Carlo Collodi (the pen name of Carlo Lorenzini) was born in Florence in 1826. He was a successful author and translator. He served as a volunteer in the Tuscan army in the Wars of Italian Independence in 1848 and 1860 and upheld strong political beliefs which he expressed through his works, and through the satirical newspaper he founded, Il Lampione. He published several novels and satirical works as well as popular translations of many traditional fairy tales. He died in 1890, unaware of the lasting legacy of his most famous work, The Adventures of Pinocchio.