Marie Curie - From a hired girl to twice receiving a Nobel Prize

Marie Curie, a physicist and chemist famous for her radioactive research, was the first and only woman to receive a noble Nobel Prize in physics and chemistry.

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Maria Sklodowska was born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw, Poland, the youngest daughter in a family of 5 children and her parents are teachers. As a child, Marie was considered a curious, bright and outstanding girl at school. Tragedy occurred to Marie's family when her mother died of tuberculosis. That year, Marie was only 11 years old.

Marie has always been at the top of her school in her years of schooling. However, the academic achievements that could not help Marie get accepted to the University of Warsaw, the school is only for boys. Marie continued her studies at a "underground university" with underground underground classes.

Marie and her sister Bronya had dreamed of studying abroad to get an official degree but they were unable to pay tuition. Marie decided to work to support Bronya to study medicine. For nearly 5 years, Marie served as tutor and teacher for children to earn money to cover expenses. In her free time, she continued to study and read books about physics, chemistry and mathematics.

Portrait of Marie Curie, the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize.(Photo: Wikicommons)

In 1891, Marie made her dream come to Paris, where she attended the Sorbonne University. After the endless days of research, along with a poor diet with only butter and tea bread, Marie often had health problems.

Two years later, Marie received a master's degree in physics and continued to complete a chemistry program. During this time, Marie was involved in a study of their steel types and magnetic properties. She was introduced by acquaintance to French physicist Pierre Curie while looking for a suitable place to perform experiments. Science becomes a bridge connecting the two researchers. Soon after, Marie accepted Pierre's proposal and began to be called by Marie Curie. The first daughter of Marie and Pierre was born in 1897.

Discover and honor

Not only devoted and devoted to scientific research, Marie or Pierre are also wholeheartedly devoted to the other. In the beginning, they worked on their own projects. Marie participated in the study with Henri Becquerel, a French physicist, and began conducting his own experiments on uranium rays. She discovered that the rays would not change regardless of the condition or shape of the uranium, and that these rays came from the atomic structure of the element. That breakthrough discovery paved the way for the field of atomic physics, in which Marie became the creator of the concept of radiation to describe this phenomenon.

In the following years, Pierre temporarily put aside his work and supported Marie in radioactive studies. In the mineral analysis of pitchblende, they discovered a new radioactive element and named it polonium, after Marie's homeland of Poland, in 1898. The other element was called radium. In 1902, Marie and her husband published pure radium filtration results, marking the existence of this precious element.

Marie Curie entered the history of world science in 1903 when she became the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize in physics. Together with her husband and researcher Henri Becquerel, she was honored for her dedication to radioactive research. With the Nobel prize money, Marie and Pierre continue to invest in scientific research. They had their second daughter a year later.

In 1906, Pierre died of being pulled over by a horse cart while walking on the street. Overcoming the pain of loss, Marie began her teaching career at the Sorbonne and became the first female professor of the university.

8 years later, the honor continues to come to the researcher when she received the second Nobel Prize, becoming the first scientist to receive two noble awards. The Nobel Prize in chemistry recognized Marie's discoveries in finding two chemical elements, radium and polonium. In her speech, Marie was thrilled to share this honor with her late husband.

During this time, she and some other famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Max Planck, attended the first Solvay Conference on Physics. Together they discussed breakthrough discoveries in many areas of research.

Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie in the research room.(Photos: Wikipedia)

The last years of life

Marie's name has been affected since 1911 when rumors of her relationship with her former pupil, Paul Langevin, were noticed by the public. She was even thought to be the cause of the disruption of the Paul Langevin family.

In 1914, World War II broke out. Marie spends her time, energy and research to support the medical field, and advocates the use of mobile X-rays to treat injured people. In 1921 and 1929, she came to the United States to raise funds for radium research and set up a radium research institute in Warsaw.

The years of hard work and research with radioactive substances affect Marie's health. In 1934, she went to Sancellemoz Nursing Institute in Passy, ​​France to rest and recover her health. She died on July 4, 1934, with a diagnosis of non-renewable anemia, which could affect long-term exposure to radiation.

In 1995, her ashes and her husband were brought into the Panthéon Palace in Paris, the resting place of historic great men and those who made a name for France. Marie became the first and only woman to be rested here.

In addition to her dedication to scientific research, Marie is also the one who is passionate about science for generations to come. Following the career of her parents, her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1935.

Today, many research institutes and educational institutions in the world are named after Marie Curie.