Galvanism, Animal Electricity, 1803

Galvanism, Animal Electricity, 1803

Animal electricity produced without any intermediate body. Galvanism is the contraction of a muscle that is stimulated by an electric current. The effect was named after Luigi Galvani (September 9, 1737 - December 4, 1798), who investigated the effect of electricity on dissected animals in the 1780-90s. Giovanni Aldini (April 10, 1762 - January 17, 1834) was an Italian physicist and nephew of Galvani. His most famous public demonstration of the electro-stimulation technique of deceased limbs was performed on the executed criminal George Forster in London, 1803. The Newgate Calendar describes what happened: "On the first application of the process to the face, the jaws of the deceased criminal began to quiver, and the adjoining muscles were horribly contorted, and one eye was actually opened." Image appeared in "An account of the galvanic experiments performed" by Giovanni Aldini, 1803. This image has been color enhanced.

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