She taught her daughters Polish and took them on visits there. Though a French citizen, Marie Skłodowska Curie never lost touch with her Polish heritage. She named the element ‘polonium’ after her native country Battlefield X-rays became commonplace and helped to save countless lives. When World War One broke out, Curie realised that the radiation of X-rays could help doctors see the bullets and shrapnel embedded in soldiers’ bodies. In a paper, she coined the word ‘radioactive’ and made two startling observations: that measuring radioactivity would allow for the discovery of new elements, and that radioactivity was a property of the atom. She coined the word ‘radioactive’Ĭurie was intrigued by the discovery of X-rays and began conducting her own research. Pierre once wrote to Marie: “It would be a beautiful thing, a thing I dare not hope if we could spend our life near each other, hypnotized by our dreams: your patriotic dream, our humanitarian dream and our scientific dream.” 5. Pierre repeatedly insisted upon his wife properly receiving credit for her scientific discoveries, instead of them being attributed to him. The pair were married in the summer of 1895, had two daughters and reportedly enjoyed a devoted and affectionate marriage. Also working on the project was Pierre Curie, an accomplished researcher. In 1894, one of Curie’s professors arranged a research grant for her to study steel. Pierre and Marie Curie in the laboratory, demonstrating the experimental apparatus used to detect the ionisation of air, and hence the radioactivity of samples of purified ore which enabled their discovery of radium. She married fellow scientist Pierre Curie When she did, she lived on bread, butter and tea. She worked exceptionally hard – often far into the night – and it’s reported that she often forgot to eat. This helped her pay for her degrees in physics and mathematical sciences in 1894. She came top of her class, and was thus awarded the Alexandrovitch Scholarship for Polish students studying abroad. She was a brilliant studentĬurie enrolled at the Sorbonne in Paris under the name ‘Marie’ to sound more French. When there, Bronisława earned money to also pay for Curie’s education in Paris, which she began in November 1891. Aged 17, Curie took up work as a governess, where she experienced an unhappy love affair.Ĭurie’s earnings were able to fund her sister’s attendance at medical school in Paris. However, the University of Warsaw didn’t accept women, meaning both needed to move abroad to do so. At the same time, she also secretly took part in the nationalist ‘free university’, reading in Polish to women workers.Ĭurie’s sister Bronisława wanted to attend medical school. Curie therefore took up work as a teacher. She got a job to fund her sister’s educationĬurie’s father lost his savings because of a bad investment. She was renowned for her prodigious memory, and she graduated from secondary education aged 15, coming first in her class. It also shaped her views on religion: she renounced Catholicism and stated that she would never again “believe in the benevolence of god”. This had a profound impact upon her, and catalysed curie’s lifelong battle with depression. Sklodowski Family: Wladyslaw Skłodowski and his daughters Maria, Bronisława and Helena in 1890.Ĭurie’s mother died from tuberculosis in 1878.
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