World Radiology Day 2021: Who was Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen and why does his contribution matter

German Scientist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen completed his entire discovery of X-radiation on 8 November in 1895. To honour the scientist, who also won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 for discovering X-rays, the day is observed as World Radiography Day. The scientist carried out his research related to X-rays in the universities of Wurzburg, Strasbourg, and Gissen and then went to the University of Munich in 1900. The Nobel Prize winner was expelled from high school due to drawing a caricature of his teacher. However, he went on to become a mechanical engineer and a physicist. World Radiography Day was celebrated for the first time in 2012, when the European Society of Radiology (ESR), American College of Radiology (ACR), and Radiology Society of North America (RSNA) came together. On 10 February, 2011, a European Day of Radiology was also arranged by ESR that also coincided with the death anniversary of scientist Wilhem Rontgen, on 10 February, 1923. However, the World Radiography Day celebrations replaced the European Day of Radiology, with 8 November, the anniversary of X-ray discovery by Rontgen, being chosen for annual celebrations. Globally, various organisations celebrate this day, including the UK’s Society of Radiographers (SoR) and the Association of Radiographers in Nigeria, among others. In our country, since the year 1996, the Radiographers Association of Madhya Pradesh has also been celebrating this day. Shivakant Vajpai, the secretary of the association had proposed that the day be celebrated. World Radiography Day is observed to raise awareness around the role of radiology in daily healthcare. It aims to understand the contribution of radiologists and to promote radiography as a career option. World Radiology Day also points at how X-rays, MRI and CT scans help in diagnosis and early treatment of diseases. Every year, the International Day of Radiology is celebrated with a specific theme. This year’s theme for Radiography day is ‘Interventional Radiology – Active Care for the Patient’. This theme is chosen as an attempt to understand the role of interventional radiology in the treatment of patients.