Antoine-Henri Becquerel's landmark research on X rays and his discovery of radiation laid the foundation for many scientific advances of the early twentieth century. X rays were discovered in 1895 by the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, and in one of the most serendipitous events in science history, Becquerel discovered that the uranium he was studying gave off radiation similar to X rays. Becquerel's student, Marie Curie, later named this phenomenon radioactivity. His later research on radioactive materials found that at least some of the radiation produced by unstable materials consisted of electrons. For these discoveries, Becquerel shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in physics with Marie and Pierre Curie. Becquerel's other notable research included the effects of magnetism on light and the properties of luminescence.

Becquerel was born in Paris on December 15, 1852. His grandfather, Antoine-César Becquerel, had fought at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and later...