1875-1900

Wilhelm C Roentgen 1845-1923 **
 * Discovery: 1895

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Wilhelm Rontgen was born March 27 1845 in Rhenish, Prussia. He went to the Federal Polytechnic Institute to study mechanical engineering. He was later appointed chair of physics at the University of Giessen, the University of Wurzburg and in 1900 at the University of Munich. On November 8th Rontegen wasin his lab and speculated that a new type of ray migh be possible. He found this ray and called it x-ray and took the first x-ray two weeks later of his wife's hand. []

Henri Becquerel 1852-1908 Discovery: 1896

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Henri Becquerel was born in Paris, France t a family who had a lot of scientists in their history. He studied science and engineering when he went to school. Henri was the third in his family to have the physics chair at the National Muesam of Natural History. In 1894 he was appointed chief engineer at the department of roads and bridges. In 1896 Henri was studying phosphorescence in uranium salts, at this time he accidentally discovered radioactivity. Becquerel wrapped a fluorescent substance in photographic plates and black material for and experiment needing bright sunlight. Prior to performing the experiment, Henri found that the photographic plates were already exposed, showing the image of the substance.



JJ Thomson 1856-1940 Discovery: 1897



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JJ Thomson was born in Cheetham Hill on December 18, 1856. He went to Owens College, Manchester, in 1870, and in 1876 entered Trinity College, Cambridge as a minor student. He became enrolled in Trinity College in 1880, when he was Second Wrangler and Second Smith's Prizeman, and he remained a member of the College for the rest of his life, he then became a Lecturer in 1883 and Master in 1918. JJ Thomson made one of the most pivital discoveries in th history of chemistry. JJ Thomson dicovered the electron in 1897 thus creating a whole new picture of the atom, he also dscovered the isotope in 1913. He later discovered the natural radioactivity of potassium and the fact that hydrogen was a single electron atom.