Name: Marie Curie

Original Name: Maria Sklodowska

DOB: November 7, 1867

Date of Death: July 4, 1934

Birth Place: Warsaw in modern-day Poland

Profession: Physicist, Scientist 1867–1934)

Husband’s Name: Pierre Curie (died on July 4, 1934)

Her Discovery: Radioactivity

Famous for: First woman to win a Nobel Prize, in Physics

Received the Nobel Prize for Physics in the Year: 1903

Father’s Name: Wladyslaw (a Maths and physics teacher)

Mother’s Name: Bronislawa

Husband’s Name: Pierre Curie (died on July 4, 1934)

Husband’s Occupation: Scientist

Introduction

Marie Curie was the first woman to person to have received Nobel Prize twice and above all she was the first woman to have received a Nobel Prize in Physics. The second Nobel Prize she received for her work in chemistry.

About Marie Curie

Marie Curie was born on 7th November, 1867 and she with her keen interest in science, she made the discovery of radium and polonium along with her husband. And, after the death of her husband, she also discovered X-rays. She became the first person to have received the Nobel Prize two times. Other than that she also holds the title for being the first woman to have received a Nobel Prize for Physics (the other one she got for chemistry).

Discovery of Marie Curie

She discovered radioactivity and the radioactive elements radium and polonium along with her husband Pierre Curie.

Marie Curie worked a step further by conducting series experiments on Uranium rays and she came to the conclusion that irrespective of the condition and form they remained constant. The impetus to conduct experiments on Uranium she got from the discovery of Henri Becquerel, a French physicist, which found that uranium, casts off rays weaker than the X-rays. Further, Marie’s idea led to the creation of the atomic physics as her theory came from the atomic structure of the element. It was Marie Curie who herself came up with the word “radioactivity” to make an explanation of her discovery.

After the discovery of radioactivity, Marie continued her work further and came up with a new radioactive element in the year 1898, working together with her husband. They together decided to name the element Polonium (after the name of Marie’s native country of Poland). Further, the duo also detected in the pitchblende presence of another radioactive element and they named it as Radium. Further in the year 1902, the duo produced a decigram of pure radium and illustrated it as a unique element in chemistry.

About Marie Curie Family

Marie’s both parents were teachers and of the five siblings (Zosia, Józef, Bronya and Hela), Marie was the youngest one. Her father, Wladyslaw, was a maths and physics teacher. From very young age Marie was a bright and quite a curious student, she also excelled at her school. At a very early age, Marie had to go through a tragic happening in her life as her mother Bronislawa succumbed to tuberculosis.

About Marie’s Education

Marie was topper all through her secondary education but she could not attend the men’s only University of Warsaw and so she had to choose to study in the “floating University” of Warsaw, where in secret a set of informal classes were given.

She and her sister, Bronya both wanted to go to abroad to get a degree but due to the lack of finances they could not take their dream further. The two then made a deal with each other that, Curie promised Bronya that she would work and give financial support to her education while after the completion of her education; Bronya would be liable to help Marie. According to the deal, Marie worked as a teacher and Governess for around five years and whatever time she would find after that, she invested in studying maths, physics and chemistry.

Finally in the year 1891, she headed for Paris to enroll at the Sorbonne. She completely threw herself off into her studies. But, her health had to suffer at times because she had only a little money and many a times she had to survive just on buttered bread and tea. In the year 1893 Curie completed her master’s degree in physics and in the following year she also earned another degree in mathematics.

About Marie’s Husband and Daughter

On 26th July 1895, Marie curie married a French Physicist named Pierre Curie after they were introduced to each other by one of Marie’s colleague. After the formal meet, a romantic connection started to develop between the two and they eventually became a hit science duo who was completely in love with each other. In the beginning both of them worked on different projects but after Marie’s discovery of radioactivity, Pierre decided to work together with her putting aside everything else.

The year 1906 was a very tiring time for Marie when Pierre died after accidently coming in front of a horse-drawn wagon. Even after this huge loss that she had to go through, Marie did not stop and she started teaching at Sorbonne and became the first female professor at the University.

Further in the year 1911 Marie was also criticized by the press for her relationship with her husband’s former student Paul Langevin. People blamed for creating void in Paul’s marriage which was probably because of the rising Xenophobia in France.

About Marie’s Daughters

Her first daughter with Pierre was Irène, who was born in the year 1897 and the second one was Eva which Marie and Pierre welcomed together in the year 1904.

Her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie following her mother’s footsteps won the noble prize in chemistry in the year 1935 and she worked along with her husband Frédéric Joliot on discovery of a new radioactive element.

About Marie Curie’s Noble Prize Win

Marie Curie was the first person including men and women to win the Nobel Prize twice and she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Physics. Till now she is the only one person who has been awarded with this prestigious Prize for two separate sciences.

In the year Marie Curie along with her husband Pierre Curie received a Nobel Prize for the discovery of radioactive elements and the work related to radioactivity. After this, the duo became internationally acclaimed for their work in science. They invested their Prize money for their further research.

In the year 1911, Marie won her second Nobel Prize and this time it was for her work in Chemistry that was related to the discovery of polonium and radium. After that she had joined the team of some of the great scientists like Albert Einstein and Max Planck and attended the first Solvay Congress in Physics where they together discussed about a number of landmark discoveries in the field.

World War I and X-rays

In 1914, when World War I broke out, Marie helped the cause with her resources and knowledge with whatever she could contribute to. She had championed making use of the portable X-ray machines and these were called as “Little Curies”. After the end of the war she made use of her celebrity status and went to USA two times to raise funds in 1921 and 1929. She bought radium with the raised find and established a radium research institute in Warsaw.

“The use of the X-rays during the war saved the lives of many wounded men; it also saved many from long suffering and lasting infirmity.” — Marie Curie

Death of Marie Curie

She died on 4th of July 1934 after suffering from aplastic anemia which is a disease caused due to the prolonged exposure to radiations. She used to carry in her pocket of the lab coat, radium and that her long years of exposure to radioactive material became the cause of her deteriorating health.

The Legacy that she left behind

Marie Curie had made a great many of pioneering achievements in her life time and she had many firsts to her name. She is one of the role model for many women out there and she is one of a well-know name in science. She had also been honoured with many awards posthumously and a number of educational institutions run on her name like the Curie Institute and Pierre and Marie Curie University which was later renamed as UPMC

In the year 1995, the remains of Marie Curie and Pierre Curie were interred in the Panthéon in Paris which is the place reserved for the greatest minds. In the end of 2017, an exhibition was hosted by the Panthéon to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Marie Curie.

Eve Curie, in the year 1937, wrote first biography dedicated to her mother, Madame Curie which later was made into a feature film. In 2017, the real life story of the great mind was again on the big screen with named Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge which featured Polish actress Karolina Gruszka. It was also announced in 2018 that Amazon Prime Video is making a biopic on the life of Marie Curie which would be featuring British actress Rosamund Pike in the lead role.