Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge (1851-1940), English physicist. Lodge, who studied physics at the Royal College of Science and at University College, London, performed early experiments in radio. In 1888 he showed that radio-frequency waves could be transmitted along electric wires. However, Hertz had simultaneously demonstrated that such waves could be transmitted through air, establishing the basis for radio communication. Lodge went on to make useful technical advances, designing an improved radio detector and in 1894 he demonstrated a form of radio telegraphy. He was the first to attempt to detect radio waves from celestial objects. He was knighted in 1902. Photographed circa 1920.