Röntgen discovered rays that can pass through a person a couple of months earlier – this happened on November 8, 1895. Röntgen modestly called the mysterious rays with an amazing ability to pass through opaque objects “X-rays.” The first Nobel laureate in physics refused to apply for a patent for the newly discovered rays, and did not take the cream off every X-ray machine; he refused a highly paid position in the Academy of Sciences and the noble prefix to his surname. And when he became seriously ill, his student, Abram Ioffe, gave him money... to get an X-ray.