Marie Curie

Early years at 16 Freta Street in Warsaw's New Town , and Helena, 1890 Maria Salomea Skłodowska was born in Warsaw, in Congress Poland in the Russian Empire, on 7 November 1867, the fifth and youngest child of well-known teachers On both the paternal and maternal sides, the family had lost their property and fortunes through patriotic involvements in Polish national uprisings aimed at restoring Poland's independence (the most recent had been the January Uprising of 1863–1865). who became a leading figure in Polish literature. , When she was ten years old, Maria began attending J. Sikorska's boarding school; next she attended a gymnasium (secondary school) for girls, from which she graduated on 12 June 1883 with a gold medal. Marie herself wished to study in Paris, but delayed her studies in order to financially aid her sister. While working for the latter family, she fell in love with their son, Kazimierz Żorawski, a future eminent mathematician. neither wanted a religious service. which would for another twenty years remain partitioned among three empires (Russia, Austria, and Prussia). In the course of their research, they also coined the word 'radioactivity'. In 1900, Curie became the first woman faculty member at the École normale supérieure de jeunes filles and her husband joined the faculty of the University of Paris. "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel." She was the first person to win or share two Nobel Prizes, and remains alone with Linus Pauling as Nobel laureates in two fields each. A delegation of celebrated Polish men of learning, headed by novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz, encouraged her to return to Poland and continue her research in her native country. She visited Poland in 1913 and was welcomed in Warsaw but the visit was mostly ignored by the Russian authorities. The institute's development was interrupted by the First World War, as most researchers were drafted into the French Army; it fully resumed its activities after the war, in 1919. She saw a need for field radiological centres near the front lines to assist battlefield surgeons, After a quick study of radiology, anatomy, and automotive mechanics, she procured X-ray equipment, vehicles, and auxiliary generators, and she developed mobile radiography units, which came to be popularly known as ("Little Curies"). In 1923 she wrote a biography of her late husband, titled Pierre Curie. In 1931, Curie was awarded the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh. Death Curie visited Poland for the last time in early 1934. The damaging effects of ionising radiation were not known at the time of her work, which had been carried out without the safety measures later developed. She was interred at the cemetery in Sceaux, alongside her husband Pierre. She became the second woman to be interred at the Panthéon (after Sophie Berthelot) and the first woman to be honoured with interment in the Panthéon on her own merits. Even her cookbooks are highly radioactive. Her papers are kept in lead-lined boxes, and those who wish to consult them must wear protective clothing. In her last year, she worked on a book, Radioactivity, which was published posthumously in 1935. == Legacy ==

The physical and societal aspects of the Curies' work contributed to shaping the world of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. She was known for her honesty and moderate lifestyle. Having received a small scholarship in 1893, she returned it in 1897 as soon as she began earning her keep. She gave much of her first Nobel Prize money to friends, family, students, and research associates. Curie intentionally refrained from patenting the radium-isolation process so that the scientific community could do research unhindered. She insisted that monetary gifts and awards be given to the scientific institutions she was affiliated with rather than to her. She and her husband often refused awards and medals. Albert Einstein reportedly remarked that she was probably the only person who could not be corrupted by fame. == Commemorations ==

, Switzerland, 2015 As one of the most famous scientists in history, Marie Curie has become an icon in the scientific world and has received tributes from across the globe, even in the realm of pop culture. • Elliott Cresson Medal (1909) • Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1911) • Franklin Medal of the American Philosophical Society (1921) Entities that have been named after Marie Curie include: • The curie (symbol Ci), a unit of radioactivity, is named in honour of her and Pierre Curie (although the commission which agreed on the name never clearly stated whether the standard was named after Pierre, Marie, or both). • In 2007, a Paris Metro station (in Ivry) was renamed after the two Curies. A nearby road, Avenue Marie Curie, is also named in her honour. • The Polish research nuclear reactor Maria • The IEEE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award, an international award presented for outstanding contributions to the field of nuclear and plasma sciences and engineering, was established by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 2008. • The Marie Curie Medal, an annual science award established in 1996 and conferred by the Polish Chemical Society • The Marie Curie–Sklodowska Medal and Prize, an annual award conferred by the London-based Institute of Physics for distinguished contributions to physics education • Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland • Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris • Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology in Poland • École élémentaire Marie-Curie in London, Ontario, Canada; Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago, United States; Marie Curie High School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Lycée français Marie Curie de Zurich, Switzerland; see Lycée Marie Curie for a list of other schools named after her. • Rue Madame Curie in Beirut, Lebanon • Beetle species – Psammodes sklodowskae Kamiński & Gearner Numerous biographies are devoted to her, including: • Ève Curie (Marie Curie's daughter), Madame Curie, 1938. • Françoise Giroud, Marie Curie: A Life, 1987. • Susan Quinn, Marie Curie: A Life, 1996. • Barbara Goldsmith, Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie, 2005. Marie Curie has been the subject of a number of films: • 1943: Madame Curie, a U.S. Oscar-nominated film by Mervyn LeRoy starring Greer Garson. Curie has also been portrayed by Susan Marie Frontczak in her play, Manya: The Living History of Marie Curie, a one-woman show which by 2014 had been performed in 30 U.S. states and nine countries. Lauren Gunderson's 2019 play The Half-Life of Marie Curie portrays Curie during the summer after her 1911 Nobel Prize victory, when she was grappling with depression and facing public scorn over the revelation of her affair with Paul Langevin. The life of the scientist was also the subject of a 2018 Korean musical, titled Marie Curie. The show was since translated in English (as Marie Curie a New Musical) and has been performed several times across Asia and Europe, receiving its official Off West End premiere in London's Charing Cross Theatre in summer 2024. Curie has appeared on more than 600 postage stamps in many countries across the world. Between 1989 and 1996, she was depicted on a 20,000-złoty banknote designed by Andrzej Heidrich. In 2011, a commemorative 20-złoty banknote depicting Curie was issued by the National Bank of Poland on the 100th anniversary of the scientist receiving the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 1994, the Bank of France issued a 500-franc banknote depicting Marie and Pierre Curie. Since 2024, Curie has been depicted on French 50 euro cent coins to commemorate her importance in French history. On November 7, 2011, Curie was celebrated in a Google Doodle. In 2025, the European Central Bank announced that Curie had been selected to appear on the obverse of twenty euro banknotes in a future redesign, were the theme "European culture" to be selected over "Rivers and birds". Marie Curie was immortalized in at least one color Autochrome Lumière photograph during her lifetime. It was saved in Musée Curie in Paris. In 2026, Curie was announced as one of 72 historical women in STEM whose names have been proposed to be added to the 72 men already celebrated on the Eiffel Tower. The plan was announced by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo following the recommendations of a committee led by Isabelle Vauglin of '''' and Jean-François Martins, representing the operating company which runs the Eiffel Tower. == See also ==