The Inventions and Industry of the 18th Century

X-rays

X-rays were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Konrad von Roentgen (1845-1923). Roentgen was a German physicist who discovered this new form of radiation that allowed him to photograph objects that were hidden behind opaque shields. He even photographed part of his own skeleton. X-rays were soon used as an important diagnostic tool in medicine. Roentgen called these waves "X-radiation" because so little was known about them.

In 1901 Röntgen was awarded the very first Nobel Prize in Physics. Röntgen died on 10 February 1923 from carcinoma of the intestine.

Source:

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1901/rontgen-bio.html