The history of Radiation Therapy

Discovery of X-rays

1895

William Roentgen discovered X-rays in 1895 while cathode rays in a gas discharge tube. He observed that another type of radiation was produced that could be detected outside the tube. The radiation could penetrate opaque substances, produce fluorescence, blacken a photographic plate and ionize a gas. He named this new radiation as X-rays

Discovery ofRadioactive element

1898

Bequerel's doctoral students Marie Curie with her husband Pierre Curie showed that Bequerel rays could be measured using ionizing techniques and radiation intensity is directly proportional to the amount of Uranium in a substance.They also isolated the first known radioactive element Radium in 1898