he remained until his premature death.

He has been author of about fifty works in the fields of mathematical analysis, analytical mechanics and mathematical-physics (elasticity and electromagnetism).

Regards to analytical mechanics Padova has been one of the first to study matters concerning movement stability.