November 8, 1896 - Discovery of X-Rays

On November 8, 1896, the German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays, electromagnetic radiation that is invisible to the human eye, but can pass through opaque bodies and print photographic film. The discovery came when the physicist was investigating the violet fluorescence produced by cathode rays.

Röntgen himself made the first human X-ray on his wife's hand to demonstrate that objects were transparent to these rays, which he called unknown or X rays because he did not know what they were. For his discovery, he was awarded in 1901 the first Nobel Prize in Physics.