Aldini, Essai Théorique et Expérimental sur le Galvanisme (1804)
Description
In 1799 Alessandro Volta made the first chemical electric battery similar to the one below. He used alternating discs of copper and zinc separated by acid soaked cloth or cardboard. Luigi Galvani later showed that he could cause frogs' legs to move by exposing them to the electricity produced by that device coining the term "animal electricity."
Giovanni Aldini was Galvani's nephew and continued to conduct experiments in the field of electrophysiology. Famously he caused movement in the executed criminal George Foster, thinking that perhaps electricity could restore his life. Included here is Aldini's original report with an image from that book.
Mary Shelly was in Italy in 1818 and as a result of reading those experiments she wrote her monumental novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” with a return to life by electricity.
