Panizzi, formerly Antonio Genesio Maria, arrived in
London along with other Italian exiles that had escaped to Geneva under threat of trial,
and likely death, under the Modena government. On the advice of high-station fellow
exiles he followed rumours of work to Liverpool, where he met other scholarly-minded
influentials who introduced him to the vast social web that would, ultimately, lead
Panizzi to the British Museum as keeper of printed books, a role in which he served
from 1837-56. From there, he occupied the prestigious position of principal librarian
from 1856-66. During his time at the British Museum he continued to run in influential and elite
circles; eventually, he became a senator of Italy. Yet, this did not quell his gregarious
nature, or aggressive pursuits within the British Museum. Some of his catalog methods
are used to this day. When he died, unmarried, of serious illness in
1868, he left impressive scholarly transcripts, voluminous literary collections, and,
arguably, the world's leading library in his wake (P. R. Harris,
Panizzi, Sir Anthony, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.)