Marie Curie: Biography Of This Pioneering Radioactivity Researcher
It is impossible to be trained in the field of science, both Physics and Chemistry, and not know Marie Curie
This researcher was one of the best-known scientists, standing out above all in the study of radioactivity. Together with her husband Piere she made important discoveries such as the elements radium and polonium.
His work was recognized by awarding him two Nobel Prizes in both the field of Physics and Chemistry, and his contributions were not limited to these two fields, since during the First World War he collaborated with doctors and nurses for a better recovery of soldiers, using mobile X-ray units.
In this article we will mention the most important events in the life of this scientist through a biography of Marie Curie
Maria Salomea Sklodowska, better known as Marie Currie, was born on November 7, 1867 in the city of Warsaw, Poland Both of her parents were teachers, her father was a Physics and Mathematics teacher and her mother was a piano and singing teacher. She was the youngest of five children and did not have a comfortable childhood since her parents had lost all of their property.
At that time The Russians had occupied Poland, thus losing part of the teaching of the Polish language and culture For this reason Marie attended clandestine classes to learn the customs of the country.
The Russian rule in Poland also harmed the work of Marie’s father, who lost his job for being a supporter of Polish culture. Similarly, when laboratory teaching was prohibited in schools, her father moved all science materials to her house and used it to teach its usefulness to her children.
Marie Curie’s life was also marked by the premature death of one of her sisters and her mother events that caused Curie to lose her Catholic faith.
Youth and university years
Regarding her educational career, Curie entered the J. Sikorska boarding school at the age of 10, and was later transferred to an institute for girls, graduating in 1883 with a gold medal. Due to the difficulties that women had in those times in being able to train, she had to enroll with her sister in a clandestine Polish university that admitted women.
In order to get money to pay for her sister Bronislawa’s medical studies and her own studies, she worked as a private teacher and as a governess. Her sister moved to Paris in 1890 and suggested that Marie go with her and her husband, but she did not accept, since she had not yet raised enough money to pay her university tuition.
Even so He never stopped studying and training, he continued attending the clandestine university and began his study in the field of practical science by attending the chemical laboratory of the Museum of Industry and Agriculture.
A year later, at the age of 24, he was finally able to move to Paris with enough money, which he had saved thanks to work and the help of his father, to continue his training. Already in the new city He continued his studies in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics at the Sorbonne University of Paris who despite his good level in these subjects had to make an effort to learn and understand French.
In Paris his living conditions did not improve, since to pay for his housing and his studies, he had to work teaching at night. But her efforts paid off, and in 1893 she was able to graduate in Physics, being the first in her promotion and thus being able to start working in an industrial laboratory. Her studies in the field of Physics did not cease, and in 1894 she obtained the second degree at the already named University of Paris. She also had theater as a hobby, acting in some plays.
His professional life in research
In 1894 he carried out one of his first investigations in charge of the Society for the Promotion of National Industry, with the purpose of study and know the magnetic properties of various steels
It was in this year when she met who would be her future husband, Pierre Curie. At first their union was only professional since Pierre, who was an instructor at the Higher School of Physics and Industrial Chemistry in Paris, provided Marie with a laboratory. with a larger space to work. But her great interest and passion for science formed a closer bond between them, and they married on July 26, 1895.
He continued his training with the completion of his doctorate, whose thesis focused on research on radioactive substances He chose this topic given the discoveries made by Henri Becquerel of uranium radiation and Wilhelm Röntgen of X-rays.
By carrying out his research he can refute previously accepted hypotheses such as the one that stated that atoms were indivisible. Neither she nor her husband knew of the danger of working with the plantation without controlling the conditions; at that time the associated diseases that it entailed were not yet known.
On a personal level, Marie and Pierre had their first daughter named Irène in 1897 So, given the new addition to the family, Marie decided to combine her research with her work as a professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure of Paris and thus be able to support her daughter.
Consolidation of her career as a scientist
The couple continued their research in the field of radioactivity and in 1898 they made public the discovery of two new radioactive elements: polonium and radium, which showed more radioactivity than the already known uranium. Despite their announcement, they needed four more years to demonstrate their discovery.
In her work as a teacher, Marie Curie She was the first woman to be appointed professor at the Higher School where she taught in 1900 Her continuous contact with radiation caused her and her husband to have the first symptoms and health problems in 1903.
Piere and Marie made multiple joint publications where they stated that if cancer cells that formed tumors were exposed to radium, they were destroyed faster than healthy cells.
It was in 1903 when they achieved their first recognition, receiving the Davy medal from the Royal Society of London for their discovery in the field of Chemistry and the precious Nobel Prize in Physics awarded, together with the couple, also to Henri Becquerel for his research into radioactivity. . She was thus the first woman to receive this award, although it was not an easy task since at first it was intended to give the recognition only to the two men.
A year later, in 1904, their second and last daughter, Ève, was born. The couple’s health continued to worsen due to constant radiation exposure It was in 1906 when an accident ended Pierre’s life, causing this catastrophic event that Marie suffered from depression. On May 13 of that same year she became a professor of Physics at the University of Paris, previously belonging to her husband, and she was the first woman to teach at this university.
Marie Curie was a member of the Academy of Sciences of Sweden, the Czech Republic and Poland, but she did not become part of the French Academy of Sciences, receiving multiple criticisms for being a woman and a foreigner. These criticisms did not cease, since in 1911 the affair that she had had with a former student of her husband came to light, thus blaming her, in a bad way, for being a homewrecker.
But his investigations and recognitions did not stop, awarding him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 for his discoveries of radium and polonium, the isolation of radium and the study of the nature of this element.
Despite his recognitions and awards, his psychological and physical problems increased, deciding that the best option would be to take some time off. A year later, in 1913 he improved his health, thus allowing him to study the properties of radium radiation at low temperatures.
The years of the Great War and the postwar period
His research and studies were interrupted by the First World War but Marie’s contributions did not cease, she proposed the creation of mobile radiography units, X-ray equipment, to better care for wounded soldiers and held the position of director of the Radiology Service of the French Red Cross.
After the war Marie traveled to the United States to raise funds to continue radium research. In 1920 she founded the Curie Institute, which is currently one of the main centers for medical, biological and biophysical research.
Last years and death
In 1922 He was a member of the International Commission for Intellectual Cooperation of the United Nations Society and member of the French National Academy of Medicine. He was also a member of the International Committee on Atomic Weights of the International Union of Chemistry.
Marie Curie died on July 4, 1934 in the sanctuary of Sancellemoz, in France, due to aplastic anemia. Her research into radioactivity and exposure to unprotected X-rays seriously harmed her health.
