Galileo Ferraris (31.10.1847-7.02.1897) was an Italian physicist and electrical engineer, a corresponding member of the Accademia dei Lincei (1891). He was born in Livorno. He studied at the University of Turin and graduated (1869) from the Higher Technical School in Turin. From 1877 he was professor at the Turin Industrial Museum.
His research was in the field of electromagnetism, optics, electromagnetic waves and the theory of heat. He discovered (1888) the phenomenon of the rotating magnetic field (independently of N. Tesla) and designed a motor with a rotating magnetic field. He built an alternating-current transformer. He was the founder of the first school of electrical engineering in Italy.