“Röntgen must have gone mad”
The discovery of X-rays
The 19th century was a golden era for sensational scientific discoveries. Never before in history had so much been discovered, invented, measured, and mapped – and newspapers were reporting astonishing findings and innovative electrical devices on an almost daily basis. Toward the end of the century, the first motorized streetcars were operating in cities; streets and alleyways were lit with electric lamps; and people were using elevators, sending telegrams, having their photos taken. In an era such as this, you would be forgiven for thinking that new discoveries ought not to come as a great surprise.
![Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen](https://medmuseum-corp.webassets.siemens-healthineers.com/e52f2126c3d69ff1/cbbf1170a285/v/bb4f5c3b1f03/Deutsches-Roentgenmuseum_Wilhelm-Conrad-Roentgen.jpg)
The “shadow-image” of a set of weights inside a box
Source: Röntgen Memorial, Würzburg
Röntgen has otherwise always been a sensible fellow, and it’s not carnival season yet.”
Otto Lummer about Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
Where the X-ray was discovered: Röntgen’s lab at the University of Würzburg
Source: German Röntgen Museum
![Röntgens handgeschriebene erste Seite des Manuskripts zur Abhandlung „Über eine neue Art von Strahlen“. Quelle: Deutsches Röntgen-Museum](https://medmuseum-corp.webassets.siemens-healthineers.com/f17dd8fb817cfb18/e9c7228cf6c3/v/2b9636a3e1b9/Deutsches-Roentgenmuseum_Ueber-eine-neue-Art-von-Strahlen.jpg)
The most sensational example of the early X-ray images: the bones of Bertha Röntgen’s hand with wedding ring
Source: German Röntgen Museum
On December 10, 1901, Röntgen received the first ever Nobel Prize in Physics
Source: German Röntgen Museum