Wilhelm Röntgen - German Physicist
(1845-1923)
November 8, 1895
Röntgen was working with a covered cathode ray tube in a darkened room in his lab at the University of Würzburg. When the tube was turned on, the anode end became fluorescent and a coated screen across the room glowed. He put several objects between the tube and the screen and they all appeared transparent. Röntgen concluded that a new type of ray was being emitted from the tube, which he called X-rays. Over the next several weeks, Röntgen convinced himself he was correct, and on January 1, 1896 sent out preprints of his article to many scientists.

---

An X-ray made in 1896 at Columbia University. The hand had been struck by buckshot. Courtesy of the Burndy Library

[ Introduction  |  Next Page ]

[ 1895  |  1900  |  1905  |  1910  |  1915  |  1920  |  1925  |  1930  |  1935  |  1940  |  1941  |  1942  |  1943  |  1944  |  1945 ]