Physicist. Proved that electromagnetic waves, as proposed by Maxwell, actually exist. His father's family was Jewish but converted to Lutheranism, though his wife and daughters were forced by the Nazis to leave Germany as a result in the 1930s. He studied engineering and science in Dresden, Munich, and Berlin, receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1880. He began his academic career in 1883 as a lecturer at the University of Kiel and in 1885 became full professor at the University of Karlsruhe, where he performed his groundbreaking research. He was named professor and director of the Physics Institute at the University of Bonn in 1889, which position he held until his death. The scientific unit for frequency in the SI system "hertz" (Hz), cycles per second, is named in his honor.
Physicist. Proved that electromagnetic waves, as proposed by Maxwell, actually exist. His father's family was Jewish but converted to Lutheranism, though his wife and daughters were forced by the Nazis to leave Germany as a result in the 1930s. He studied engineering and science in Dresden, Munich, and Berlin, receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1880. He began his academic career in 1883 as a lecturer at the University of Kiel and in 1885 became full professor at the University of Karlsruhe, where he performed his groundbreaking research. He was named professor and director of the Physics Institute at the University of Bonn in 1889, which position he held until his death. The scientific unit for frequency in the SI system "hertz" (Hz), cycles per second, is named in his honor.
Bio by: Kenneth Gilbert
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