Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828). 1858 illustration of the German physiologist Franz Joseph Gall. Gall is best known for developing phrenology, which was later discredited. He believed that the brain's shape was related to mental capacity and that different parts of the brain controlled specific parts of the human body. He believed that this shape could be deduced by measuring the shape and bumps of the skull. Gall was banned from lecturing in Vienna, Austria, because his materialistic philosophy was considered subversive of religion.