Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen

The Völklingen Ironworks flooded in red light
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Oliver Dietze

Wilhelm Roentgen 1900 Portrait 3x4 cropped PD upscale

Wilhelm Roentgen 1900 Portrait 3x4 cropped PD upscale
Copyright: LIFE Fotoarchiv | Public Domain

Born in 1845 in Remscheid-Lennep, Germany
died in 1923 in Munich, Germany

Work

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen's laboratory (replica by Hendrik Kersten)

X Ray Röntgenlabor

X Ray Röntgenlabor
Copyright: © Hans-Georg Merkel / Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte

On 8 November 1895, the physics professor Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen made a historic discovery – largely by chance. While experimenting in his laboratory at the University of Würzburg with high electrical charges in a glass cathode-ray tube, he observed a previously unknown form of radiation. The rays, which Röntgen called “X-rays”, had the remarkable ability to penetrate matter, making it possible to look inside the human body without any physical intrusion – this was nothing short of a sensation.

First X-ray image of Anna Bertha Röntgen's hand

First medical X ray by Wilhelm Roentgen of his wife Anna Bertha Ludwigs hand 18951222

First medical X ray by Wilhelm Roentgen of his wife Anna Bertha Ludwigs hand 18951222
Copyright: © Deutsches Röntgen-Museum, Remscheid

Röntgen was so fascinated that he shut himself away in the laboratory for six weeks, working tirelessly to investigate further. On 22 December, he produced what would become arguably the most famous X-ray image in the world – the radiograph of his wife Anna Bertha’s hand.

Exhibitions