Wilhelm Rontgen

In 1872, he married Anna Bertha Ludwig, whom he met in Zurich; she was the daughter of a German revolutionary who had emigrated to Switzerland. They had no children of their own. In 1887, they adopted Anna’s six-year old niece, Josephine Bertha Ludwig.

He died on February 10, 1923 in Munich, Germany due to carcinoma of the intestine. His remains were buried in Alter Friedhof, Giessen, Germany. In keeping with his will, all his personal and scientific correspondence was destroyed upon his death.

He was born on March 27, 1845, in Lennep, Germany to Friedrich Conrad Roentgen, a textile merchant and his wife, Charlotte Constanze Frowein. He was their only child.

He received his primary and secondary education in the public schools of Apeldoorn and at a private boarding school in Middelann.

In 1862, he was enrolled at the Utrecht Technical School but was expelled after some time on account of a childish mischief which involved drawing a caricature of an unpopular teacher of the school.

In 1865, he was authorized to attend the University of Utrecht but as an irregular student. Despite the fact that he took classes on various subjects including analysis, physics and chemistry, he did not seem to focus towards becoming a regular student.

When it came to his knowledge that he could be admitted to the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, he instantly applied for it and passed its examinations. Thus, he began studying mechanical engineering and received his diploma in 1868.

After completing his doctoral degree, he was asked by Kundt to be his assistant and he accepted the post. Next year, he traveled with Kundt to the University of Wurzburg and afterwards to the University of Strassburg where Kundt served as a lecturer.

In 1874, he received his first official academic appointment when he became a privatdozent at the University of Strassburg. Next year, he was appointed a professor of physics at the Hohenheim Agricultural Academy.

In 1876, he returned to the University of Strassburg as an associate professor of physics. In 1879, he was appointed to the chair of physics at the University of Giessen, a post he served until 1888. In 1888, he returned to the University of Wurzburg to take a joint appointment as professor of physics. He made the discovery of the Roentgen rays during his professorship at the Wurzburg University. He published a total of three papers on X-rays between 1895 and 1897.

In 1900, he was appointed at the physics chair at the University of Munich, by the special request of the Bavarian government. He served in Munich for the rest of his career until his retirement in 1920.

His most significant work is, undoubtedly, the discovery of X-rays, a form of electromagnetic radiations which are emitted when matter is bombarded with fast electrons. While conducting an experiment on cathode rays, electric current was passed through gases at extremely low pressure through a well-covered discharge tube, and he observed an illumination of barium platinocyanide covered screen, placed near the apparatus. He also discovered that the rays were capable of exposing a photographic plate and through this knowledge, he developed the image of his wife's hand and analyzed the variable transparency as showed by her bones, flesh and her wedding ring. Subsequently, he named it ‘X-rays’ and stated that they are produced by the impact of cathode rays on material objects.