“Day by day I grow more aware of how useless I remain in this world,” said a young Heinrich Hertz whose birthday we celebrate today. Well, Hertz proved he wasn’t useless by bringing us the unit of frequency we rely on for communication, the “Hertz.”
Heinrich Hertz, the oldest of five children, was born on February 22, 1857 in Hamburg Germany to the daughter of a physician and a father who was an attorney turned senator.