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Heinrich Hertz
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Heinrich Hertz

German physicist who first proved that radio waves exist

22 February 1857 – 1 January 1894 Germany Verified by our editors
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Lived
36 yrs
1857 – 1894
Works listed
1
Book
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Heinrich Hertz was a German physicist who in 1887 conclusively proved the existence of electromagnetic waves predicted by James Clerk Maxwell. His experiments laid the groundwork for radio, television and wireless communication, and the unit of frequency, the hertz, is named after him.

Biography

Education

Hertz studied engineering and then physics in Dresden, Munich and Berlin, where he was a student of Hermann von Helmholtz. He earned his doctorate in 1880.

Radio waves

As a professor at Karlsruhe, Hertz built a spark-gap transmitter and a loop receiver in 1886–1888. He showed that the waves travelled at the speed of light and could be reflected, refracted and polarised, confirming Maxwell’s theory.

Other discoveries

He observed that ultraviolet light helps spark discharges — the photoelectric effect later explained by Einstein — and wrote on contact mechanics.

Legacy

Hertz famously thought his discovery had no practical use, but Marconi and others soon built radio on it. He died in 1894 aged 36. In 1930 the hertz was adopted as the unit of frequency.

Timeline

  1. 1857

    Born in Hamburg, Germany

  2. 1880

    Doctorate in Berlin

  3. 1885

    Professor at Karlsruhe

  4. 1887

    Demonstrates electromagnetic waves

  5. 1889

    Professor at Bonn

  6. 1890

    Rumford Medal

  7. 1894

    Dies aged 36

  8. 1894

    Died, aged 36

Notable works

  • 1893

    Electric Waves Book

Awards and honours

  • Matteucci Medal

    1888

  • Rumford Medal

    1890

Did you know?

  1. 1

    Asked about uses for his discovery, he reportedly said “Nothing, I guess.”

  2. 2

    His nephew Gustav Hertz won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

  3. 3

    A Hamburg television tower is named after him.

Connections

Related people

Also born on 22 February

Frequently asked

Who is Heinrich Hertz?

Heinrich Hertz was a German physicist who in 1887 conclusively proved the existence of electromagnetic waves predicted by James Clerk Maxwell. His experiments laid the groundwork for radio, television and wireless communication, and the unit of frequency, the hertz, is named after him.

When did Heinrich Hertz die?

Heinrich Hertz died on 1 January 1894 at the age of 36.

Where is Heinrich Hertz from?

Heinrich Hertz was born in Hamburg, Germany.

What is Heinrich Hertz known for?

Heinrich Hertz is best known for Proving electromagnetic waves (1887); photoelectric effect observations; the hertz unit.

What awards has Heinrich Hertz received?

Notable honours include Matteucci Medal (1888), Rumford Medal (1890).

References

  1. Heinrich Hertz — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  2. Heinrich Hertz — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  3. Heinrich Hertz — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  4. Heinrich Hertz — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  5. Heinrich Hertz (Q41257) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.

Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Heinrich Hertz”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more

External links

Wikipedia
Filed under GermanyPhysicsRadio Physicist

About this profile

Cite this page

“Heinrich Hertz.” TrackFame, last updated 4 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/heinrich-hertz

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