Röntgen's parents, a German father and Dutch mother, were cousins. He was born in Lennep in Germany, but his family moved to Holland when he was 3 years old.

At the age of 17 he was enrolled as a student in the Technical School in Utrecht. He was expelled through no fault of his own without matriculating. Because of this he was unable to sit university examinations. One of his classmates is said to have drawn a caricature of a teacher and failed to own up. Röntgen seems to have been a …