The Italian physiologist Luigi Galvani (1737-1798) is noted for his discovery of animal electricity.

Luigi Galvani was born at Bologna on Sept. 9, 1737. He studied theology for a while and then medicine at the University of Bologna. In 1762, upon completion of his studies, he was appointed lecturer of anatomy and surgery at Bologna. His interest focused on the animal senses, which led him into deep theoretical interest in the action of the nervous system.

By the middle of the 18th century various books on electricity were available in Italian, and in 1744 Benjamin Franklin's famous book on electricity appeared in Italian translation. Galvani was influenced by Franklin's "onefluid theory," according to which electrical phenomena were caused by an electric fluid that results in so-called positive electricity, while so-called negative electricity was the absence of fluid. What seemed especially important to Galvani was Franklin's explanation of the Leyden jar, the early...