Franz Joseph Gall (9 March 1758 – 22 August 1828) was a neuroanatomist, physiologist, and pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.
Gall was born in Baden, in the village of Tiefenbronn to a wealthy Roman Catholic wool merchant. The Galls had been the leading family in the area for over a century. As the second eldest son, he was intended for the priesthood but chose instead to study medicine at the University of ...
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Franz Joseph Gall (9 March 1758 – 22 August 1828) was a neuroanatomist, physiologist, and pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.
Gall was born in Baden, in the village of Tiefenbronn to a wealthy Roman Catholic wool merchant. The Galls had been the leading family in the area for over a century. As the second eldest son, he was intended for the priesthood but chose instead to study medicine at the University of Strasbourg. He later completed his degree in Vienna, Austria. Around 1800, he developed "cranioscopy", a method to determine the personality and development of mental and moral faculties on the basis of the external shape of the skull. Cranioscopy («cranium»: skull, «scopos»: vision) was later renamed to phrenology («phrenos»: mind, «logos»: study) by his follower Johann Spurzheim.
Gall's concepts on brain localization were revolutionary, and caused religious leaders and some scientists to take exception. The Roman Catholic Church considered...
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