MARIE CURIE 1
MARIE CURIE
Kaitlyn Wahlin
Physics 1010-003
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"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above
all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing
must be attained." (Marie Curie the Scientist, 2015)This was a statement that was made by Marie
Curie, and was a motto that she seemed to carry with her throughout her whole life. Curie was
huge contributor to the fight of cancer with her studies of radioactivity. Along with many other
accomplishments, she became the first woman to win two Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry
through her discovery of two new elements.
Marie Curie was born in Warsaw, Poland on November 7, 1867. Her parents, Wladyslaw
and Bronislawa, were both teachers who insisted that their children receive an education. Marie
was the youngest of children. She had three older sisters and one brother. At this time in
Warsaw, only men could attend the University of Warsaw. In order for the girls to receive a
degree, they had to go out of the country. Marie Curie was the top student in her secondary
school. Both her and her sister Bronia desired greatly to earn an official degree, but due to lack
of finances they were unable to attend a university at the same time. Marie ended up making a
deal with her sister that she would work to pay for her sisters schooling if she would then return
the favor once she had graduated. During this time, Marie Curie continued her studies of physics,
math, and chemistry as she worked for five years as a tutor and governess to support her sister. In
the year 1981, now age 24, Marie followed her sister to attend Sorbonne in Paris which was a
very prestigious university at the time.
In 1893, Marie completed her master’s degree in physics, and in the following year she
earned another degree in mathematics. During this time, she received a commission to conduct a
study on the different types of steel as well as their magnetic properties. Due to her need of lab
space, she began working with Pierre Curie whom she married on July 26, 1895. In 1904, Marie
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Curie gained her Doctor of Science Degree and in the year 1914 she was appointed the Director
of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute of the University of Paris.
In her life of research, Marie Curie had a huge effect on the world of physics and
chemistry. She was interested in the work of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen and Henri Becquerel.
Roentgen was a German scientist who was credited with the discovery of X-rays while
Becquerel was a French physicist who discovered uranium casts off rays very similar to X-rays.
Due to her interest in their work, she began to conduct her own research of Uranium Rays. In
conducting this research, some of the facts Marie Curie discovered was “…Uranium rays charge
the air they pass through, so this can conduct electricity.” (Famous Scientist, 2015) She also
discovered “the number of rays coming from Uranium depends only on the amount of uranium
present—not the chemical form of the uranium. From this she theorized correctly that the rays
were coming from within the Uranium atoms and not a chemical reaction.” (Famous Scientist,
2015) She found that the uranium minerals called pitchblende and torbernite must have a greater
effect on the conductivity of the air than uranium due to her theory that they contained a
chemical element that was more active than that of uranium.
Marie Curie was not alone in this research of radioactivity. Her husband Pierre helped her
with this and in the year 1898, they discovered the new element Polonium with their working
with pitchblende which they named after Marie’s hometown of Poland. They were also able to
discover another radioactive material which they named Radium. In 1902 they announced their
production of a decigram of pure radium which demonstrated its existence as a unique chemical
element. She promoted the use of Radium to alleviate suffering. After winning the Nobel Prize in
1903, along with her husband and Henri Becquerel, they used the prize money to continue their
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research. After her husband’s death in 1906, she took over her husband’s teaching position as a
professor at Sorbonne. In doing this, she became the first female professor there.
In 1911 Marie Curie won her second Nobel Prize in chemistry due to her discovery of
radium and polonium. For this reason, she became the first scientist to win two Nobel Prizes. She
contributed this success to her late husband. In 1914, when World War I broke out, Curie helped
by aiding to create portable X-ray machines to be used in the field. They were nicknamed “Little
Curies”. At age 66 on July 4, 1934, Curie passed away of aplastic anemia which can be caused
by prolonged exposure to radiation. She was known to carry test tubes of radium around in the
pocket of her lab coat.
Although Marie Curie no longer lives on this earth today, her influences still affect us.
She is an inspiration to all who know her story as she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize
and the only woman to win the award in two different fields which was physics and chemistry.
Her and her husband’s efforts led to the discovery of polonium and radium. In her research, she
became aware that the rays coming from radioactive elements could be used to treat tumors.
Marie and her husband’s legacy continued as their daughter Irene won the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry in the year 1935 with the help of her husband for their work on their synthesis of new
radioactive elements. In 1944, Marie and her husband were honored due to their discovery of the
96th element on the Periodic Table of Elements which was named Curium.
During the year 1995, Marie Curie and her husband’s remains “were interred in the
Pantheon in Paris, the final resting place of France’s greatest minds. Curie became the first and
only woman to be laid to rest there.” (Bagley, 2013) Today several educational and research
institutions and medical centers carry the Curie name including the Institute Curie and the Pierre
and Marie Curie University in Paris. Albert Einstein, when speaking of Marie Curie, stated, “Not
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only did she do outstanding work in her lifetime, and not only did she help humanity greatly by
her work, but she invested all her work with the highest moral quality. All of this she
accomplished with great strength, objectivity, and judgment. It is very rare to find all of these
qualities in one individual.” (Famous Scientist, 2015) Marie Curie, will be known forever in the
world of physics and chemistry for the research she accomplished in her lifetime.
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Biography.com Editors (n.d.). Marie Curie Biography. Retrieved October 17, 2015, from
http://www.biography.com/people/marie-curie-9263538
Nobelprize.org. (2015). Marie Curie - Biographical. Retrieved October 17, 2015, from
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1903/marie-curie-bio.html
Bagley, M. (2013, August 14). Marie Curie: Facts & Biography. Retrieved October 17, 2015,
from http://www.livescience.com/38907-marie-curie-facts-biography.html
Famous Scientist Editors. (2015). Marie Curie. Retrieved October 17, 2015, from
http://www.famousscientists.org/marie-curie/
Marie Curie the Scientist. (2015). Retrieved October 17, 2015, from
https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/who/our-history/marie-curie-the-scientist