GAJS.COM Web Catalogue Wilhelm Rontgen

Röntgen accepts his honorary degree
from Oxford.

RÖNTGEN, WILHELM CONRAD VON. (1845-1923). German physicist; discovered X-rays. Extremely rare Autograph Letter Signed, “Dr. W.C. Röntgen,” in German. Two pages, quarto. Munich, May 26, 1904. Very fine condition. To “Dear Sir.” Röntgen writes:

“Thank you very much for your inquiry on the sixth of this month, which we received on the twenty-second of this month. I didn’t get the letter until yesterday evening, because I have been on Whitsun vacation. Indeed, I would be honored and delighted being elected as an honorary doctor of the well-known University of Oxford and I would be committed to it. I am a Professor at the University as well as the chairman of a company and I am very sorry, but I won’t be able to be present in Oxford on June 22. Today’s meeting indicates that it would be impossible for me to travel at this point of time. Therefore, I request to be excused and I assure you, that my duties are the only reason for not being able to grant the request of the University of Oxford. I remain with deep respect and loyalty, your Dr. W.C. Röntgen.”

Wilhelm Röntgen spent much of his childhood in the Netherlands, where he was expelled from a technical high school. Without a diploma, Röntgen was not eligible to enroll in a German or Dutch university. Finally, he was accepted at a technical school in Zurich that judged applicants solely on their entrance exam. After earning his Doctorate in Physics, Röntgen taught and conducted research at a number of schools before accepting a post as chair of the physics department at the University of Würzburg, the school where he was to make history. On November 8, 1895, while conducting an experiment on the properties of cathode rays, he discovered ‘a new kind of ray’ produced by the impact of the cathode rays on a material object. Soon he realized that materials of different thicknesses produced light shadows of varying transparency, and quickly grasped the significance of his discovery. Two weeks later, on November 22, Röntgen successfully created the first "röntgenogram" - an X-ray image of his wife’s hand. By special request of the Bavarian government, he accepted a post in the physics department at the University of Munich in 1900; he would maintain the position for twenty-years. The following year, Röntgen was awarded the very first Nobel Prize in Physics, officially given "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after him." Eschewing fame, Röntgen donated the monetary reward from the prize, and, like Pierre Curie several years later, refused to take out any patents related to his discovery on moral grounds.


Röntgen accepts his honorary degree from Oxford. RÖNTGEN, WILHELM CONRAD VON. (1845-1923). German physicist; discovered X-rays. Extremely rare Autograph Letter Signed, “Dr. W.C. Röntgen,” in German. Two pages, quarto. Munich, May 26, 1904. Very fine condition. To “Dear Sir.” Röntgen writes: “Thank you very much for your inquiry on the sixth of this month, which we received on the twenty-second of this month. I didn’t get the letter until yesterday evening, because I have been on Whitsun vacation. Indeed, I would be honored and delighted being elected as an honorary doctor of the well-known University of Oxford and I would be committed to it. I am a Professor at the University as well as the chairman of a company and I am very sorry, but I won’t be able to be present in Oxford on June 22. Today’s meeting indicates that it would be impossible for me to travel at this point of time. Therefore, I request to be excused and I assure you, that my duties are the only reason for not being able to grant the request of the University of Oxford. I remain with deep respect and loyalty, your Dr. W.C. Röntgen.” Wilhelm Röntgen spent much of his childhood in the Netherlands, where he was expelled from a technical high school. Without a diploma, Röntgen was not eligible to enroll in a German or Dutch university. Finally, he was accepted at a technical school in Zurich that judged applicants solely on their entrance exam. After earning his Doctorate in Physics, Röntgen taught and conducted research at a number of schools before accepting a post as chair of the physics department at the University of Würzburg, the school where he was to make history. On November 8, 1895, while conducting an experiment on the properties of cathode rays, he discovered ‘a new kind of ray’ produced by the impact of the cathode rays on a material object. Soon he realized that materials of different thicknesses produced light shadows of varying transparency, and quickly grasped the significance of his discovery. Two weeks later, on November 22, Röntgen successfully created the first "röntgenogram" - an X-ray image of his wife’s hand. By special request of the Bavarian government, he accepted a post in the physics department at the University of Munich in 1900; he would maintain the position for twenty-years. The following year, Röntgen was awarded the very first Nobel Prize in Physics, officially given "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after him." Eschewing fame, Röntgen donated the monetary reward from the prize, and, like Pierre Curie several years later, refused to take out any patents related to his discovery on moral grounds. For more details or to buy this item, please contact us. $7,500
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