Marie Curie, an Outstanding Woman
Do you know who was Marie Curie?
Hi! Diana’s here and today I’d like to share with you who Marie Curie was.
Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person — man or woman — to win the award twice. With her husband Pierre Curie, Marie’s efforts led to the discovery of polonium and radium and, after Pierre’s death, the further development of X-rays. The famed scientist died in 1934 of aplastic anemia likely caused by exposure to radiation.
Childhood and Education
Maria Sklodowska, later known as Marie Curie, was born on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw, Poland. Curie was the youngest of five children, following siblings Zosia, Józef, Bronya and Hela.
Both of Curie’s parents were teachers. Her father, Wladyslaw, was a math and physics instructor. When she was only 10, Curie lost her mother, Bronislawa, to tuberculosis.
In 1891, Curie made her way to Paris and enrolled at the Sorbonne. She threw herself into her studies, but this dedication had a personal cost: with little money, Curie survived on buttered bread and tea, and her health sometimes suffered because of her poor diet.
Curie completed her master’s degree in physics in 1893 and earned another degree in mathematics the following year.
Marriage to Pierre Curie
Marie married French physicist Pierre Curie on July 26, 1895. They were introduced by a colleague of Marie’s after she graduated from Sorbonne University.
Marie had received a commission to perform a study on different types of steel and their magnetic properties and needed a lab for her work.
A romance developed between the brilliant pair, and they became a scientific dynamic duo who were completely devoted to one another. At first, Marie and Pierre worked on separate projects. But after Marie discovered radioactivity, Pierre put aside his own work to help her with her research.
Marie suffered a tremendous loss in 1906 when Pierre was killed in Paris after accidentally stepping in front of a horse-drawn wagon. Despite her tremendous grief, she took over his teaching post at the Sorbonne, becoming the institution’s first female professor.
Children
In 1897, Marie and Pierre welcomed a daughter, Irène. The couple had a second daughter, Ève, in 1904.
Irène Joliot-Curie followed in her mother’s footsteps, winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935. Joliot-Curie shared the honor with her husband, Frédéric Joliot, for their work on the synthesis of new radioactive elements.
In 1937, Ève Curie wrote the first of many biographies devoted to her famous mother, Madame Curie, which became a feature film a few years later.
Rewards
Marie Curie won two Nobel Prizes, for physics in 1903 and for chemistry in 1911.
Based on: https://www.biography.com
Good job, Diana! Thank you for your project. Marie Curie is remembered not only for her discovery of radium and polonium, but also for her great contribution to the fight against cancer. The work of this outstanding woman continues to inspire many people.
Recently in our physics class we started studying the radioactivity of substances and I learned who Marie Curie was. I think that she is very talented and intelligent. She made a huge contribution to physics. This person dedicated her life to physics and died from a large amount of radioactivity.
I’d like to share with you what I’ve read about Marie Curie.
Marie Curie was born in 1867. She is one of the greatest scientists ever to have lived. She was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity and discovered the chemical elements radium and polonium.
Curie is the only person ever to win two Nobel Prizes in two different sciences. Other achievements include being the first female professor at the University of Paris.
Curie was born in Warsaw, Poland. Her father was a Maths and Physics teacher and was a big influence on Marie’s early education. From an early age Marie was an exceptional student with an amazing memory. She often went without food and sleep to study. Her brilliant mind let her go to Paris to study and to conduct her research. She met her husband Pierre Curie at the university. He considered Marie to be a genius and instantly wanted to work with her. They got married and spent most of their time together in the laboratory studying radioactive materials. Their research led to the discovery of radium, for which they were honoured with the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903.
Pierre was killed in 1906 and Marie was devastated and extremely lonely. She threw herself even deeper into her work and won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911. She spent the 1920s raising funds for more research into radium.
In 1934 she died from a condition caused by decades of exposure to radiation. Before that no one knew how deadly radium could be.