Perhaps his discovery of radioactivity was an accident. He had left a container of uranium sulphate on top of an unexposed photographic plate. Although the plate was covered with lightproof material, radiation blackend the plate. He knew that the blackening had not been caused by light, so did an investigation to find out what had blackened it.
  • Born: Paris --- 15th December 1852
  • Died: Croisic --- 24th August 1908
  • Physicist
  • Discovery of radioactivity
  • Fellow of the Royal Society
  • Nobel Prize
He shared the Nobel Prize with Pierre and Marie Curie. He worked at the École Polytechnique, the École des Ponts et Chaussées and became a member of the Académie des Sciences. He was also interested in phosphorescence, fluorescence and polarized light.

Last revised 11 November 2006