Culture Site: Marie Curie

 Marie Curie, ‘The Great Queen of Science’

Profile of Marie Curie

 

Birth: November 7, 1867

           Warsaw, Poland

Nationality: Polish

Field: Physics and Chemistry

Occupation: Scientist

Discovered   polonium and radium

Prizes: Nobel Prize in Physics (1903)

            Davy Medal (1903)  

           Matteucci Medal (1904)  

           Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1911) 

“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 one of main purposes of this blog is to learn about at the time of Marie Curie, who was the greatest woman scientist in the history of science and see what she accomplished in the field of science. Also, learning about trends at the time of Marie Curie and instruments Marie used in her discovery is another main purpose of this site.     

     Maria Sklodowaka, who was later named Madame Marie Curie, was born on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw, the city that was once the capital of Poland. She received a general education in local schools and some scientific training from her father, who was a teacher of a secondary school. In 1891, she decided to go to Paris in order to continue her studies at the Sorbonne, where she received licenses in the field of physics and the mathematical sciences. In 1894, Marie met Pierre Curie, who was a professor in the physics school. They were married in the following year. In 1903, she gained her doctor degree in science. Due to the tragic death of Pierre Curie in 1906, Marie took her husband’s place as the professor of general physics. This was the first time a woman had held this position.  At that time, she received Nobel Prize in Physics together with many other scientists. According to Ogilvie (2004), Marie Curie was the first woman who was awarded a Nobel Prize. In 1911, she received another Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 1914, she was also appointed as director of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute of the University of Paris. Due to the outbreak of World War I, Marie was not able to continue her experiments. At that time, Marie decided to go to the battlefield and give treatment to the wounded soldiers even though it was really dangerous work to do. In order to raise funds for a hospital and laboratory that devoted to radiology, the branch of medicine that uses X-rays and radium to diagnose and treat disease, Marie decided to campaign shortly after the war was over. Marie Meloney, an American journalist, heard about Marie’s efforts and invited her to come to the America to publicize her project. Even though Marie didn’t want to visit America, she accepted and visited the United States in 1921. Marie soon realized that people liked to support her work. Marie allowed people to use her name to the cause for world peace by serving on the council of the League of Nations. “Her death near Sallanches in 1934 was from aplastic anemia, almost certainly due to massive exposure to radiation, as much of her work had been carried out in a shed with no safety measuring being taken, as the damaging effects of hard radiation were not yet known.”(“Marie Curie,” 2007)  

 Published by YJ Kim. January 2007