ABSTRACT
The ‘birth’ of radiology can be considered as being in 1895 with the discovery of X-rays, by German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen. The ‘X-rays’ he produced are still referred to by some as ‘Röntgen rays’, or the English language version ‘Roentgen rays’, in his honour. Soon after their discovery, X-rays were being used for various applications including fitting shoes, and diagnostic medical imaging. Initially, a variety of hospital personnel conducted radiography including physicists, photographers, doctors, nurses, and engineers. The medical specialty of radiology grew up over many years around the new technology. The origins of the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) can be traced back to a first meeting held on 2 April 1897 to form ‘The X-ray Society’. The first general meeting of the new society renamed ‘The Röntgen Society’ in honour of Wilhelm Röntgen, was held on 3 June 1897. Eventually, as the technique evolved, the Society of Radiographers was formed in 1920, and from the 1930s doctors were appointed with a specific interest in the use of X-rays for diagnosis or therapy, thus the specialty of radiology was formed.
