Henri+Bequerel-1896

Henri Bequerel was born on December 15, 1852 in Paris. He died at the age of 56 on August 25, 1908. Becquerel is most widely known for his discovery of radioactivity in which he recieved the Nobel Prize in Physics. He also worked along with Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. Bequerel held the physics chair at the Museum of Natural History in 1892. In 1894, he became the chief engineer in the Department of Bridges and Highways.

In 1896, while investigating phosphorescence in uranium salts, Becquerel accidentally discovered radioactivity. While study the work of Wilhelm Rontgen, he warped a fluorescant substance, potassium uranyl sulfate, in photographic plates and black material in preparation for an experiment requiring bright sunlight. Before even performing the experiment, Bequerel found that the photographic plates were already exposed, showing the image of the substances. This drove Bequerel to investigate the spontaneous emission of nuclear radiation.