The Discovery of X-rays

In November 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was studying a discharge tube with cathode rays when he noticed that a fluorescent screen glowed even though the tube was covered with light-tight cardboard. He investigated the unknown penetrating radiation and named it X-rays. In December of that year, Röntgen made the famous radiograph of his wife Bertha’s hand, showing her bones and wedding ring. The discovery quickly became a tool for medical diagnosis and transformed medicine.