Maria Skłodowska (married Curie) was the youngest of five children of Bronisław and Władysław Skłodowska. Both of her parents were teachers.

WITH early years the girl followed in her father's footsteps, being keenly interested in mathematics and physics. Having received elementary education At the school of J. Sikorskaya, Maria entered the women's gymnasium, from which she graduated in 1883 with a gold medal. She was denied admission to the men's University of Warsaw, and therefore she can only agree to the position of teacher at the Flying University. However, parting with the dream of getting the cherished academic degree Maria is in no hurry, and makes a deal with her older sister Bronislava that at first she will support her sister, for which in the future her sister will help her.

Maria takes on all sorts of jobs, becoming a private tutor and governess in order to earn money for her sister’s education. And at the same time, she is engaged in self-education, enthusiastically reading books and scientific works. She also begins her own scientific practice in a chemistry laboratory.

In 1891, Maria moved to France, where she entered the Sorbonne University in Paris. There her name is converted into the French name Marie. Due to the fact that financial support she had nowhere to wait; the girl, trying to earn a living, gives private lessons in the evenings.

In 1893 she received a master's degree in physics, and the following year - a master's degree in mathematics. Maria begins her scientific work with research various types steel and their magnetic properties.

The search for a larger laboratory leads her to meet Pierre Curie, at that time a teacher at the School of Physics and Chemistry. He will help the girl find a suitable place for research.

Maria makes several attempts to return to Poland and continue her scientific work in her homeland, but there she is denied permission to conduct this activity, simply because she is a woman. She eventually returns to Paris to earn her Ph.D.

Scientific activity

In 1896, Henry Becquerel's discovery of the ability of uranium salts to emit radiation inspired Marie Curie to conduct new, more in-depth studies of this issue. Using an electrometer, she discovers that the rays emitted remain unchanged, regardless of the state or type of uranium.

After studying this phenomenon more closely, Curie discovers that the rays originate from the atomic structure of the element, rather than being the result of molecular interactions. It was this revolutionary discovery that would become the beginning of atomic physics.

Since the family could not exist solely on earnings from research activities, Marie Curie took up teaching at the École Normale Supérieure. But at the same time, she continues to work with two samples of uranium minerals, uraninite and torbernite.

Interested in her research, Pierre Curie gave up his own work with crystals in 1898 and joined Maria. Together they begin a search for substances capable of emitting radiation.

In 1898, while working with uraninite, they discover a new radioactive element, which they call "polonium", in honor of Mary's homeland. All in the same year, they will discover another element, which will be called “radium”. Then they will introduce the term “radioactivity”.

So that not a shadow of doubt remains about the authenticity of their discovery, Pierre and Maria embark on a desperate undertaking - to obtain polonium and radium in their pure form from uraninite. And, in 1902, they managed to isolate radium salts by fractional crystallization.

During the same period, from 1898 to 1902, Pierre and Maria published no less than 32 articles in which they described in detail the process of their work with radioactivity. In one of these articles, they claim that cells affected by tumors are destroyed faster than healthy cells when exposed to radiation.

In 1903 Marie Curie received doctorate at the University of Paris. In the same year, Pierre and Marie Curie were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, which they would accept only in 1905.

In 1906, after the death of Pierre, Maria was offered the position of head of the department of physics, which her late husband had previously occupied, and a professorship at the Sorbonne, to which she willingly agreed, intending to create scientific laboratory world class.

In 1910, Marie Curie successfully obtained the element radium and determined the international unit of measurement radioactive radiation, which would later be named after her - Curie.

In 1911, she again became a Nobel Prize laureate, this time in the field of chemistry.

International recognition, along with the support of the French government, helped Skłodowska-Curie found the Radium Institute in Paris, an institution aimed at conducting research in the fields of physics, chemistry and medicine.

During World War I, Marie Curie opens a radiology center to help military doctors care for wounded soldiers. Under her leadership, twenty mobile radiological laboratories are being assembled, and another 200 radiological units are being placed in field hospitals. According to available evidence, more than a million wounded were examined with the help of its X-ray machines.

After the war, she will publish the book “Radiology at War,” in which she will describe in detail her wartime experiences.

Over the following years, Marie Curie traveled to different countries in search of funds necessary to continue research into the properties of radium.

In 1922 she became a member of the French Academy of Medicine. Maria is also elected as a member International Commission on Intellectual Cooperation at the League of Nations.

In 1930, Marie Skłodowska-Curie became an honorary member International Committee atomic scales.

