Wilhelm Roentgen, a German physicist, first presented his discovery of an X-ray device in December 1895. Roentgen declined to patent his work, so within a month or two of his presentation people began to create X-ray machines worldwide. The first such device in the United States was introduced on this date in 1896 in New York City. People were charged 25 cents admission to view what was billed as the “Parisian sensation.” For the first time ever, doctors had a noninvasive way to look inside the human body to make diagnoses. Early X-rays were used to evaluate fractures and gunshot wounds, and were even used to locate bullets on battlefields.

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