World Radiography Day – Facts and History

Last Updated on: October 20, 2025

World Radiography Day is celebrated on 8 November each year. The date marks the anniversary of the discovery of x-radiation by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895. Radiographers worldwide can use the day and the days around the date to promote radiography as a career, as a vital contribution to modern healthcare and as a chance to increase public awareness of diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy.

The recognized founder of modern day radiography is Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, who was a professor in Germany. Through his work in his laboratory, he discovered a new type of ray that was capable of passing through heavy paper. He noticed this “X-ray” could pass through most material, casting shadows of solid objects. It was not long before Wilhelm applied his discovery to human body parts and conducted the first X-ray of his wife’s hand.

This discovery made a huge impact on the scientific community. Scientists quickly began reconstructing the experiment and began conducting new areas of study on the ray. Even the general public took an immense interest in the X-ray. Numerous magazine and newspapers picked up the story and spread news of the discovery throughout the world. This discovery would change both industrial culture and medical procedures forever.

Radiography and Medicine
Within a month after the announcement of the discovery, several medical radiographs had been made in Europe and the United States, which were used by surgeons to guide them in their work. In June 1896, only 6 months after Roentgen announced his discovery, X-rays were being used by battlefield physicians to locate bullets in wounded soldiers.

Radiation Damage
As X-rays were studied and improved upon by scientists around the world, the negative effects of radiation also became apparent. Scientists that worked continually with radiation soon contracted very serious health concerns attributed to their exposure to widespread radiation. Scientists began studying the damaging effects of radiation on the cellular level. This research enables today’s health physicists to specify radiation levels so that medical, scientific, and industrial uses of radiation may continue at levels of risk no greater than, and frequently less than, the levels of risk associated with any other technology.

Today’s Radiography
While the process has not changed much, technology has allowed radiography to be used across various industries. Radiography is also heavily used outside of the medical field. Radiography is used to inspect items such as airbags and canned food products. It is also used in security systems at airports and other facilities.

Today’s radiography is also used to help doctors analyze patients for health problems that are not physically observable. Radiography allows doctors to diagnose broken bones, tumors and other health complications with greater accuracy than ever. Computers and new technologies are constantly infused with radiography techniques to improve the clarity and quality of the images produced, and ultimately increase the accuracy of medical diagnosis.

Students and professionals are enrolling in radiography courses and classes to learn the skills needed to contribute to this field. Radiography courses help teach students to safely operate radiography equipment. Some radiography courses involve an externship. This allows students to couple their radiography class knowledge with real hands-on experience. Radiography has a valuable future in the world of healthcare. Doctors and scientists are working together to advance radiography and improve patient care through its application. Radiography is growing and experts predict radiography to contribute to healthcare for many years to come.

Did you know…

• X-Rays were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. Roentgen was a Professor at Wuerzburg University, Germany.
• One of the first Radiography experiments Roentgen conducted was on his wife, Bertha’s hand in late 1895.
• The first use of X-rays was for industrial purposes and not medical. To show his colleagues his discovery, Roentgen showed a radiograph of weights in a box.
• Radiographs were being made by Surgeons throughout Europe and the United States within a month of the discovery. Several months later, battlefield physicians were using X-rays to find bullets in wounded soldiers.
• Radiography was almost discovered in the United States! In 1890, just five years before Roentgen’s discovery, two University of Pennsylvania Professors produced an x-ray using two coins and a photographic plate by accident. They were only able to understand the incident after Roentgen became famous.
• The CT scan was invented in 1972, quite some time after the discovery of X-rays, by Godfrey Hounsfield (a British engineer) and Allan Cormack (a South African physicist). The first scanners would take hours to produce an image…now they take minutes!
• MRI technology was used in medicine for the first time in 1977, shortly after CT scans were created.
  X-rays are used for more than just an insight into the human body. NASA uses its Chandra x-ray to take pictures of outer space. Visitors on the NASA website can see these images today!
• Practical uses for ultrasound technology weren’t developed until the 1950s.
  There is now a machine that creates both a CT and nuclear medicine scan in one…what would the founders of radiography and medical imaging make of that!?
• A big thank you to our hardworking radiography workforce and all medical imaging professionals across the globe. This day is all about you!