Main works

Marie Curie - in addition to the discovery of two elements, polonium and radium, and the isolation radioactive isotopes– belongs to the introduction of the term “radioactivity” and the formulation of the theory of radioactivity.

Awards and achievements

In 1903, for outstanding services in joint research into the phenomenon of radioactivity, discovered by Professor Henry Becquerel, Marie Curie, together with her husband Pierre Curie, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

In 1911, Maria again became a Nobel Prize laureate, this time in the field of chemistry, for the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, for isolating radium in its pure form, as well as for studying the nature and properties of this wonderful element.

Buildings, institutions, universities, public places, streets and museums will be named in her honor, and her life and works will be described in works of art, books, biographies and films.

Personal life and legacy

Maria was introduced to her future husband, Pierre Curie, by the Polish physicist, Professor Jozef Kowalski-Wierusz. Mutual sympathy arises instantly, because both were captured by a common passion for science. Pierre invites Maria to marry him, but is refused. Without despair, Pierre again asks for her hand, and on July 26, 1895 they are married. Two years later, their union was blessed with the birth of their daughter Irene. In 1904, their second daughter Eva was born.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie, who suffered from hypoplastic anemia due to prolonged exposure to radiation, died on July 4, 1934 at the Sancellmoz sanatorium in Passy, ​​in the department of Haute-Savoie. She was buried next to Pierre in the French commune of Seau.

However, sixty years later their remains will be transferred to the Paris Pantheon.

Marie Curie became the first female Nobel laureate, and the only woman to receive this prestigious award in disparate fields of two different sciences. Thanks to Mary, the term “radioactivity” appeared in science.

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Maria Skłodowska was born in Warsaw into the family of a physics teacher at one of the city's gymnasiums. When Maria was not yet eleven, her mother, to whom the girl was very attached, died. Maria withdrew into herself and began to spend a lot of time in the chemical laboratory, doing what attracted her most. An acquaintance of her father, Russian chemistry professor Dmitry Mendeleev, seeing Maria at work in the laboratory, predicted a great future for her. However, this dream was difficult to realize, since the family was poor, and besides, in Russia women could not obtain higher education.

You may ask, what does Russia have to do with it? The fact is that in those years the Kingdom of Poland was part of Russian Empire. Therefore, Maria Skłodowska left Poland and moved to France. In Paris, she began working as a governess and at the same time became a student at the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the Sorbonne, and she studied in two departments at once - physics and mathematics.

After completing her studies in 1894, Maria Sklodowska met her future husband Pierre Curie, who headed the physics laboratory at the municipal school of industrial physics and chemistry. Curie offered Maria a job in his laboratory. She accepted the proposal, and a year later she married Pierre. Since then they have worked together, and the main topic of their research has been radioactivity.

The Curie couple's interest in this phenomenon arose after the discovery of the French chemist Henri Becquerel, who discovered that some substances emit deeply penetrating radiation. First of all, Marie Sklodowska-Curie decided to establish whether there are other sources of it in nature, besides the uranium compounds that Becquerel wrote about.

Pierre Curie designed special instruments, with the help of which Maria was able to establish that, of all the known elements, only uranium and thorium are radioactive. However, after examining the uranium ore, she discovered that it contained a previously unknown, highly radioactive element.

After numerous chemical experiments in December 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie informed the public that they had discovered two new radioactive elements, they called them polonium and radium.

To obtain these elements, they had to recycle, great amount uranium ore. For four whole years, physicists worked tirelessly and finally, in September 1902, they announced that they had obtained one tenth of a gram of radium chloride. To do this, they had to process several tons of uranium ore. For her research and discoveries, Maria Sklodowska and her husband received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1908.

Marie Curie was also a wonderful mother. She loved her daughter Irene, who was born in 1897, and later became a famous physicist, also receiving a Nobel Prize.

In December 1904, a second daughter, Eva, was born into the Curie family, who later became a famous pianist, as well as a biographer of her parents.

Maria herself continued to study science; This was not prevented even by the misfortune that befell her: in April 1906, Pierre Jury tragically died. Only after this did the Sorbonne council award Marie Sklodowska-Curie the title of professor and appoint her head of the department headed by her husband. Prior to this, the university only allowed her to be the head of her husband's laboratory, despite her achievements. Still, just a century ago, attitudes towards women were quite conservative.

