“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”
Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person in history to win the Nobel prize twice. In 1903 Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Physics along with her husband and Henri Becquerel, for their work on radioactivity and in 1911 Marie received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of radium and polonium.
Full Name : Marie Skłodowska Curie
Born : November 7, 1867 in Maria Salomea Skłodowska, Warsaw, Kingdom of Poland (was part of Russian Empire)
Died : July 4, 1934 at the age of 66 in Sallanches, France
Nationality :
By birth Poland
By marriage France
Father : Władysław Skłodowski
Mother : Bronisława Skłodowska
Spouse : Pierre Curie (Winner of Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903)
Children : Irène Joliot-Curie (winner of Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935), Ève Curie
Fields : Nuclear Physics, Chemistry
Discovered : Radium, Polonium, Radioactivity
Awards :
Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903
Davy Medal in 1903
Matteucci Medal in 1904
Elliott Cresson Medal in 1909
Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911
Willard Gibbs Award in 1921
John Scott Medal in 1921
Benjamin Franklin Medal in 1921
7 Interesting Facts About Marie Curie :
DISCOVERED BY CURIES POLONIUM WAS NAMED AFTER MARIE’S BIRTHPLACE
–Born Sklodowska, Marie never forgot about her Polish origin and always used both of her last names. Even polonium, the radioactive element discovered by her and her husband, was named in honour of Marie’s birthplace.
MARIE AND PIERRE CURIE WERE NOT ONLY SPOUSES, BUT SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATORS
–In 1894, Marie met Pierre Curie for the first time. There was a joke that she became ‘his biggest discovery’. But it was barely a joke: they had a lot in common and, what’s the most important, shared the incredible passion for science. So, they found in each other not only lovers, but the reliable scientific partners.
GREAT RESEARCH ON RADIOACTIVITY
–In 1903, Marie shared her first Nobel prize with her husband and Henri Becquerel for the research on radioactivity. In 1911, she was awarded with one more Nobel prize for the discovery of radium and polonium. Moreover, she was the first to use the very word ‘radioactive’.
THE FIRST FEMALE NOBEL LAUREATE
–Marie Curie wasn’t just the first female Nobel laureate, she also became the first person received the Nobel prize in two different fields and the first person with two Nobel prizes. Of course, there were some outstanding people after her who won this award twice, but she is still the only woman among them.
MARIE’S SUCCESS AS A SCIENTIST WAS PREDICTED LONG TIME BEFORE IT
–Marie was brilliant at school and way back then she already knew that science is her cup of tea. Once she was seen in her cousin’s chemical lab by the outstanding russian chemist Mendeleev and was told not to give up science.
THE LEADING SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS BEAR MARIE’S NAME
–Marie established two Curie Institutes, in Paris and Warsaw. Up to this day, these institutes remain the leading scientific organizations which conduct the medical and biological research.
THE RADIOACTIVE ELEMENT AND THREE MINERALS ARE NAMED AFTER CURIES
–In honour of great family of scientist, one of the chemical elements was given the name ‘curium’. But if in this case it’s not clear whether we should thank Marie or Pierre, the minerals ‘sklodowskite’ and ‘cuprosklodowskite’ are named definitely after her.
