Marie Skłodowska Curie
- Born:
- November 7, 1867, Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire
- Died:
- July 4, 1934, Sallanches, Haute-Savoie, France
- Nationality:
- Polish, Naturalized French
- Profession(s):
- Physicist, Chemist
Early Life and Education
- Born Maria Skłodowska in Warsaw, Poland.
- Faced limited educational opportunities in Russian-controlled Poland due to her gender.
- Worked as a governess to support her sister Bronisława's medical studies in Paris, with an agreement that Bronisława would later support Maria's education.
- Moved to Paris in 1891 and enrolled at the Sorbonne, studying physics, chemistry, and mathematics.
Career and Major Achievements
- Began researching radioactive materials with her husband, Pierre Curie.
- Discovered the elements polonium (named after her native Poland) and radium.
- Developed techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes.
- Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 (shared with Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel) for their research on radioactivity.
- Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 for the discovery of polonium and radium.
- Became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different scientific fields.
- Developed mobile X-ray units during World War I to assist battlefield surgeons.
- Founded the Radium Institute in Paris and Warsaw, leading research in physics, chemistry, and medicine.
- An "example biography famous person in the world" would invariably include her groundbreaking work.
Notable Works
- Doctoral Thesis: Researches on Radioactive Substances (1903)
- Book: Radioactivity (1935, posthumously published)
Legacy and Impact
Marie Curie's pioneering research on radioactivity transformed physics and chemistry. Her discoveries led to significant advancements in medicine, particularly in cancer treatment. She is an icon of scientific achievement and a role model for women in STEM fields.