Anatomist, born in Tiefenbrunn, SW Germany. As a physician in Vienna (1785), he evolved a theory in which a person's talents and qualities were traced to particular areas of the brain. His lectures on phrenology were popular, but suppressed in 1802 as being subversive of religion.
Franz Joseph Gall (March 9, 1758 - August 22, 1828) was a neuroanatomist and physiologist who was a pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.
Gall was born in Grand Duchy of Baden, in the village of Tiefenbronn.
With his revolutionary concepts on brain localization, Gall offended religious leaders and scientists alike. The Catholic Church considered his theory as contrary to religion (that the mind, created by God, should have a physical seat in brain matter, was anathema). Due to this, Gall, who worked and lectured in Vienna, Austria, left. Revolutionary France was most likely the most hospitable place for Gall's theories. Despite all this, Gall was able to secure a comfortable existence on the basis of his specialty. Gall became a celebrity of sorts as he was accepted into Parisian intellectual salons.
Gall's phrenological theories and practices were best accepted in England, where the ruling class used it to justify the "inferiority" of its colonial subjects, including the Irish, and then in the USA, where it became very popular from 1820 to 1850. The misuse of Gall's ideas and work to justify discrimination were deliberately furthered by his associates, including J.C.
However, Gall made significant contributions to neurological science. Emotions were not located in the heart but in the brain and certain parts of the brain controlled certain emotions and actions. The opposition to Gall's ideas can be compared to the earlier opposition of Galileo's theory that the earth revolved around the sun. Gall's concept that brain function was localized proved to be correct.
Gall died in Paris, on August 22, 1828.
Source
Phrenology, the History of Brain Localization
By: Renato M.E.
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