Röntgen refused to patent his rays and gave his Nobel Prize money, from the first physics prize ever, to his university.
He believed discoveries belonged to everyone and did not even want the rays named after him.
The events
- Discovery of X-rays1895 · Würzburg. On 8 November 1895 Wilhelm Röntgen discovered invisible rays that pass through flesh. An image of his wife's hand amazed the world and within a year the rays were used in medicine. Röntgen received the first Nobel Prize in Physics.
- First Nobel Prizes1901 · Stockholm. On 10 December 1901, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace were awarded for the first time under his will. The Nobel Prize became the most prestigious award in science and culture.
More amazing facts
- 1895 In 1895 Popov demonstrated a radio receiver in St Petersburg, and the Lumière brothers held the first paid film screening in Paris.
- 1895 'I have seen my death!' cried Röntgen's wife when she saw the first X-ray of her hand about six weeks after he discovered the rays.
- 1895 · 1896 Audiences did not flee the Lumières' Arrival of a Train; it is most likely an urban legend.
- 1896 There were no gold medals at the first modern Olympics in 1896.
- 1896 Kandinsky took up painting at 30.
- 1896 Five weeks after Ethiopia routed an Italian army at Adwa, the first modern Olympics opened in Athens.