Who was Marie Curie?
Marie Curie was a Polish born scientist who famously made discoveries regarding radioactivity. Marie Curie is the first woman to ever win a Nobel Prize (occurring in 1903, for Physics) along with a second Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911: making her still the only woman to receive Nobel Prizes in two different subjects. Clearly she made some of the largest contributions to science during her time, with many gender obstacles in the way nonetheless.
She was always a very educated individual: her father teaching mathematics and physics, her receiving a secondary education at 16, and then moving on to teaching others herself.
It’s important to remember the social boundaries women faced during the turn of the Twentieth Century especially regarding academic respect to understand the extent to which Curie pioneered the scientific field for all women. She moved to France where she sought higher education in such fields, and made connections with respected physicists and chemists of the time-mostly men. Her marriage to Pierre Curie was the beginning of their revolutionary partnership, a catalyst for her future discoveries. Marie Curie maintained her scientific fervor all the while raising two daughters.
Her Discoveries
Marie Curie based her research on the new phenomenon Henri Becquerel discovered to be radioactivity-defined as an emission of radiation due to an unstable decay of an atomic nucleus. She investigated and concluded the radioactivity of multiple minerals and elements such as pitchblende and thorium. After years of research the Curie couple, and Henri Becquerel, received the Nobel Prize for Physics for their discoveries in radioactivity. The Curies discovered the periodic elements radium and polonium together. When Pierre Curie passed away suddenly, it was a tragedy for M. Curie, but also a motivator. She became determined to finish their research.
Meanwhile, Marie Curie had developed an influential teaching strategy which utilized experimental demonstration throughout her time as a lecturer for girls, and then as a professor filling in for her husband after his death. In 1911, the isolation of pure radium won her the Nobel Prize of Chemistry.
Her and her daughter, Irene Curie, developed the basis of X-Radiography (X-Ray) for use in World War I, realizing its benefits in aiding injured soldiers. Marie Curie then focused her work on the medical applications of such radioactive substances. Battlefield portable X-ray machines, designed by Marie Curie, were coined the nickname “petites Curies” by French soldiers.
Her Impact
Invited to many countries not limited to the United States, Spain, and Brazil, Marie Curie gave informative lectures about her work to hundreds of thousands of people. She was honored to be a part of the International Commission on Intellectual Co-operation, part of the Council of the League of Nations. Marie Curie’s daughter Irene Curie continued her legacy and research at the Radium Institute in Paris after her mother’s death due to radiation exposure, and aplastic anemia. Undoubtedly, the Curie’s medical contributions based upon radioactivity remain a huge innovation of today’s healthcare. She made a huge impact on the world of science in terms of unrestrained gender participation as well: she lectured at women’s institutes, and taught women’s classes. Marie Curie felt the study of radioactivity was an important field for the future of mankind, and thus helped establish the Radium Institute of Paris, and of Warsaw- where her daughter also continued the research her mother began.
Written by: Madison D.
References:
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Marie Curie | Biography, Nobel Prize, Accomplishments, and Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Jan. 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Marie-Curie.
Comments