Origins & Early Life

Sir Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield ( HOWNZ-feeld; 28 August 1919 – 12 August 2004) was an English electrical engineer who shared the 1979 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Allan MacLeod Cormack for his part in developing the diagnostic technique of X-ray computed tomography (CT). His name is immortalised in the Hounsfield scale, a quantitative measure of radiodensity used in evaluating CT scans. The scale is defined in Hounsfield units (symbol HU), running from air at −1000 HU, through water at 0 HU, and up to dense cortical bone at +1000 HU and more. Hounsfield was born in Sutton-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England on 28 August 1919.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He was the youngest of five children (he had two brothers and two sisters). His father, Thomas Hounsfield, was a farmer from Beighton, and was linked to the prominent Hounsfield and Newbold families of Hackenthorpe Hall, his mother was Blanche Dilcock. As a child he was fascinated by the electrical gadgets and machinery found all over his parents' farm. Between the ages of eleven and eighteen, he tinkered with his own electrical recording machines, launched himself off haystacks with his own home-made glider, and almost killed himself...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Akashi Motojiro — Contemporary (Died in 1919) (1919): General in the Imperial Japanese Army and Governor-General of Taiwan.
• Alfred Werner — Contemporary (Died in 1919) (1919): Pioneering chemist who established the field of modern coordination chemistry.
• Andrew Carnegie — Contemporary (Died in 1919) (1919): Scottish-American industrialist who pioneered the American steel industry and became a major philanthropist.
• A. A. K. Niazi — Contemporary (Died in 2004) (2004): Pakistani general who commanded Eastern Command during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
• Bernice Rubens — Contemporary (Died in 2004) (2004): Acclaimed Welsh novelist, first woman to win the Booker Prize in 1970.
• Christopher Reeve — Contemporary (Died in 2004) (2004): Esteemed actor and tireless advocate for disability rights.
• Al-Shafi'i — Shared historical date (08-28 · Born) (767): Founder of the Shāfiʿī school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence and jurist.
• Armie Hammer — Shared historical date (08-28 · Born) (1986): American actor known for roles in 'The Social Network' and 'Call Me by Your Name'
• Abul Fazl — Shared historical date (08-12 · Died) (1602): Pioneering Mughal historian, writer, and Grand Vizier of Emperor Akbar's court.
• Adam Johann von Krusenstern — Shared historical date (08-12 · Died) (1846): Russian admiral and explorer, famed for leading the first Russian circumnavigation.
• 1919 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1919
• August 28 (08-28) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on August 28
• 2004 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 2004
• August 12 (08-12) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on August 12