Marie Curie

Maria Skłodowska was born in Warsaw, then part of the Russian Empire, to impoverished Polish nobility. She was the youngest of five children. Her mother died of tuberculosis when Maria was ten, and her father struggled financially after losing his teaching position. Despite these hardships, her father instilled in her a love of learning and science, particularly physics and mathematics.

After years of working as a governess to save money and support her sister's medical studies in Paris, Maria finally moved to France to pursue her own education. She enrolled at the Sorbonne (University of Paris) to study physics and mathematics. Living in poverty in a freezing garret, she devoted herself entirely to her studies, often surviving on bread and tea. Her determination and brilliance quickly distinguished her among her peers.

Maria graduated first in her physics class at the Sorbonne, a remarkable achievement especially given that she was one of very few women studying science at the university. The following year she also earned a degree in mathematics, finishing second in her class. These academic successes opened doors for her to pursue scientific research, though opportunities for women in science remained severely limited.

Maria married Pierre Curie, a French physicist who shared her passion for scientific research. They formed both a romantic and scientific partnership that would prove extraordinarily productive. Pierre recognized Maria's brilliance and encouraged her research ambitions. They honeymoned by touring France on bicycles and immediately began their collaborative work. Maria adopted the French form of her name, Marie, and together they would revolutionize physics and chemistry.

Marie and Pierre Curie discovered two new radioactive elements while investigating uranium rays. In July they announced polonium (named after Marie's native Poland), and in December they announced radium. These discoveries required processing tons of pitchblende ore in a primitive laboratory shed. Marie coined the term 'radioactivity' to describe the phenomenon. This groundbreaking work would earn them the Nobel Prize and transform scientific understanding of atomic physics.

Marie Curie, along with Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their research on radiation phenomena. Marie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. The award initially excluded her, but Pierre insisted she be included for her crucial contributions. Due to illness from radiation exposure, neither Marie nor Pierre attended the ceremony. This recognition established her as one of the world's leading scientists.

Pierre Curie died tragically in a street accident when he slipped and fell under a horse-drawn wagon, suffering a fatal skull fracture. Marie was devastated by the loss of both her beloved husband and scientific partner. Despite her grief, she took over Pierre's teaching position at the Sorbonne, becoming the first female professor there. She dedicated herself to continuing their research, raising their two daughters alone, and honoring Pierre's legacy.

Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery and isolation of pure radium and her studies of its compounds. She became the first person ever to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences. This achievement came despite a scandal in France over her alleged affair with physicist Paul Langevin. The Nobel Committee initially asked her not to attend the ceremony, but she insisted on receiving the prize, cementing her place in scientific history.

When World War I began, Marie Curie developed mobile X-ray units, called 'petites Curies,' to help surgeons on the battlefield locate bullets and shrapnel in wounded soldiers. She personally drove these vehicles to the front lines and trained medical personnel in X-ray technology. Her daughter Irène assisted her in this work. This humanitarian effort saved countless lives and demonstrated practical applications of radiation technology.

Marie Curie died of aplastic anemia, almost certainly caused by prolonged exposure to radiation during her years of research. She had worked with radioactive materials without understanding their danger, often carrying test tubes of radioactive isotopes in her pockets and storing them in her desk. Her groundbreaking research came at the cost of her health. Her papers from the 1890s are still too radioactive to handle safely. She was buried at the Panthéon in Paris, the first woman honored there on her own merits.