Marie Curie ☢️
In 1891, university education was unavailable to women in Russia, forcing Marie Curie to leave her homeland and move to Paris to pursue her academic dreams. She began her studies researching the properties of various metals, a pursuit that eventually led her to meet her future husband, Pierre Curie. Together, they embarked on groundbreaking research.
After completing her undergraduate studies, Marie continued on to earn her Ph.D. She and Pierre chose to build their thesis around Henri Becquerel's studies on radiation in uranium. Through their work, Marie discovered two new elements on the periodic table: Radium and Polonium. In 1898, after four years of intensive research, they announced their discovery, which earned them both a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
In 1903, Marie, Pierre, and Henri Becquerel were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering research on radiation, a phenomenon first discovered by Becquerel.
Tragedy struck in 1906 when Pierre died in a devastating accident. Despite the loss, Marie's determination never wavered. On May 13, 1906, she was appointed to the professorship left vacant by her husband's death, becoming the first woman ever to teach at the Sorbonne. She went on to become a titular professor in 1908, and in 1910, she published her landmark treatise on radioactivity. Her work earned her a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, in 1911.
You might think her career ended there, but Marie's legacy continued to grow. During World War I, she played a vital role in the medical field. As the director of the French Red Cross, she helped provide X-ray services to over a million soldiers. Determined to aid the war effort, Marie developed mobile X-ray units, known as "Petites Curies," which she drove herself in Renault vans. With limited resources, she even considered selling her Nobel Prizes to fund the project.
"The Petites Curies" were equipped with a generator, hospital bed, and X-ray machine, and despite initial skepticism from the medical community, the mobile units revolutionized the treatment of wounded soldiers. They allowed doctors to locate bullets and shrapnel inside soldiers’ bodies, significantly improving surgical precision.
Marie’s ambition didn’t stop there. She envisioned adding 200 stationary X-ray units to complement the mobile ones, but the military was initially reluctant to embrace this new technology. Refusing to take no for an answer, Marie trained 150 women to provide radiological diagnoses on the front lines. By the end of the war, over a million French soldiers had benefitted from the “Petites Curies,” a testament to Marie’s unyielding dedication to both science and humanity.
Marie Curie’s groundbreaking work in radioactivity and her tireless efforts during the war continue to inspire generations, both women and men, in the scientific community. She was the first woman to ever win a Nobel Prize, earning her first in 1903 for her work on radioactivity, and a second in 1911 for her discovery of radium and polonium. To this day, she remains the only person to have won Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields.
Living in a time when women had few opportunities, Marie Curie broke barriers and became one of the most influential scientists in history. Her achievements not only fulfilled her dreams but also left a lasting impact that shaped the world we live in today.
Works Cited:
Magazine, Argunners. “This Is How Marie Curie Saved Soldiers' Lives in World War One.” We Are The Mighty, We Are The Mighty, 22 Oct. 2020, www.wearethemighty.com/articles/this-is-how-marie-curie-saved-soldiers-lives-in-world-war-one/.
Extra, History. “Marie Curie (1867–1934): Her Life, Achievements and Legacy.” HistoryExtra, 18 June 2020, www.historyextra.com/period/first-world-war/life-of-the-week-marie-curie/.