Description:Lithograph print. A caricature of Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge (1851-1940), physicist, by 'Spy', with caption 'Birmingham University'. Appeared in 'Vanity Fair' 4th February 1904.
He was born at The Views, Penkhull, Stoke on Trent and educated at Adams' Grammar School, Newport. His father, Oliver Lodge, was clerk with the North Staffordshire Railway and a ball clay merchant from Wolstanton. He married Mary Fanny Alexander Marshall at St George's church, Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1877. In 1900 he became the first Principal of Birmingham University, staying there until his retirement in 1919.
Sir Oliver Lodge made important discoveries in the field of wireless telegraphy and also patented a form of sparkplug for the internal combustion engine.