Giovanni Aldini
Giovanni Aldini | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Giovanni Aldini, 1829 | |
| Born | 10 April 1762 Bologna, Papal States |
| Died | 17 January 1834 (aged 71) |
| Alma mater | University of Bologna |
| Occupations |
|
| Awards | Order of the Iron Crown |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Bologna |
Giovanni Aldini (10 April 1762 – 17 January 1834)[1] was an Italian physician[2] and physicist born in Bologna. He is considered a pioneer in the field of electrophysiology.[3]
Biography
[edit]Giovanni Aldini was born in Bologna on 10 April 1762. He was a brother of the statesman Count Antonio Aldini, secretary of state for the Kingdom of Italy between 1805 and 1814. He graduated in physics at University of Bologna in 1782.[4] In 1798, he became professor of experimental physics at University of Bologna, in succession to his uncle Luigi Galvani (1737–1798).[5]
Aldini's scientific work was chiefly concerned with galvanism, anatomy and its medical applications, with the construction and illumination of lighthouses, and with experiments for preserving human life and material objects from destruction by fire. He wrote in French and English in addition to his native Italian, and in Latin, still used in the 18th century by the scientific community.
Aldini was one of the earliest and most active members of the National Institute of Italy, to the foundation of which he contributed. In recognition of his merits, the emperor of Austria made him a Knight of the Iron Crown and a councillor of state at Milan. Aldini spent the last years of his life in Milan, where he died on 17 January 1834, at the age of 71. He bequeathed a considerable sum to found a school of natural science for artisans at Bologna.[1]
Experiments
[edit]
Aldini's most famous public demonstration of the electro-stimulation technique of deceased limbs was performed on the executed criminal George Forster at Newgate in London in 1803.[6][7] The Newgate Calendar describes what happened when the galvanic process was used on the body:
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. In the subsequent part of the process, the right hand was raised and clenched, and the legs and thighs were set in motion.[8]
Aldini's experiment created a sensation since it seemed to demonstrate that electricity could be used to revive the deceased.
Shelley's Frankenstein association
[edit]Although Mary Shelley was just 5 years old when Foster was executed, it has been suggested that Aldini might have been the inspiration for her famous fictional character Victor Frankenstein.[9] Shelley was well read in the sciences and her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley was an amateur chemist.[9] In her introduction to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein, she does not mention Aldini, but "galvanism" was among the evening discussion topics before she experienced her "waking dream" that led to her writing.[10] Chapter 5, the creature awakened:
By the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.
Selected works
[edit]
- De viribus electricitatis in motu musculari commentarius cum I. A. dissertatione et notis, Modena, 1792.
- De animali electricitate. Bologna: Stamperia dell'Instituto delle Scienze. 1794.
- Précis des expériences galvaniques, Paris, 1803; an account of some experiments made by Aldini, principally upon the bodies of dead animals. This work was translated from the French manuscript into English, and published under the title An Account of the late improvements in Galvanism, by John Aldini, London, 1803, with an appendix, containing experiments upon the bodies of executed criminals, performed by Aldini in Newgate and Bologna.
- Essai théorique et expérimental sur le galvanisme, avec une série d’expériences faites devant des commissaires de l’Institut national de France, et en divers amphithéâtres anatomiques de Londres [Theoretical and Experimental Essay on Galvanism: With a Series of Experiments Made in the Presence of the Commissioners of the National Institute of France, and in Various Anatomical Amphitheaters in London]. Paris: Fournier Fils. 1804.
- General Views on the Application of Galvanism to Medical Purposes; Principally in Cases of Suspended Animation, London, 1819. The treatise explores the potential of electricity to revive individuals in a state of suspended animation.
References
[edit]- ^ a b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Aldini, Giovanni". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 536.
- ^ "This Real Doctor's Crazy Experiments Inspired 'Frankenstein'". All That's Interesting. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ Zanela Da Silva Arêas, Peixoto Tinoco Arêas & Moll Neto 2020, pp. 733–735.
- ^ Giovanni Aldini: From Animal Electricity to Human Brain Stimulation.
- ^ Parent, Andre (December 2004). "Giovanni Aldini: From Animal Electricity to Human Brain Stimulation". The Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. 31 (4): 576–84. doi:10.1017/S0317167100003851. PMID 15595271.
- ^ "AIM25 text-only browsing: Royal College of Surgeons of England: Aldini, Giovanni: Notebook". Aim25.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ "Early Nineteenth century electrochemistry". Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- ^ The Newgate Calendar – George Foster Executed at Newgate, 18th of January, 1803, for the Murder of his Wife and Child, by drowning them in the Paddington Canal; with a Curious Account of Galvanic Experiments on his Body
- ^ a b "The Real Science Behind Frankenstein". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
- ^ Shelley, Mary. "Introduction" Frankenstein (1831 edition) Gutenberg
"Perhaps a corpse would be re-animated; galvanism had given token of such things: perhaps the component parts of a creature might be manufactured, brought together, and endued with vital warmth."
Further reading
[edit]- Dibner, Bern (1970). "Giovanni Aldini". Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 107–108. ISBN 978-0-684-10114-9.
- Zanela Da Silva Arêas, Fernando; Peixoto Tinoco Arêas, Guilherme; Moll Neto, Roberto (2020). "Giovanni Aldini and his contributions to non-invasive brain stimulation". Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria. 78 (11): 733–735. doi:10.1590/0004-282X20200080. PMID 33263639.
External links
[edit]
- Mark Pilkington: Sparks of Life. Article from The Guardian about Aldini's experiments on an executed criminal.
- A. Parent: Giovanni Aldini: from animal electricity to human brain stimulation. (PDF), Can J Neurol Sci. 2004 Nov;31(4):576-84.
- Gliozzi, Mario (1960). "ALDINI, Giovanni". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 2: Albicante–Ammannati (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. OCLC 883370.
