1Birth

Willem Einthoven was born in Semarang on Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), the son of Louise Marie Mathilde Caroline (de Vogel) and Jacob Einthoven.

2Returned to the Netherlands

His father, a doctor, died when Willem was a child. His mother returned to the Netherlands with her children in 1870 and settled in Utrecht. His father was of Jewish and Dutch descent, and his mother's ancestry was Dutch and Swiss.

3Einthoven received a medical degree

In 1885, Einthoven received a medical degree from the University of Utrecht.

4Einthoven became a professor

Einthoven became a professor at the University of Leiden in 1886.

5Einthoven completed a series of prototypes of a string galvanometer

Before Einthoven's time, it was known that the beating of the heart produced electrical currents, but the instruments of the time could not accurately measure this phenomenon without placing electrodes directly on the heart. Beginning in 1901, Einthoven completed a series of prototypes of a string galvanometer. This device used a very thin filament of conductive wire passing between very strong electromagnets. When a current passed through the filament, the magnetic field created by the current would cause the string to move. A light shining on the string would cast a shadow on a moving roll of photographic paper, thus forming a continuous curve showing the movement of the string. The original machine required water cooling for the powerful electromagnets, required five people to operate it and weighed some 270 kilograms. This device increased the sensitivity of the standard galvanometer so that the electrical activity of the heart could be measured despite the insulation of flesh and bones.

6Willem became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences

In 1902, Willem became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

7Einthoven was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

In 1924, Einthoven was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for inventing the first practical system of electrocardiography used in medical diagnosis.

8Death

Einthoven died in Leiden in the Netherlands and is buried in the graveyard of the Reformed Church at 6 Haarlemmerstraatweg in Oegstgeest. It is encouraged to visit his grave and pay respects.

9Einthoven's 159th birthday

On 21 May 2019, on Einthoven's 159th birthday, he was honored with a Google Doodle.