Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg | Dr. Karl Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg, Astronomisches Institut - Academia.edu

"With contributions by Gregor Schiemann, Claus Peter Ortlieb, John Preston, Giora Hon, Bernard R. Goldstein, Rudolf Seising, Peter Heering, Karl Heinrich Wiederkehr, Martin Henke, Martin Wegener, Frank Dittmann, Roland Wittje, Jesper Lützen, Alfred Nordmann, Peter Klein, Stefan L. Wolff, Joachim Pelkowski, Frank Linhard, James G. O'Hara, Vitaly G. Gorokhov, Aleksandar Marincic, Zorica Civric, Richard Strom, Wolfgang König, Horst A. Wessel, Oliver Rump, Albrecht Sauer, Zoltán Kolláth, Hans-Joachim Braun, Peter Donhauser, Joachim Goerth, Renate Tobies, Erika Linz.

First of all I would like to thank for the generous support of the Hertz-Symposium by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and by the Behörde für Wissenschaft und Forschung (BWF) Hamburg. Then I appreciate the help and advice of Roger Stuewer in organising and planning the symposium, which should bring together different scholars interested in Hertz, in his philosophy of science, his achievements in physics and the impact of his discovery of electromagnetic waves, the development of communication technology (beginnings of radio, radar, radio astronomy, electronic music and mobile phone). I am glad that nearly all, who participated during the symposium, have contributed to the book.1 In Hamburg there are some places connected with the life and social impact of Heinrich Hertz: The birthplace (Poststraße 20, D-20354 Hamburg), where a memorial tablet of the „Patriotische Gesellschaft” was fixed October 8, 2007, the house, where he lived during his youth (Magdalenenstraße 3, Hamburg-Rotherbaum), the family grave (Ohlsdorf Cemetery Q25, 1–6), a portrait medaillon in the entrance hall of Hamburg’s Town Hall, a sculpture “airwave” in Eichenpark near Alster shore, made by the jewish artist

Friedrich Wield (1880–1940) in 1931/33. Apart from a Heinrich Hertz street there are three buildings named after Hertz: the Heinrich-Hertz TV tower, the former Heinrich-Hertz-School (“Reform-Realgymnasium”): Architect Albert Erbe, 1908 (Bundesstr. 58,D-20146 Hamburg), and the Heinrich-Hertz-Schule (Grasweg 72–76, D-22303 Hamburg). There were more activities in connection with Hertz’ 150th birthday, especially an

exhibition with the title “Von Hertz zum Handy – Entwicklung der Kommunikationstechnik” was shown in five different places in Hamburg and Wittenberg;2  in addition a catalogue was published in 2007.3  Another event, organised by Gudrun Wolfschmidt,

was meeting of the Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte (Working Group for History of Astronomy) in the Astronomische Gesellschaft, held in the Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Würzburg University, September 23 to 24, 2007, with the topic: “Astronomy in new wavelengths – historical studies”.4

1 In addition a DVD about the symposium is published: Handwerk, Agnes und Harrie Willems: Allein mit der Natur. Heinrich Hertz – Experiment und Theorie. Hamburg 2008. A biography of

Heinrich Hertz is prepared for the IWF Wissen und Medien gGmbH in Göttingen.

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3 Wolfschmidt, Gudrun (ed.): Von Hertz zum Handy – Entwicklung der Kommunikationstechnik. Katalog zur Ausstellung zum 150. Geburtstag von Heinrich Hertz (1857–1894). Norderstedt: Books on Demand (Nuncius Hamburgensis, Beiträge zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Bd. 6) 2007 (360 pages).

4 Short Contributions are published in Astronomische Nachrichten 328 (2007), No. 7.

A book about the meeting, edited by Gudrun Wolfschmidt is in preparation.

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