Who received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901?

Wilhelm Röntgen received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. The German physicist was honored for discovering X-rays, then described by the Nobel citation as “the remarkable rays subsequently named after him.”

Röntgen discovered the rays in 1895 while experimenting with cathode-ray tubes at the University of Würzburg. He noticed that an invisible radiation could pass through materials and create an image on a photographic plate. His famous early image showed the bones and wedding ring in his wife Anna Bertha’s hand, demonstrating the medical potential of the discovery.

The finding transformed diagnosis because doctors could inspect bones and some internal structures without surgery. Röntgen called the radiation “X-rays,” using X to indicate that its nature was initially unknown. The name remained even after scientists learned more about the phenomenon.

The prize was awarded in 1901, the first year the Nobel Prizes were presented under Alfred Nobel’s will. Röntgen’s award should not be confused with later prizes: Max Planck won the Physics Nobel in 1918, Marie Curie won it in 1903, and Albert Einstein won in 1921.