Past Years

First published in 1931, this autobiography of physicist Sir Oliver Lodge is a touching account of his life and work.

Educated at a school where grammatical mistakes resulted in a beating, Sir Oliver Lodge became a gentle professor of physics at the University of Liverpool. He gave popular public lectures, pioneered early radio and X-ray technologies, and soon won fame as a broadcaster. This touching autobiography first appeared in 1931.Sir Oliver Lodge (1851–1940) was a physicist instrumental in the discovery of electromagnetic waves: the basis of today's radio and X-ray technology. He came from humble beginnings. After suffering at the hands of violent masters and schoolmates during his childhood, Lodge went on to teach physics and chemistry to young women at Bedford College in London. Later, he was appointed professor of physics at the University of Liverpool, and became known for his public lectures on a vast range of topics, from the comic faults of phonographs to the medical applications of X-rays. Whether seeing the cells of a voltaic battery in a pile of plates or appreciating the enunciation of Alexander Graham Bell, Lodge had a warm enthusiasm that shines through in this touching autobiography, first published in 1931. It remains ideal for general readers as well as students in the history of science.