Russell Reynolds had only one wish when in 1896 at the age of 15 he learnt of the discovery of X-rays: to possess his own X-ray machine.

The Westminster schoolboy enlisted the help of his father, John Reynolds, a GP, and set about building one. Within a year the machine was finished, and it is now displayed in the Science Museum in London.

Yesterday Reynolds’s pioneering spirit gained further recognition as the X-ray machine was voted the most important invention in the history of science. In a museum poll nearly 50,000 people voted on ten inventions and discoveries, which included penicillin, the Pilot ACE computer and Stephenson’s Rocket. The X-ray machine was a clear winner, with 9,581 votes.

Reynolds’s work reflected a broader contribution by late 19th-century amateurs that led to some significant scientific breakthroughs, according to Katie Maggs, associate curator of medicine at the Science Museum, who championed the inclusion of the X-ray machine on the shortlist. “It’s very inspirational to budding scientists to learn that an invention now declared the most important in world history could be pioneered by enthusiastic amateur inventors,” she said.

Times Archive, 1896: Professor Rontgen's 'X-rays'

No illustrated paper is complete without reproductions of pictures showing the transparency of the human hand

• Rontgen photography at The Royal Society

• Photography of the invisible

Related Links

• Amateurs vital to scientific discoveries

• Iran: 'West tried to X-ray Ahmadinejad to death'

• Science Museum is going for gold with £100m centenary revamp

Announcing the result at the museum yesterday, Ben Bradshaw, the Culture Secretary, said that the vote reflected the public’s appreciation of advances in medical science. “The winner is also testament to our insatiable curiosity to find out how things work,” he said.

Penicillin came second in the poll, with 6,825 votes, followed by the DNA double helix, 100 votes behind.

X-rays were discovered by Wilhelm Röntgen, the German physicist, in November 1895. He won a Nobel prize for his work, but much of the early development of X-ray equipment was carried out by amateurs. In the months immediately after Röntgen announced his discovery, in January 1896, a number of amateur scientists, including the Reynolds, began to develop their own models.

Reynolds went on to become a pioneer of radiology, developing the first method of taking X-ray images of internal organs. Although some doctors were quick to take up the invention, it was not until the 1920s that the use of X-rays became widespread.

Tim Boon, chief curator of the Science Museum, said that the invention came when science and medicine were going from being “crafts” to disciplines in their own right. “The X-ray machine came at the culmination of a whole wave of medical inventions,” he said. It followed the development of stethoscopes and thermometers.

Andy Adam, a radiologist at King’s College London, agreed that the X-ray machine revolutionised the practice of medicine. “The sophistication of medical imaging today is such that we are rapidly approaching the era of the ‘transparent patient’,” he said.

The discovery of X-rays is seen as an example of how technologies with widespread applications can spring from the pursuit of basic science. Röntgen came across X-rays almost by chance while investigating what happened when electrons were passed through various types of vacuum tube. He covered the tubes with black cardboard to prevent light escaping but noticed a shimmering coming from a screen about a metre away. It was only after further tests that he realised he was looking at a new type of radiation that could travel through materials that appear opaque to visible light.

Each of the ten discoveries included on the poll shortlist is represented by an iconic scientific object on display at the Science Museum.

Times Recommends

• Times Christmas appeal: Letter from the Editor
• Conferences — what a waste of money
• Schools supremo learns a painful lesson