Portrait par Nikolaï Gay (1876)
Moritz Schiff
Frankfurt am Main 1823 - Genève 1896
Pioneer in neurophysiology, he was professor of anatomy in Bern (1854-1863), then of physiology at the Instituto di Studi Superiori in Florence from 1863 to 1876. Due to the polemics and legal proceedings against him in Florence because of his vivisection experiments, he transferred to Geneva, where he taught physiology. His younger brother, Hugo (Ugo) Schiff (1834-1915), chemist, worked for most of his academic career at the University of Florence.
Main works: Untersuchungen zur Physiologie des Nervensystems mit Berücksichtigung der Pathologie (Frankfurt a.M. 1855); Lehrbuch der Physiologie des Menschen: I. Muskel- und Nervenphysiologie (Lahr 1858-59); Contribution à la physiologie: De l'inflammation et de la circulation (Paris 1873); Lezioni di fisiologia sperimentale sul sistema nervoso encefalico (Firenze 1866-72).
Bibliography: A. Herzen, Gli animali martiri, i loro protettori e la fisiologia: udienza pubblica del Tribunale civile della ragione, a cura di G. Landucci, Firenze, Giunti 1996; G. Landucci, Darwinismo a Firenze: tra scienza e ideologia: 1860-1900, Firenze, Olschki 1977; E. Garin, La cultura italiana tra ‘800 e ‘900, Bari, Laterza 1962.