Heinrich Hertz

Updated: 11/16/2019 by Computer Hope
Heinrich Hertz

Name: Heinrich Rudolf Hertz

Born: February 22, 1857, in Hamburg, German Confederation

Death: January 1, 1894 (Age: 36)

Computer-related contributions

  • German physicist who was the first to conclusively prove the existence of electromagnetic waves in 1886. He engineered instruments to transmit and receive radio pulses using experimental procedures that ruled out all other known wireless phenomena.
  • Clarified and expanded James Clerk Maxwell's electromagnetic theory of light. The scientific unit of frequency (cycles per second) was named the "hertz" in his honor. His discoveries would eventually lead to the inventions of the wireless telegraph, radio, and television.

Significant publications

  • Electric Waves (1893).
  • Miscellaneous Papers (1896).
  • Principles of Mechanics (1899).

Honors and awards

  • The SI unit hertz (Hz) for frequency was established in his honor by the IEC (1930).
  • A crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, just behind the eastern limb, is named in his honor.