Radioactivity & Its Discovery

Henri Becquerel
March 1, 1896: Henri Becquerel Discovers Radioactivity. In one of the most well-known accidental discoveries in the history of physics, on an overcast day in March 1896, French physicist Henri Becquerel opened a drawer and discovered spontaneous radioactivity.

Who first discovered radioactivity?
Becquerel
For his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity Becquerel was awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903, the other half being given to Pierre and Marie Curie for their study of the Becquerel radiation.

What was radioactivity discovered by?
In 1896 Henri Becquerel was using naturally fluorescent minerals to study the properties of x-rays, which had been discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen.

How was radioactivity accidentally discovered?

1896: Radioactivity is discovered accidentally by French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel. Becquerel was investigating German colleague Wilhelm Roentgen's work on phosphorescence in uranium salts when he made his discovery.