Heinrich Rudolf Hertz

Heinrich Hertz was born in Hamburg, on February 22, 1857, the first child of a wealthy family. His father, Gustav Ferdinand Hertz was an attorney, who later became senator of the city of Hamburg. His mother, whose maiden name was Pfefferkorn, was the daughter of the garrison physician in Frankfurt. Heins, as he was known, attended school from 1863, reverting to private tutoring later on. He completed his education at the age of 18. He was the most intelligent and manually-gifted in his class, receiving a plane and lathe at the age of 12, with which he built physics apparatus (a spectroscope and so on). During the years 1875-76, he resided in Frankfurt, working as a technical drawer - his ambition was to become an architect. During his leisure time he occupied himself with mathematics, Greek, Arabic and physics. Following his time in Frankfurt, he moved to Dresden, enrolling for an engineering degree at the polytechnic. He carried out his military service in Berlin, within the railway regiment. From 1877, he resumed his studies in Munich, gaining a new and increasing interest in the natural sciences. After two semesters, he returned to Berlin. During the summer holidays, he built a sensitive tangent galvanometer, with which he investigated the effects of magnets. In 1878, he attended lectures by Kirchhoff.

Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857-1894) Photo, German Museum, Munich

Hertz showed particular interest in one of laboratories, which Helmholtz (1870 professor for physics) was leading. After two projects, concentrating on the inertia of the mass of electricity, and the relationship between electromagnetic forces and the dielectric polarization of insulators, he achieved his doctorate with magna cum laude, at the age of 22. In 1880, he became an assistant of Helmholtz, during which time he also pursued his interests in various scientific disciplines, publishing many papers. Afterwards, he became a private lecturer in Kiel and remained there until 1885, occupying himself with work on cathode rays. Starting from March 1885, he worked as a professor in Karlsruhe, where he accomplished his innovative work on electromagnetic waves.

He married Elizabeth Doll, the daughter of a lecturer, in 1886. Between 1886 and 1888, he made his discoveries of the Hertz oscillator, the induction effect and the photo effect. In mid-March, 1888, he succeeded in proving the existence of electromagnetic waves in the air. From April 1889, he worked as a professor in Bonn. On September 20, 1889, he held the main lecture during the 62nd assembly of German natural scientists and doctors, concentrating on the relationship between light and electricity. Present at this assembly were, amongst others, Helmholtz, Werner von Siemens and Edison. He died from septicemia on January 1, 1894.