Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was born in 1857 in Hamburg, Germany. He studied physics under Helmholtz and Kirchhoff at the University of Berlin. In 1885, Hertz accepted the position of Professor of Physics at Karlsruhe; it was here that he demonstrated radio waves in 1887, his most important accomplishment.
In 1889 Hertz succeeded Rudolf Clausius as Professor of Physics at the University of Bonn. Hertz's subsequent experiments involving metal penetration by cathode rays led him to the conclusion that cathode rays are waves rather than particles.
Exploring radio waves, demonstrating their generation, and determining their speed are among Hertz's many achievements. After finding that the speed of a radio wave was the same as that of light, Hertz showed that radio waves, like light waves, could be reflected, refracted, and diffracted.
Hertz died of blood poisoning at the age of 36. During his short life, he made many contributions to science. The hertz, equal to one complete vibration or cycle per second, is named after him.