Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen

Roentgen or Röntgen, Wilhelm Conrad (both: rĕntˈgĭn, rŭntˈ–, Ger. vĭlˈhĕlm kônˈrät röntˈgən) [key], 1845–1923, German physicist. His notable research in many fields of physics, especially thermology, mechanics, and electricity, has been overshadowed by his discovery (1895) of a short-wave ray, the Roentgen ray, or X ray, for which he received the first Nobel Prize in Physics (1901). He taught at several German universities, including those at Würzburg (1888–99) and Munich (1899–1920).

See biography by W. R. Nitske (1971).

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