November 8, 1895.
Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen's , discovery of X-rays happened accidentally as he conducted a test on cathode rays.
He noticed a glow on a screen coated with chemicals.
Rontgen called the rays that caused the glow X-rays.
After conducting more experiments, Rontgen discovered that X-rays could pass through human flesh, but not harder substances such as bone.
He also learned that they could be photographed. The discovery was hailed as a medical miracle.
X-rays were first used on a battlefield during the Balkan War in 1897.
Rontgen received the Nobel Prize in physics for his work but never attempted to gain financially for his discovery.