Volta, Alexander

Volta, A., Account of some discoveries made by Mr. Galvani from Mr. Alexander Volta to Mr. Tiberius Cavallo. Phil. Trans. R. Soc., 1793, 83 10-44. 

Alexander von Humboldt took a position intermediate between Galvani and Volta. He doubted the electrical character of the phenomena described by the former, and showed that a frog s legs could be moved by a single metal, or even without a metal (as Volta also showed). Humboldt reported that Dr. Ash in Oxford had informed him in April 1796 that zinc is much more rapidly oxidised in water if it is in contact with silver, lead, and mercury, and iron and copper behave similarly it seemed to Humboldt that in metals which show the greatest galvanic activity, a noticeable chemical affinity is exhibited (eine bemerkbare chemische Mischungsveranderui] ore et). ... 

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