ALDINI, GIOVANNI (1762--1834), Italian physicist, born
at Bologna on the 10th of April 1762, was a brother of the
statesman Count Antonio Aldini (1756-1826) and nephew of L.
Galvani, whose treatise on muscular electricity he edited with
notes in 1791. He became professor of physics at Bologna in
1798, in succession to his teacher Sebastiano Canterzani
(1734-1819). His scientific work was chiefly concerned with
galvanism 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. In recognition of his merits, the emperor
of Austria made him a knight of the Iron Crown and a
councillor of state at Milan, where he died on the 17th
of January 1834. He left by will a considerable sum to
found a school of natural science for artisans at Bologna.
Initial text from 1911 encyclopedia -- Please update as needed