Quick Facts
- NAME: Antoine-Henri Becquerel
- OCCUPATION: Philosopher, Physicist
- BIRTH DATE: December 15, 1852
- DEATH DATE: August 25, 1908
- EDUCATION: École Polytechnique, École des Ponts et Chaussées
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Paris, France
- PLACE OF DEATH: Le Croisic, France
Best Known For
Henri Becquerel was a French physicist who discovered radioactivity, an achievement for which he won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903.
Henri Becquerel. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 11:38, Feb 07, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/henri-becquerel-40055
Henri Becquerel [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/henri-becquerel-40055, February 07
" Henri Becquerel." 2012. Biography.com 07 Feb 2012, 11:38 http://www.biography.com/people/henri-becquerel-40055
' Henri Becquerel', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/henri-becquerel-40055 [accessed Feb 07, 2012]
" Henri Becquerel," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/henri-becquerel-40055 (accessed Feb 07, 2012).
Henri Becquerel [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 Feb 07]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/henri-becquerel-40055.
Henri Becquerel, http://www.biography.com/people/henri-becquerel-40055 (last visited Feb 07, 2012).
Henri Becquerel, http://www.biography.com/people/henri-becquerel-40055 (last visited Feb 07, 2012).
Synopsis
Henri Becquerel was a French physicist who discovered radioactivity, which he won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903. Before his crowning achievement, he worked as an engineer in the Department of Bridges and Highways in France, and later served as the physics chair at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. It was while studying uranium salts that he accidentally discovered radioactivity.
(born December 15, 1852, Paris, France—died August 25, 1908, Le Croisic) French physicist who discovered radioactivity through his investigations of uranium and other substances. In 1903 he shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with Pierre and Marie Curie.
Education and training
He was a member of a scientific family extending through several generations, the most notable being his grandfather Antoine-César Becquerel (1788–1878), his father, Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel (1820–91), and his son Jean Becquerel (1878–1953).
After his early schooling at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, Henri received his formal scientific education at the cole Polytechnique (1872–74) and engineering training at the cole des Ponts et Chaussées (Bridges and Highways School; 1874–77). In addition to his teaching and research posts, Becquerel was for many years an engineer in the Department of Bridges and Highways, being appointed chief engineer in 1894. His first academic situation was in 1876 as assistant teacher at the cole Polytechnique, where in 1895 he succeeded to the chair of physics. Concurrently, he was assistant naturalist to his father at the museum, where he also assumed the physics professorship upon his father's death.
Electricity, magnetism, optical phenomena, and energy were major areas of physical investigation during the 19th century. For several years the young man's research was concerned with the rotation of plane-polarized light by magnetic fields, a subject opened by Michael Faraday and to which Henri's father had also contributed. Henri then concerned himself with infrared radiation, examining, among other things, the spectra of different phosphorescent crystals under infrared stimulation. Of particular significance, he extended the work of his father by studying the relation between absorption of light and emission of phosphorescence in some uranium compounds.
By 1896 Henri was an accomplished and respected physicist—a member of the Académie des Sciences since 1889—but more important than his research thus far were his expertise with phosphorescent materials, his familiarity with uranium compounds, and his general skill in laboratory techniques, including photography. Together, these were to place the discovery of radioactivity within his reach.
Systematic study of radiation
At the end of 1895, Wilhelm Rntgen discovered X rays. Becquerel learned that the X rays issued from the area of a glass vacuum tube made fluorescent when struck by a beam of cathode rays. He undertook to investigate whether there was some fundamental connection between this invisible radiation and visible light such that all luminescent materials, however stimulated, would also yield X rays. To test this hypothesis, he placed phosphorescent crystals upon a photographic plate that had been wrapped in opaque paper so that only a penetrating radiation could reach the emulsion. He exposed his experimental arrangement to sunlight for several hours, thereby exciting the crystals in the customary manner. Upon development, the photographic plate revealed silhouettes of the mineral samples, and, in subsequent experiments, the image of a coin or metal cutout interposed between the crystal and paper wrapping. Becquerel reported this discovery
GetGlue
-
Celebrate Black History with BIO and GetGlue
All February, check in daily to BIO Black History on GetGlue to unlock stickers, videos, and more!
profile name: Henri Becquerel profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Fantastic Facial Hair
View groupThe Chaplin. The Fu Manchu. The Van Dyke. The Garlbaldi. These beards, and other creative variations on chin whiskers, have become such a striking reflection of their wearers' personalities that it becomes hard to know whether the people made the facial hair famous, or the other way around. We do know this much is certain: the only rivals to these fabulous beards are the men sporting them.
Fantastic Facial Hair 70 people in this group
-
Famous Academics 397 people in this group
-
Famous Sagittarians 503 people in this group

Barack Obama
Black History
African-American Firsts: Athletes
Don Cornelius
I Survived...
I Survived... Beyond and Back
Jamie Foxx
Magic Johnson
Tina Turner
I Survived


