The history of mammography begins with the discovery of X-rays in 1895. But it took a very long time for breast imaging to advance, in part because it wasn't prioritized. 

Research:

• “The St George’s Four: Meet the women that shaped St George’s.” St. George’s University of London. 3/8/2019. https://www.sgul.ac.uk/news/the-st-george-s-four-meet-the-women-that-shaped-st-george-s
• American Physical Society. “This Month in Physics History.” November 2001 (Volume 10, Number 10). https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200111/history.cfm
• Bassett, Lawrence W. and Richard H. Gold. “The Evolution of Mammography.” AJR 150:493-498, March 1988.
• Bhidé, Amar et al. “Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances: Mammography.” Harvard Business School Working Paper 20-002. 2021.
• CROWTHER, J. Röntgen Centenary and Fifty Years of X-Rays. Nature 155, 351–353 (1945). https://doi.org/10.1038/155351a0
• Davis, Devra. “The Secret History Of Mammography.” HuffPost. 11/17/2011. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-secret-history-of-mam_b_364733
• Haus, Arthur G. “Historical Technical Developments in Mammography. Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment. ISSN 1533-0346. Volume 1, Number 2, April (2002)
• Kalaf, José Michael. “Mammography: a history of success and scientific enthusiasm.” Radiol Bras. 2014 Jul/Ago;47(4):VII–VIII. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0100-3984.2014.47.4e2
• Lerner, Barron H. “’To See Today With the Eyes of Tomorrow: A History of Screening Mammography.’” CBMH/BCMH I Volume 20:2 2003 / p. 299-321.
• Lerner, Barron H. “Why Was the US Preventive Services Task Force’s 2009 Breast Cancer Screening Recommendation So Objectionable? A Historical Analysis.” The Milbank Quarterly, September 2022, Vol. 100, No. 3 (September 2022). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/48713998
• Lienhard, Dina A., "Mammography". Embryo Project Encyclopedia ( 2018-03-25 ). ISSN: 1940-5030 https://hdl.handle.net/10776/13056
• Mao X, He W, Humphreys K, et al. Breast Cancer Incidence After a False-Positive Mammography Result. JAMA Oncol. Published online November 02, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.4519
• Mekasut, Nitida. “Mammography: From Past to Present.” The Bangkok Medical Journal. February 2011. https://www.bangkokmedjournal.com/sites/default/files/fullpapers/2010-1-Mekasut.pdf
• Nicosia, Luca et al. “History of Mammography: Analysis of Breast Imaging Diagnostic Achievements over the Last Century.” Healthcare 2023, 11, 1596. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11111596
• Ritvo, Max. "The Role of Diagnostic Roentgenology in Medicine." New England Journal of Medicine 262, no. 24 (1960): 1201-09.
• Skloot, Rebecca. “Taboo Organ: How a Pitt Alum Refused to Let Mammography Be Ignored.” Pittmed. April 2001. https://www.pittmed.health.pitt.edu/apr_2001/taboo_organ.pdf
• Warren, Stafford L. “A Roentgenologic Study of the Breast.” The American Journal of Roentgenology and Radium Therapy 1930-08: Vol 24 Iss 2.
• Zenger, Ingo. “The history of mammography.” Siemens. https://www.medmuseum.siemens-healthineers.com/en/stories-from-the-museum/history-mammography