Marie Curie

"Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas."

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Known for:

• Being the first woman to ever win a Nobel Prize
• Being the first person to ever win two Nobel Prizes (Physics and Chemistry)
• Being the only person with a Nobel in two different fields (Physics and Chemistry).
• Being a pioneer in the investigation of radioactivity.

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Maria Salomea Skłodowska was born in  Warsaw, Poland (while it still was a Russian territory) on November 7, 1867. Her parents were teachers, and she had one older brother, Józef, and three older sisters, Zosia, Bronya and Hela. 

From her early years, she was seen as bright and curious young lady. at the age of 16 she won a gold medal on completion of her secondary education at the Russian lycée. Even though she was a brilliant student, she could not attend the University of Warsaw, because it was only for men. Instead, she took place in a clandestine university. She began working as a governess at the age of 18, in order to earn money and help her sister Bronya with her studies. In her spare time, Marie read books about chemistry, physics and maths.

In 1891, she moved to Paris. There, she followed lectures of scientists and met important physicists. In 1893, she completed her degree in Physics, and later, one in maths. By this way, she began working  in Lippmann's research laboratories. 

That same year, she met Pierre Curie, a man that will become her husband in 1895. Together, they followed Henri Becquerel's discovery of radiation and investigated more about it. In 1903, the three of them received a Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on radioactivity.

Marie the set her attention on minerals, and, with the help of Pierre, discovered new elements; polonium and radium. As a result, she received her doctorate in science. 

Marie Curie and her daughters in Paris.

In 1897, she gave birth to Irene, and the in 1904 to Eve. That same year, she was appointed chief assistant in a laboratory directed by her husband. Twos years later, Pierre Curie died. It was a hard time for her, but she decided to set all of her energy on completing the scientific work they had carried out together. That year, she was given Pierre's job, and so she became the first woman to teach in the Sorbonne. In 1911, she was given the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, for the isolation of radium.

World War I broke out, and Marie put all her resources on the cause and encouraged the use of X-ray machines in the field. After the war, she visited the United States twice in order to earn money to buy radium and to establish a radium research laboratory in Warsaw. Thanks to her work, the neutron was discovered, and so artificial radioactivity.

Some months later; Marie died of leukemia, due to the exposure to radiation. 

"Knowledge leaves no regrets. Except for radiation. I wish I'd never messed with that."

Her remains were taken to the Panthéon in Paris, becoming the first woman to ever lie there.

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Legacy:

• Numerous institutions were named in her honor; Curie Institute, "Pierre and Marie Curie University", etc.
• In 1948, the "Marie Curie Charity" was established, an organisation that helps people with terminal illnesses.
• Her discoveries lead to the investigation of treats of cancer.

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June 11, 2019.