From that time on, Sklodowska-Curie's main efforts were focused on obtaining metallic radium. The researcher spent four years searching for it, and finally, in 1910, success was achieved. For these studies, Marie Sklodowska-Curie was awarded a second Nobel Prize - in chemistry. Thus, Marie Skłodowska-Curie not only became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize, but she was the first person to win the Prize twice. It is curious that the French Academy of Sciences still rejected Sklodowska-Curie's candidacy for membership, for the simple reason that she was a woman.

Marie Sklodowska-Curie became the first director of the Radium Institute established for her. However, experiments with radioactive substances undermined her health, and on July 4, 1934, she died of leukemia.

Marie Curie was the first female scientist who was twice awarded the Nobel Prize for her research in the field of physics of radioactive materials and chemistry, the creator of the first X-ray machines, and the discoverer of the chemical element radium.

She is called the mother of radioactive physics, and the Marie Curie University in Paris is the best on the planet, practical research is still being conducted there, students from different countries peace. Marie was not only a great scientist, but also simply a happy woman who gave birth to and raised two charming daughters.

This outstanding woman was a real genius, the Warsaw Marie Skłodowska-Curie Museum was opened in her memory, and National Library in Paris he carefully stores her belongings and laboratory equipment. Marie Curie herself is buried in a special coffin protected from radiation in the Paris Pantheon, and everyone who wants to examine her personal belongings is warned about the possibility of getting radiation sickness.

Here are some Interesting Facts, which the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Museum offers to familiarize yourself with:

  • The physicist always wore an amulet filled with real radium, but she did not know about the dangers of radiation.
  • The scientist named the discovered element polonium, thereby perpetuating the memory of her homeland.
  • Curie was a full member of 85 scientific societies, and this was simply an incredible event for a woman of that time.
  • Curie gave birth to two absolutely healthy girls, despite the fact that she always worked without special protection and received several severe burns.
  • Her daughter Irene also received the title of Nobel Prize laureate.
  • Maria became the first female teacher in the entire history of the Sorbonne.

Childhood and youth of a scientist

Maria Sklodowska was born on November 7, 1867 in a family of Polish teachers and was the fifth child. Her father worked as a physics teacher, and her mother held the position of director of a gymnasium, but was forced to give up work after she fell ill with tuberculosis.

The girl grew up extremely purposeful and diligent. Maria was an excellent student, and natural Sciences were given to her with extraordinary ease. short biography, set out on Wikipedia, suggests that from the very youth Maria felt a craving for research, and her parents tried to help her in everything.

Soon one of Marie's sisters dies, and then her mother - these events make the very young Marie Curie think about the frailty of existence. The girl's father had extensive contacts in scientific circles, and Curie had the opportunity to communicate with some very famous personalities. For example, great chemist Mendeleev, seeing the girl conducting experiments in the laboratory, exclaimed: “Yes, she will become an excellent chemist!”

Maria graduated from high school with flying colors, but the road to university was closed for her only for the reason that she was a woman. The sisters decided that they would help each other get an education by taking turns working as governesses for several years.

Soon Marie Curie went to enroll in one of the natural science faculties of the Sorbonne. Having become a student, the girl studied with complete dedication and was among the best. One day, while studying, Marie fainted from hunger: she lived in extreme need, she did not have enough money for food, clothes and shoes.

Personal life

Curie graduated from the faculties of physics and mathematics, and then began research in the laboratory led by her future husband— Pierre Curie. By the age of 35, he managed to make several scientific discoveries, taught at a prestigious school, conducted research in the field of crystal physics, but was not married.

Pierre Curie was burdened by the company of silly girls, but a promising girl with brilliant inclinations charmed him. Exactly a year later, Maria and Pierre decided to join their destinies and held a modest civil ceremony.

The museum contains a photograph in which the Curies are captured with bicycles during their wedding walk. Soon their first daughter is born, but the young mother sends the child to her grandfather, and she herself completes a series of experiments on magnetism. Pierre and Marie Curie began working together, conducting studies of the radiation of ores, commissioned by large metallurgical concerns. Working together brings real pleasure to the spouses, and their union is strengthened by the birth of their second daughter.

However, happiness does not last long: soon her beloved husband dies under the wheels of a freight cart, and Marie is left completely alone. This circumstance does not affect her work in any way; on the contrary, Curie is immersed in the study of radiation emitted uranium ores. The scientist conducts many experiments, being exposed to severe radiation. Towards the end of her life, Maria suffered from many diseases that were the result of radiation sickness, and died from leukemia, which took an acute form.

