Clarence Madison Dally: The First Victim of Radiation

In December 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen submitted to Würzburg's Physical-Medical Society journal a preliminary report where he described the discovery of “a new kind of ray”. This previously undiscovered radiation, which he dubbed X-rays, was capable of penetrating blocks of wood and books a thousand pages thick, and even the flesh in a human hand, casting ghostly shadows of the bones within. Within weeks the news had spread throughout the world prompting hundreds of discussions in newspapers and journals about the new discovery and its possible use in medical and physical science. It even inspired discussion among occultists. For many who believed in the paranormal, the discovery of these mysterious rays only served to reinforce their belief in the existence of ghosts and the way in which photographic plates could detect realities invisible to the human eye. Even Roentgen’s own wife was horrified when she was shown the X-ray photograph of her hand because it reminded her of her own mortality. She remarked, “I have seen my death.” Two early workers taking X-rays of their hands with utter disregard for their safety. Photo: William J. Morton Radiation would claim the lives of hundreds of radiologists and scientists the world over in the coming decades. The possible damaging effects of Roentgen Rays on living tissue was speculated as early as March 1896 by the Italian physicist Angelo Battelli. Concerns were also raised by many other engineers, but the discovery of X-rays threw open so many doors of possibilities that many scientists and workers were willing to sweep aside these concerns in their quest for a novel application of this fascinating breakthrough. One of the first person to discover this the hard way was Clarence Madison Dally. Dally was born in Woodbridge, New Jersey, in 1865 just as the American Civil War was winding down.