LEWIS, was born at Bologna in Italy, in the year 1737. There many of his relations had arrived at distinguished eminence in jurisprudence and divinity, and he himself had the honour of giving his name to a supposed new principle in nature, which of consequence is called Galvanism, although this great man gave it the name of animal electricity. From a boy he became enamoured of the greatest austerities of the Catholic religion, and joined himself to a convent, the monks of which were celebrated for their attachment to the solemn duty of visiting the dying. He wished much to become a member of this order, but was prevailed on to relinquish the idea by one of the brotherhood, after which he turned his whole attention to the study of medicine in its various branches. He studied under Beccari, Tacconi, Galli, and in a particular manner Galleazzi, who took him into his own house; and he afterwards became his son-in-law. He acquired great reputation by his inaugural thesis, De Officiis, in 1762, and was soon after chosen public lecturer in the university of Bologna, and reader in anatomy to the institute of that city. So much admired was his talent for lecturing, that vast numbers constantly attended him; and he employed his few leisure hours in making experiments, and in the useful study of comparative anatomy. We find in the Memoirs of the Institute of Bologna, a number of curious observations on the urinary organs, and on the organs of hearing in birds.

Soon after his anatomical and physiological knowledge was fully established throughout the Italian schools, a mere accident led him to that interesting discovery which will transmit his name with honour to the latest posterity. His amiable wife, for whom he cherished the most ardent love, and with whom he had been united for a number of years, was in a declining state of health, and was using a soup of frogs by way of restorative. Some of these animals being skinned for this purpose, were lying on a table in Galvani's laboratory, where also stood an electrical machine. One of those who assisted him in conducting his experiments, unintentionally brought the point of a scalpel near the crural nerves of a frog which lay near the conductor, when the muscles of the limb were very strongly convulsed. Madame Galvani, who was a woman of a penetrating understanding, and a lover of science, happened to witness the phenomena, of which she instantly informed her husband. On his arrival he repeated the experiment, and discovered that the convulsions only happened when the scalpel was in contact with the nerve, and a spark was drawn from the conductor at the same time. After an almost endless variety of experiments, conducted with great ingenuity, which it would be foreign to the design of this article to enumerate here, he concluded that all animals have within them an electricity of a peculiar nature; that this fluid is contained in most parts, but is most apparent in the nerves and muscles; that it is secreted by the brain, and diffused by the nerves through various parts of the body.

He compared each muscular fibre to a small Leyden phial, and attempted to explain the phenomena of muscular motion by analogies taken from that instrument. He first thought of its pathological influence in regard to rheumatic, convulsive, paralytic, and other nervous affections. His first publication on this grand discovery was entitled Aegorii Galvani de viribus Electricitatis in Motu Musculari Commentarius, which made its appearance in 4to, in the year 1791, and was printed for the Instituto of Bologna. By this work the attention of philosophers both in Italy and other countries was instantly roused, and it was soon followed by numerous publications, in some of which the sentiments of Galvani were defended, and in others they were opposed. The celebrated Volta turned his attention to the subject, and adduced a number of arguments to prove that Galvani's opinion respecting animal electricity was erroneous, deriving the phenomena from the electric matter of the atmosphere, and allowing the nerves and muscles no higher place than that of the most sensible tests hitherto discovered. The doctrine of Volta received many admirers and advocates; yet there are still numbers to be met with in the learned world who support the sentiments of Galvani, who still adhere to his original theory, in the defence of which he displayed much candour and modesty, as well as ingenuity, by which he may be justly considered as deserving that distinguished place among the experimental philosophers, which the union of his name with the most interesting natural phenomena will probably secure to him for ever. See GALVANISM.

These important inquiries, joined to the duties of his office as a professor, and his extensive practice in the capacity of surgeon and man-midwife (accoucheur), in both which he eminently excelled, afforded abundant scope for his indefatigable industry. He composed a variety of memoirs on topics connected with his profession; but these, as far as we know, have never been published. He delighted to converse with men of science, in whose company new publications were read, and their merits investigated, which was certainly a valuable source of intellectual improvement.

The character of Galvani in private life is allowed to have been most amiable; and his sensibility, which was naturally strong, received a violent shock in the death of his amiable wife, in the year 1790. This event brought upon him the most alarming melancholy, which he even delighted to encourage, by visiting her tomb in the nunnery of St Catharine, and pouring forth, his unavailing lamentations over her grave. He was ever punctual in the discharge of the duties of his religion, even even to the minutest rite, as he never lost the pious imprellions which were made upon his mind at an early period of life. To this cause we may probably trace back his determination never to take what was called the civic oath of allegiance to the Cispalpine republic, for which he was barbarously deprived of all his offices and dignities. Devoured by melancholy, and nearly reduced to a state of indigence, he took up his residence in the house of his brother James, a man of respectability, where he fell into a state of extenuation and debility. At this time even republican governors appear to have been ashamed of their brutal conduct towards such an extraordinary man; in consequence of which a decree was passed for restoring him to his chair in the university, together with its emoluments; but this fit of generosity was too long in seizing them. He departed this life on the 5th of November, 1798, in the 61st year of his age, amidst the tears of his friends, and the regret of the public, in whose death the learned world has been deprived of one of its brightest ornaments.