who is luigi galvani

Luigi Galvani was an Italian physician, physicist, biologist, and philosopher born on September 9, 1737, in Bologna, Italy, and died on December 4, 1798. He is renowned as one of the pioneers of bioelectricity. Galvani discovered that the muscles of dead frogs twitched when struck by an electrical spark, which laid the foundation for the study of animal electricity and electrophysiology. His experiments demonstrated that electricity could cause muscle contraction, leading to the concept of "galvanism." This work eventually contributed to the invention of the voltaic pile, the first kind of battery providing constant electric current. Galvani was a professor of anatomy and obstetrics at the University of Bologna for much of his career. His discoveries sparked a scientific debate with Alessandro Volta regarding the nature of electricity in living tissues. Galvani's legacy includes the naming of the "galvanic" terms and recognition as a key figure in the history of electrical science and physiology.