Physicist · 1867 – 1934
Marie Curie
Key Takeaways
- Marie Curie was the first person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences (Physics and Chemistry).
- She discovered the elements polonium and radium.
- She coined the term 'radioactivity'.
- She was the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.
Marie Curie transformed physics and chemistry while shattering barriers for women in science. Working with dangerous, barely understood materials, she opened the atomic age and paid for it with her health.
Discovering radioactivity
With her husband Pierre, Curie isolated two new elements — polonium, named for her native Poland, and radium — and coined the word radioactivity to describe the strange energy they emitted.
A double laureate
Curie won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the first person ever to win in two sciences. She later pioneered medical radiology, bringing mobile X-ray units to the battlefields of World War I.
Influence
Curie's work opened the field of atomic and nuclear physics and led to medical radiation therapy; she remains the archetype of the pioneering woman scientist.
Legacy
The unit of radioactivity, the curie, and element 96, curium, are named in her honor; her notebooks are still radioactive.
Controversies
- Faced xenophobic and sexist press attacks in France over her personal life.
Notable Quotes
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.”
Connections
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Marie Curie?
Marie Curie (1867–1934) was a Polish-French physicist and chemist who pioneered radioactivity research, discovered polonium and radium, and won two Nobel Prizes.
How many Nobel Prizes did Marie Curie win?
Two — the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry — making her the first person to win in two sciences.
Biography Books
- Marie Curie: A Life — Susan Quinn (1995)intermediate
Susan Quinn's thorough, humane biography.
View on Amazon ↗
Movies & Documentaries
- Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledgefilm · 2016
A dramatization of her scientific and personal life.
Citations & Sources
- Quinn, S. — Marie Curie: A Life (Simon & Schuster, 1995).
- Nobel Prize — 'Marie Curie'.
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