X-Rays in WWI and WWII from Roentgen to Curie to Pickers: A Family Story

War is horrible. Death, wounds and destruction. Perhaps the one good thing that might be said is that often wars are times of major innovations in medical diagnosis, treatment and triage. The invention of X-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen and, soon after, by Marie Curie were pioneers in applied field x-rays in World War I. This saved many lives with frontline images. In World War II, the military field x-ray mission was assumed by a remarkable James Picker and his new machine. Dr. Lobban’s father, an electrical engineer, worked for the Picker X-Ray Company. Dr. Lobban was born during the war and knew both James Picker and his son, Harvey. This is a history of war, science, and medicine with some personal memories.

Richard Lobban, Ph.D., professor emeritus of anthropology and African studies at Rhode Island College, serves as adjunct professor of African studies at the Naval War College. He has a master’s degree from Temple University and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University and has taught at the American University in Cairo, Tufts University and Dartmouth College, among others. He has conducted field research in Tunis and Egypt and has been excavating a temple in Sudan for ten years. Richard is widely published in urban and complex societies, informal sector economy, gender, ethnicity, race and class, especially in the Middle East. He often serves as a subject matter expert and court-appointed expert witness in political asylum cases for refugees from Africa and the Middle East.