Marie Curie

A Woman Ahead of Her Time

All of us have already heard the name of Marie Curie, that amazing woman who made so many scientific discoveries that changed the world. But do you actually know her story and how she became a scientist?

Marie Curie was born as Marya Skłodowska on November 7th, 1867, in Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. She grew up in a large family with five children. At school, she was brilliant and received the highest grades in every subject.

After high school, she wanted to study at university but, unfortunately, at that time women were not allowed to attend. However, she did not give up and, together with her sister Bronia, they made up a plan. Bronia was supposed to go to Paris to attend the best university of that time: Sorbonne University. While her sister was there, Marya had to work to send money for her studies. When Bronia graduated, she would do the opposite for Marya so that she could continue her studies as well.

Everything went according to plan and, while her sister was studying, Marya worked and studied as much as she could on her own. She also attended a secret school called the "Flying University".

In 1891, at the age of 24, she eventually went to Sorbonne University. She changed her name to Marie so it would be easier for French people to pronounce. She lived in poor conditions and had just enough money to eat. Moreover, she studied so hard that she sometimes forgot to eat. As always, she was an excellent student.

She graduated successfully in July 1893 and looked for a laboratory where she could work. She earned a degree in physics and, the following year, another one in mathematics.

One of her friends helped her and she eventually met Pierre Curie, with whom she worked for the rest of her life. They got married in July 1895 and had a daughter named Irène Joliot-Curie two years later.

She soon started her thesis in order to obtain a doctorate and decided to study uranium rays, which had been discovered one year earlier by the scientist Henri Becquerel. Pierre Curie left his personal studies to work with Marie instead, even though they had to work in very poor conditions in a hangar.

In July and December 1898, they discovered two new highly radioactive elements: Polonium and Radium. In fact, the first one was named in honor of Marie's homeland, Poland.

Five years later, Marie Curie, Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerel won the Nobel Prize in Physics 1903 for the discovery of natural radioactivity. Marie was the first woman ever to win a Nobel Prize.

Unfortunately, on April 19th, 1906, Pierre Curie was hit by a carriage and passed away. Nevertheless, Marie continued her research on radioactivity and became a teacher at Sorbonne University to replace her husband. She became the first woman ever to teach there.

In 1911, she won another Nobel Prize, this time the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911, for the discovery of the atomic mass of Radium.

While taking care of her daughters, she also fought to create a laboratory focused on radioactivity because, as she said:

"I wish that radioactivity, a branch of science born in France, develops in France."

Sorbonne University and the Pasteur Institute eventually built her a laboratory in December 1909. It was divided into two parts: one for physics and chemistry, and the other for medicine, in collaboration with a doctor from Lyon.

Furthermore, she played an important role during World War I. She realized that X-rays could help doctors locate bullets inside wounded soldiers' bodies and remove them more easily. Many hospitals already had this technology, but the machines could not be moved easily.

Marie and her daughter, who was only 17 years old, created 200 mobile radiological units equipped with X-rays. They were called "petites Curies" by the soldiers on the battlefield. They also set up a training unit to teach women how to use this equipment.

Marie Curie did not stop there. She donated both of her Nobel Prize gold medals to the French government. Although the government refused to take them, she still donated a large part of the money she had earned from her Nobel Prizes to support the war effort.

She dedicated the rest of her life to scientific research until 1934.

Marie Curie died, exhausted, on July 4th, 1934, from aplastic anemia caused by long-term exposure to radiation during her research and her work during the war. At that time, she did not know how dangerous radioactive substances could be and often carried tubes containing them in her pockets.

Sixty-one years after her death, the French president François Mitterrand decided to place the ashes of Marie and Pierre Curie in the Panthéon. She became the first woman to enter the Panthéon on April 20th, 1995. Nevertheless, both of them were still so radioactive that they were buried in lead-lined coffins.

Marie Curie is a woman who helped our world and society move forward. I will leave you with one of her most famous quotes:

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."

written by Eléa Goarin