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The History of Radiology In 1995 we celebrated 100 years since the discovery of the modern x-ray. While conducting experiments on a cathode ray tube Professor Wilhelm Roentgen from the University of Wurzburg in Germany on November 8, 1895 noticed some unexplained results. The cathode tube, called a Crookes’ tube accelerates electrons in a manner very similar to today’s x-ray equipment. He noticed during his experiments that a plate that was covered with barium platinocyanide that was sitting a distance away began to fluoresce, or glow. Not knowing what to call the invisible rays from the Crookes’ tube that induced the glowing, he named them x-rays. The ‘X’ standing for the unknown quantity. After this discovery, Professor Roentgen did more experiments to define all the properties of the x-ray. Many of these property names are still in use today. Professor Roentgen produced the first clinical radiograph on November 8, 1895. The image, which took 30 minutes, was a radiograph of his wife’s hand. He reported his findings to the Wurzburg Physic-Medical Society on December 8, 1895. In recognition to his great achievement, Roentgen received the first Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901. Professor Roentgen was not the first