1853-1928

Dutch theoretical physicist best known for codeveloping the Lorentz-Fitzgerald transformations. Derived in 1892 from his theory of electrons, these equations allowed Lorentz to account for the Michelson-Morely null-result. Albert Einstein later derived the transformations from his theory of relativity. Another consequence of Lorentz's electron theory was the splitting of spectral lines in magnetic fields—the Zeeman effect, confirmed by Pieter Zeeman in 1896. For these discoveries, Lorentz and Zeeman shared the 1902 Nobel Prize for Physics.