In an era when female scientists were a rarity, Marie Curie defied the odds, shattering glass ceilings and becoming a pioneering figure in both science and women’s rights. Known globally as Madame Curie, she was the first to win Nobel Prizes in two distinct scientific fields. Her groundbreaking work advanced our understanding of radioactivity and paved the way for women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). On December 26, 1898, Curie and her husband, Pierre, discovered radium, earning her the moniker Mother of Radioactivity.
Born in Warsaw, Poland, when higher education was mainly inaccessible to women, Curie moved to Paris to continue her studies at the University of Paris (Sorbonne). There, she earned her degrees in physics and mathematics. At the Sorbonne, she met her future husband, Pierre Curie, a physicist who would become her partner in both marriage and groundbreaking scientific discovery.
In 1896, Henri Becquerel discovered radiation from uranium, sparking the Curies’ research into finding new radioactive elements. In 1898, after years of work, they discovered two elements—polonium and radium—that emitted even stronger radiation than uranium. During this time, Marie Curie coined the term radioactivity, effectively founding the field of radioactivity research.
In 1903, Marie Curie and her husband Pierre were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their joint research on radiation. At first, Curie was not even considered a nominee, as she was not a member of the Academy of Sciences. Societal biases at that time held that women could not contribute to serious scientific work. Only after Pierre petitioned on her behalf several times did she become the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize.
In 1906, tragedy struck when Pierre was killed in a carriage accident. Grief-stricken, Marie Curie persevered and stepped into her husband’s academic role, becoming the first woman to hold a professorship at the Sorbonne. Despite her loss, she continued her research, now focusing on isolating pure radium. After years of meticulous experiments, Curie succeeded in 1910, extracting 0.1 grams of pure radium from 8 tons of uranium ore.
Firm in believing that scientific discoveries should benefit humanity, Curie did not patent her findings. The following year, in 1911, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, making her the first—and only—person to win Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields.
Curie’s recognition, however, was not without controversy. Her affair with Paul Langevin, a married man and one of her late husband’s former students, nearly overshadowed her achievements. Despite the scandal, Curie was honored with the Nobel Prize, cementing her place as one of history’s greatest scientists.
When World War I broke out, Curie didn’t hesitate to use her expertise to help the wounded. She developed mobile X-ray units, affectionately called Little Curies, and, along with her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie (who would later win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry herself), traveled to the front lines. Their work saved countless lives by enabling better diagnosis and treatment for soldiers.
After the war, Curie returned to her research, but her health began to deteriorate due to the years of radiation exposure she had endured. At the time, the dangers of radiation were not well understood, and Curie worked without protective gear, which led to prolonged exposure to harmful radiation.
Marie Curie, 67, died of aplastic anemia in July 1934. A fellow scientific giant, Albert Einstein, mourned her passing, stating, “She was the only famous person who did not lose her purity for the sake of honor.”
Marie Curie became the first woman interred in the Panthéon in Paris, France, alongside the nation’s greatest heroes. Even 90 years after her death, her legacy radiates literally. Her tomb is encased in a 3-centimeter-thick layer of lead to shield visitors from the radiation still emitted by her remains.