FitzGerald, George Francis (1851-1901), was an Irish physicist and educator. His work complemented the efforts of some of the most important scientists of the 1800’s and 1900’s. FitzGerald’s contributions to physics helped advance the development of electronic technology, including radio, television, and radar.
George Francis FitzGerald was born in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 3, 1851. His family included several notable ministers and intellectuals, and he was homeschooled. He studied mathematics and science at Trinity College in Dublin. He graduated in 1871. FitzGerald studied the Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell’s work on electricity and magnetism. In 1883, FitzGerald proposed that an oscillating (moving back-and-forth) electric current would produce electromagnetic waves (moving patterns of electric and magnetic influence). This proposition was later confirmed in experiments by the German physicist Heinrich Hertz. FitzGerald also proposed a method of producing radio waves. Today, such waves are used to broadcast radio and television signals. Radio waves are also used by wireless devices, including cell phones, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, satellite communication systems, police radios, and wireless internet.
FitzGerald also proposed an explanation for the failure of experiments to demonstrate the ether, an invisible substance that most scientists at the time believed filled all space. Scientists had believed that such a substance was necessary for light to travel through empty space. The Dutch scientist Hendrik Lorentz proposed an explanation similar to Fitzgerald’s. The German-born physicist Albert Einstein incorporated this idea, now called the Lorentz–FitzGerald contraction, in his special theory of relativity. This theory shows how light behaves and demonstrates that it does not rely on the existence of ether.
FitzGerald was awarded a fellowship (grant) to study at Trinity College in 1877. In 1881, he was named professor of natural and experimental philosophy there. He remained at Trinity for his entire career. FitzGerald also served as a commissioner of national education. In this position, he worked to promote and increase science education in Ireland. In 1883, he was elected as a fellow (member) of the Royal Society, one of the world’s foremost scientific organizations. FitzGerald died on Feb. 22, 1901.
