Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen:
Roentgen, Wilhelm Conrad (1845-1923), German physicist, the first Nobel laureate in physics.
Roentgen was born in Lennep (now part of Remscheid) and educated at the University of Zuerich. In November 1895 he read before the Physico-Medical Society of Wuerzburg a paper reporting his discovery of short-wave radiations that he called X rays. Subsequently these rays were given his name, but Roentgen rays are still popularly known as X rays. Among many honors for his great discovery, which revolutionized physics and medicine, he received the Rumford Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1896, and the first Nobel Prize in physics in 1901. He also made discoveries in mechanics, heat, and electricity. |
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