He was born at Penkhull, Staffordshire, the fourth of eight sons and a daughter of Oliver Lodge (1826–1884), later a china clay merchant at Wolstanton, Staffordshire, and his wife, Grace (née Heath) (1826–1879).
[1][2] Lodge matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford, in 1874, graduating with a B.A.
During his time at Edinburgh, he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the university and was a founder of the Edinburgh University Settlement charity, which established houses for students and fellows to live amongst the poor of the city.
Lodge died on 2 June 1936 aged 80; he was buried at Holywell Cemetery, Oxford.
Lodge’s many publications included a biography of Cardinal Richelieu in 1896.