Scientific achievements

Marie Curie, whose biography is full of events, was able to achieve the impossible and become a leading scientist, ahead of many men. Curie-Sklodowska not only lectured on physics, but also continued to perform greatest discoveries in the field of radioactive properties of elements, as well as their capabilities practical use. Thanks to hard work, she and her husband discover the existence of polonium and make an assumption about the existence of other elements not yet discovered by science.

She completed her twelve-year study of the properties of radium, having obtained this element in the form of a metal, she was able to isolate the compound of radium chloride, which became the standard and is stored at the Institute of Weights and Measures. Special meaning Her work came about in connection with the discovery of the potential of radioactive radiation in the fight against cancer, previously considered incurable.

Curie discovered the disinfecting effect of radioactive gases in the treatment of purulent inflammations, and created a special container that contained drugs. During the war, she helped assemble mobile X-ray machines, called “little Curies,” which were used to determine the position of fragments in a wound.

Thanks to her perseverance, she was able to found the world's first Radium Institute, where she not only taught, but also research activities. During her life, she wrote more than 30 articles and raised a galaxy of young scientists who continued her work. Marie Sklodowska-Curie investigated the harmful effects of radiation from the elements she discovered on human body– unfortunately, these discoveries were made at the cost of her own life. Author: Natalya Ivanova

Maria Skłodowska-Curie

An outstanding physicist, chemist, experimental researcher, winner of two Nobel Prizes... It’s even hard to believe that we're talking about about a fragile, attractive woman - Marie Sklodowska-Curie, who achieved a lot in her life: a great scientist, a loving and devoted wife, a caring mother of two daughters.

Childhood and adolescence: through thorns to knowledge

On November 7, 1867, the fifth child, daughter Maria, was born into the family of Poles Bronislava and Wladislav Sklodowski. Her parents were educated people– my father taught, and my mother was the director of a girls’ gymnasium. Maria grew up as a capable, inquisitive and responsible child; while studying at the boarding school and gymnasium, she was one of the best students. Life for the Skłodowski family was not easy. My father had problems with his job because of his relationship with Russian authorities, under whose occupation Poland was, the mother was ill for a long time and died when Maria was still a teenager. The family experienced financial difficulties, and the children had to work part-time. But the girl was drawn to knowledge, so her efforts were rewarded with a gold medal for excellent studies. Unfortunately, women in Poland were not allowed to study at universities, and the financial situation of the family did not provide the opportunity to study abroad.

The older sister Bronislava dreamed of medicine, and Maria was attracted to natural sciences. Realizing that cooperative learning There is not enough money, the sisters decided to support each other. While in Paris elder sister will receive medical education, Maria will help her by working as a governess in Poland. The girl had to work for other people’s families for a long and dreary 5 years, and only when Bronislava received a doctor’s degree was Maria able to study further. In 1891, 24-year-old Pole Maria Skłodowska became a student at the Sorbonne. She studied furiously: she spent all her time in the library and laboratories, did not get enough sleep, and skimped on food and transportation. And already in 1893 she received a licentiate (master's) diploma in physics, and the next year she became a licentiate in mathematics.

Pierre and Marie Curie – harmony not only in the family, but also in science

Many women studied at the French Sorbonne, but in the history of the university there were no female teachers before Maria Sklodowska - she became the first.
In her life at this time everything was going well. While finishing her studies at the Sorbonne, she met the young but already famous French scientist Pierre Curie, who was simply fascinated by her and thought about marriage for the first time. For almost 5 years, the Frenchman courted a young Polish woman, until she finally realized that with this man you can not only start a family, but also be comrades-in-arms in scientific activity. In 1895, Maria became Sklodowska-Curie, and in 1897 their first daughter, Irene, was born. Despite her difficult pregnancy, Maria continued to engage in physical research, and soon the world saw the young scientist’s first work on the magnetic properties of hardened steels.

When choosing a topic for her doctoral dissertation, Maria became interested in Henri Becquerel's research on the anomalous rays that emit uranium salts. 4 years of continuous experiments yielded an amazing result: chemical radioactive elements called polonium and radium were isolated from uranium ore. Also, Marie Sklodowska-Curie introduced a new concept - radioactivity. But discovering new elements was only half the battle, scientific world it was necessary to provide their physical evidence. Having processed tons of uranium ore in conditions absolutely unsuitable for scientific research, in 1902 the Skłodowski-Curies managed to extract 0.1 grams of radium. She described all her research in her doctoral dissertation, which she presented for defense at the Sorbonne and successfully defended.
In 1903, the Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Prize in physics to the spouses Curie and Henri Becquerel for joint research into the phenomenon of radioactivity, with Maria becoming the first woman to receive such an award.

