She was born Marie Sklodowska in Warsaw, Poland, in 1867. She obtained a degree in physics in 1893 and began work in an industrial laboratory. She continued to study at the University of Paris and earned a second-degree by 1894. She met her husband Pierre and became Marie Curie. They both loved science and worked together in France.
With the discovery of x-rays, Marie decided to research uranium using her husband‘s electrometer. She discovered that uranium rays caused air to conduct electricity around it.
She discovered that thorium was also radioactive and that thorium gave off radioactive rays just like uranium. A German scientist published the research first, and she lost out on getting credit for it. She would not let that happen again.
In 1898, the couple published a paper announcing polonium, an element they named after their native Poland. A few months later, they discovered a second element they named radium. They went on to coin the word radioactivity.
Together they published 32 scientific papers and proved that tumor-forming cells died when exposed to radium. The discovery would lead to a breakthrough in cancer research later on.
In 1903, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. The money from the award allowed them to hire their first laboratory assistant. They had never profited from their past discoveries and did not file patents for ownership. Their research had always been conducted in an old shed on the University grounds. They were unaware of radiation exposure while working with radioactive substances.
Pierre was offered a position at the University of Paris in 1906 but sadly was killed in a roadside accident. He left behind his wife and two daughters. Marie took over Pierre’s position and went on to head the radioactive laboratory at the University of Paris.
After her husband’s death, she had a year-long affair with a married scientist. The relationship caused a massive scandal for the time because she was five years older than him. The press accused her of being an atheist and a foreigner. An angry mob protested in front of her home, and she fled to her daughter’s home.
When the scandal died down, she was awarded another Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1911. This made her the first and only woman to win a Nobel Prize in chemistry and psychics.
During World War I, she recognized the need for wounded soldiers to be operated on immediately. She created field radiology centers near the front lines and developed portable radiograph units. They were nicknamed the “Little Curies.”
She became the Red Cross radiology director and treated over 1 million wounded soldiers with her x-ray units. The French government never recognized her for her wartime patriotism.
Marie Curie died in 1934 from aplastic anemia at the age of 66. She was exposed to x-rays from unshielded equipment while serving as a radiologist during the war. Her long-term exposure to radiation had caused a lifetime of chronic ailments. She was known to carry test tubes containing radioactive isotopes in her pocket. She liked the faint glow that the substances gave off in the dark. She was buried alongside her husband in a lead-lined coffin. Their research papers were also placed inside a lead
container and can only be viewed wearing radioactive clothing.
Marie Curie was known as the “mother of modern physics.” Her research leaves a legacy that forced the modern world to take a closer look at science.