The electron microscope let scientists see 10,000 times smaller than light ever allowed

In 1931, Ernst Ruska and Max Knoll built the first electron microscope, using beams of electrons instead of light to image objects far smaller than light's own wavelength permits. Ruska's design eventually let researchers see individual viruses and molecules for the first time. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986, 55 years after his invention.

— Ernst Ruska and Max Knoll, Ernst Ruska — Invented 1931; Nobel Prize in Physics, 1986