The Curies have huge scientific plans - Pierre heads the physics department, and Maria heads the laboratory. They continue their research. In 1904, an addition to the family was born. youngest daughter Eve.

The scientific world applauds for the second time

But he will fully enjoy world fame and family well-being prevented by an absurd tragic incident - Pierre Curie died under the wheels of a cart. Maria lost not only her husband, but also her like-minded partner. working together. She took this loss very hard, but their joint research required continuation. She was offered to head the physics department instead of Pierre, and she became the first female professor to lecture at the Sorbonne. Sklodowska-Curie and Andre Debierne obtained pure radium in 1910 and thereby confirmed that it is an independent element. This convincingly proved that 12 years of research were carried out in the right direction.

1911 was again a triumphant year for Marie Skłodowska-Curie. Her contribution to the development of chemistry was recognized by the Nobel Prize, the second in her life. Until now, no woman has received this award twice.

Radiation in medicine

To study radioactivity, the Radium Institute was created, to which Professor Sklodowska-Curie was invited as director of the department of the use of radioactivity for medical purposes. But I World War interfered with the start of his work.
Maria, realizing that her knowledge and experience can be useful in war time, headed the radiology service in the Red Cross organization. There was a catastrophic shortage of X-ray units at the fronts, and she set about creating mobile laboratories. She invested her personal savings in this business and attracted sponsors. These installations, lovingly called “chickens,” have saved many lives.
IN last years Madame Curie's health began to deteriorate sharply. First, problems with the eyes began, then gallstone disease worsened. In December 1933, the malaise intensified, but doctors could not establish an accurate diagnosis, so treatment did not produce any results.
This outstanding woman died on July 4, 1934, and the cause of death was aplastic radiation anemia. Sklodowska-Curie was killed by her own great discoveries.

Polish-born French physicist Marie Curie coined the term “radioactivity” and discovered two elements: radium and polonium. Not only was she the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physics, but when she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, she became the first double winner of this prestigious award and the only one in two disciplines.

Marie Curie: biography of her early years

Born in Warsaw on November 7, 1867, she was the youngest of five children of Władysław and Bronisława Skłodowski. After her father lost his job, the family suffered from poverty and was forced to rent out rooms in their small apartment to guests. Religious as a child, Maria became disillusioned with her faith after her sister died of typhus in 1876. Two years later from tuberculosis, terrible disease, which affects the bones and lungs, Skłodowska-Curie’s mother died.

Maria was a brilliant student and graduated in 1883 high school with a gold medal. In Russia, which then included part of Poland, where the Skłodowski family lived, girls were prohibited from studying at higher education institutions. educational institutions. Maria, at her father’s suggestion, spent a year at her friends’ dacha. Returning to Warsaw the following summer, she began making a living as a tutor and also began attending classes at the “Flying University,” an underground group of young men and women who tried to quench their thirst for knowledge at secret meetings.

In early 1886, Maria was hired as a governess by a family living in Shchukki, but the intellectual loneliness she experienced there strengthened her determination to fulfill her dream of becoming a university student. One of her sisters, Bronya, was already in Paris by that time, where she successfully passed her medical exams. In September 1891, Maria moved in with her.

Study and research in Paris

When classes at the Sorbonne began in early November 1891, Maria entered the physics department. By 1894, she was desperately looking for a laboratory where she could study the magnetic properties of steel alloys. She was advised to visit Pierre Curie at the School of Physics and Chemistry at the University of Paris. In 1895, Pierre and Marie married, and so began a most extraordinary partnership in scientific work.

By mid-1897, Curie received two higher education, completed her graduate studies and also published a monograph on the magnetization of hardened steel. When her first daughter, Irene, was born, she and her husband turned their attention to the mysterious radiation from uranium discovered by Antoine Henri Becquerel (1852-1908). Maria intuitively felt that radiation was a property of the atom and therefore must be present in some other elements. She soon discovered similar radiation from thorium and coined the historical term “radioactivity.”

Outstanding discoveries

In their search for other sources of radioactivity, Pierre and Marie Curie turned their attention to uraninite, a mineral known for its uranium content. Much to their surprise, the radioactivity of the uranium ore far exceeded the combined radiation of the uranium and thorium contained in it. Within six months, two papers were sent to the Academy of Sciences. The first, read at a meeting on July 18, 1898, concerned the discovery of the element polonium, named after Marie Curie's home country, Poland. The second was read on December 26 and announced a new chemical element, radium.

