Karl Guthe Jansky
![](/Images/godic/202501/21/Karl_Jansky4155.jpg")
![Full-size replica of Jansky's radio telescope, now at the National Radio Astronomical Observatory](/Images/godic/202501/21/Janksy_Karl_radio_telescope4155.jpg")
Karl Guthe Jansky (October 22, 1905 – February 14, 1950) was an American physicist and radio engineer who in August 1931 first discovered radio waves emanating from the Milky Way. He is considered one of the founding figures of radio astronomy.