Luigi Galvani (1737-1798)

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Luigi Galvani. De viribus electricitatis in motu musculari. Modena: s.n., 1792.

Luigi Galvani is credited with discovering animal electricity, or the impact of electricity upon nerves. Born in Bologna where he attended the university and was eventually appointed Professor of Anatomy, Galvani studied the development of bone before conducting research on the excitation of nerves. It was said to be by chance that he noticed that a frog about to be dissected began twitching when placed close to an electrical device. The plate shown here illustrates Galvani’s experiments tying animation to electricity. These studies inspired the story of Frankenstein.

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Luigi Galvani. De viribus electricitatis in motu musculari. Modena: s.n., 1792.