George Forster

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For the 18th century German scientist and revolutionary, see Georg Forster.

George Forster (or Foster) was found guilty of murdering his wife and child by drowning them in Paddington Canal, London. The evidence presented against him was entirely circumstantial, though after being found guilty he confessed to the charges. He was hanged at Newgate on 18 January 1803, shortly after which his body was taken to a nearby house where it was used in an experiment by Italian scientist Giovanni Aldini.^[1]

Aldini was the nephew of fellow scientist Luigi Galvani and an enthusiastic proponent of his uncle's method of stimulating muscles with electric current, known as Galvanism.^[2] The experiment he performed on Forster's body was a demonstration of this technique. The Newgate Calendar (a record of executions at Newgate) reports that, "On the first application of the process to the face, the jaws of the deceased criminal began to quiver, and the adjoining muscles were horribly contorted, and one eye was actually opened. In the subsequent part of the process the right hand was raised and clenched, and the legs and thighs were set in motion."^[3]

Several of those present believed that Forster was being brought back to life (The Newgate Calendar reports that even if this had been so, he would have been re-executed since his sentence was to "hang until he be dead") and one man, Mr Pass, the beadle of the Surgeons' Company, was so shocked that he died shortly after leaving.^[4]

[edit] References

1. ^ The Newgate Calendar: http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng464.htm
2. ^ http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/History/early-nineteen.htm
3. ^ The Newgate Calendar: http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng464.htm
4. ^ The Newgate Calendar: http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng464.htm