Carlo Matteucci (1811-1868), Italian physician. Matteucci was born at Forli in Romagna, Italy. He first studied mathematics at Bologna and Paris before turning to medicine, again at Bologna. In 1831, Matteucci started a series of experiments on electricity in animal tissue. He showed how some injured tissues could generate an electric current and that the current from cells added up in series. In 1847 he turned to politics and in 1860 became an Italian senator.