Galvanic Reanimation of the Dead

The exploits of nineteenth century scientists with electrical batteries and corpses.

"Le docteur Ure galvanisant le corps de l'assassin Clydsdale."

An engraving from Les merveilles de la Science (1867) by Louis Figuier

In 1803 Giovanni Aldini (Galvani`s nephew) performed experiments, in public, upon the severed heads of "malefactors" despatched at Newgate, London. A couple of accounts of these horrific demonstrations -

"Galvanism was communicated by means of three troughs combined together, each of which contained forty plates of zinc, and as many of copper. On the first application of the arcs the jaw began to quiver, the adjoining muscles were horribly contorted, and the left eye actually opened." "The first of these decapitated criminals being conveyed to the apartment provided for my experiments, in the neighbourhood of the place of execution, the head was first subjected to the Galvanic action. For this purpose I had constructed a pile consisting of a hundred pieces of silver and zinc. Having moistened the inside of the ears with salt water, I formed an arc with two metallic wires, which, proceeding from the two ears, were applied, one to the summit and the other to the bottom of the pile. When this communication was established, I observed strong contractions in the muscles of the face, which were contorted in so irregular a manner that they exhibited the appearance of the most horrid grimaces. The action of the eye-lids was exceedingly striking, though less sensible in the human head than in that of an ox."



