Giovanni Battista Benedetti (14.08.1530-20.1.1590) was an Italian scientist. He was born in Venice. In 1567 he became engineer to the Duke of Savoy in Turin.
His work was in the fields of mechanics and hydrostatics. He established the existence of centrifugal force, discovered the principle of inertia in 1585, calculated the equilibrium of torques, and established that bodies in a vacuum fall at the same speed. He developed the theory of the equilibrium of a liquid in communicating vessels, derived the hydrostatic paradox and anticipated Pascal's hydraulic press.