More Than a Maxwellian: Fitzgerald and Technology

While George Francis Fitzgerald is celebrated today primarily for his contributions to theoretical physics, especially Maxwell s theory of electromagnetism, his correspondence demonstrates that he was driven as much by a passion for new technologies and their potential to change the world as by the mathematical explanations that made him famous. He experimented with a wide range of technologies, educated a generation of engineers at Trinity College Dublin and advocated the importance of technical education for Ireland s future prosperity. But during his own lifetime, he struggled to convince the public of what many today believe to be self-evident namely, that progress in industry depends on university-educated scientists and engineers and that every good university requires a well-equipped research laboratory. His dream for Ireland of prosperity through education, science and industry would not be realized until almost 90 years after his death.