Giovanni Francisco Vigani (c. 1650–1712), known also as John Francis, was an Italian chemist who became the first professor of chemistry in the University of Cambridge.
He travelled in Spain, France, and Holland, and studied mining, metallurgy, and pharmacy in the countries he visited.
By this time he had become an acknowledged teacher of the subject in Cambridge, and, though still independent of university support, had acquired a reputation.
[1][2] In 1703 the Senate of the University of Cambridge passed a resolution "investing with the title of professor of chemistry John Francis Vigani, a native of Verona, who had taught chemistry with reputation in Cambridge for twenty years previously."
According to Abraham de la Pryme, who attended his lectures, Vigani was a great traveller and a learned chemist, but a 'drunken fellow.'
Vigani was commended by Georg Ernst Stahl for his practical skill and avoidance of speculation unsupported by experiment.
He rather avoided theoretical discussions, referring those who felt interested in them to Robert Boyle, while he himself pursued practical investigation.