Wilhelm Röntgen was born on 27 March 1845 in Lennep. A German physicist, Röntgen discovered X-rays in November 1895 at the University of Würzburg while experimenting with cathode-ray tubes. He noticed that a mysterious radiation made a fluorescent screen glow and passed through soft tissue, and he soon produced an image of the bones of his wife's hand. The discovery was announced within weeks and transformed medicine, enabling doctors to see inside the body without surgery. In 1901 he received the first Nobel Prize in Physics. He declined to patent his discovery, believing that it belonged to humanity, and he also refused to name the rays after himself in English-speaking countries.
Before and after
- 29 January 1845Publication of The Raven
- 26 February 1845Birth of Alexander III of Russia
- 3 March 1845Birth of Georg Cantor
- from 11 March 1845 to 11 January 1846Flagstaff War
- 27 March 1845Birth of Wilhelm Röntgen
- from 19 May 1845 to 1 January 1848Franklin's lost expedition
- 8 June 1845Death of Andrew Jackson
- 16 August 1845Birth of Gabriel Lippmann
- 10 October 1845Founding of United States Naval Academy
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The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.