Cesare Lombroso (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtʃeˑzare lomˈbroːso]; born Ezechia Marco Lombroso; 6 November 1835 –19 October 1909), was an Italian criminologist, physician, and founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology. Lombroso rejected the established classical school, which held that crime was a characteristic trait of human nature.