Marie and Pierre Curie discover two new radioactive elements, polonium and radium, advancing the study of radioactivity.
The first Summer Olympics of the modern era are held in Athens, organised by the International Olympic Committee.
Max Planck presents the hypothesis that energy is emitted in discrete quanta, marking the birth of quantum physics.
Wilhelm Röntgen discovers X-rays at Würzburg, opening the era of medical imaging.
The Lumière brothers hold a paid public film screening at the Grand Café in Paris, often regarded as the birth of cinema.
The first Nobel Prizes are awarded on the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death; Wilhelm Röntgen receives the first Nobel Prize in Physics.
Guglielmo Marconi reports receiving a radio signal in Newfoundland transmitted from Cornwall across the Atlantic.