From 1898 to 1902, after processing several tons of uranium ore, the couple extracted extremely precious hundredths of a gram of radium. But they were not the only reward for Curie’s superhuman efforts. Maria and Pierre have published, jointly or separately, a total of 32 scientific works. One of them said that under the influence of radium, diseased tumor cells are destroyed faster than healthy ones.

Confession

In November 1903, the Royal Society of London awarded the outstanding scientist one of its highest awards, the Davy Medal. A month later, there was an announcement by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm that three French scientists, A. Becquerel, Pierre and Marie Curie, had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903. Finally, even academics in Paris began to stir, and a few months later, Marie was appointed head of research at the Paris university.

In December 1904, the couple's second daughter, Eva, was born. The following year, Pierre was elected to the Academy of Sciences, and the couple traveled to Stockholm, where on June 6 he delivered the Nobel Lecture, which was their joint address. Pierre ended his speech by saying that every major scientific advance has a twofold impact. He expressed the hope that “humanity will derive more benefit from new discoveries than harm.”

Depression

The joyful period in the life of the married scientific team did not last long. On a rainy afternoon on April 19, 2006, Pierre was hit by a heavy crew and died instantly. Two weeks later the widow was invited to take over her late husband's post. Awards scientific societies from around the world began to pour in on the woman who was left alone with two small children and who had the enormous burden of leading radioactivity research. In 1908 she edited the collected works of her late husband and in 1910 published her great job Traité de radioactivité. After some time, Marie Curie received the Nobel Prize for the second time, this time in chemistry. However, she was unable to defeat the Academy of Sciences, which Once again denied her membership.

Einstein's support

After the public learned of her romantic relationship with estranged married colleague Paul Langevin, Marie Curie was branded a homewrecker and accused of using her late husband's work and not achieving her own achievements. Although she was awarded a second Nobel Prize, the nominating committee recommended that she not travel to Stockholm to accept the award. Albert Einstein sent a letter to the depressed Curie, in which he admired her and advised her not to read newspaper articles directed against her, but to “leave them to the reptiles for whom they were fabricated.” She soon recovered, went to Sweden and received a second Nobel Prize.

Radiology and war

During the First World War, Mary dedicated most of its time, equipping field hospitals and vehicles with primitive X-ray devices to assist the wounded. These machines were dubbed “little Curies” in the combat zone. Maria, who was 50 years old by the end of the war, had spent most of her physical strength and savings patriotically invested in war bonds. But her devotion to science was inexhaustible. In 1919 she was reinstated at the Radium Institute, and two years later her book “Radiology and War” was published. In it, she informatively described the scientific and human experience gained by this branch of science during the war. At the end of World War I, her daughter Irene, a physicist, was appointed as an assistant in her mother's laboratory.

A gift from the American people

Soon a landmark visit took place at the Radium Institute. The visitor was William Brown Meloni, editor of a leading New York magazine and representative of the many women for whom the scientist Marie Curie had been an ideal and inspiration for many years. A year later, Meloni returned to report that a nationwide subscription in the United States had raised hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to purchase 1 gram of radium for her institute. She was also invited to visit the United States with her daughters and personally collect the valuable gift. Her trip was an absolute triumph. At the White House, President Warren Harding gave her a golden key to a small metal box that contained a valuable chemical element.

The beauty of science

Physicist Marie Curie rarely spoke publicly on topics not related to scientific issues. One exception was her speech in 1933 at a conference on the future of culture. There she defended science, which some participants accused of dehumanizing modern life. “I am one of those,” she said, “who thinks that science has great beauty. The scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician; he and the child are presented with natural phenomena that amaze him like a fairy tale. We must not allow all scientific progress to be reduced to mechanisms, machines and gears, although such machines are beautiful in their own way.”

last years of life

The most touching moment What brightened the life of Marie Curie was probably the marriage of her daughter Irene with the most gifted employee of the Radium Institute, Frédéric Joliot, which took place in 1926. She soon saw clearly that their union would be reminiscent of her own amazingly creative collaboration with Pierre Curie.

Maria worked almost until the very end and successfully completed the manuscript of her latest book, Radioactivity. In recent years, her youngest daughter Eva has provided her with great support. She was also her mother's faithful companion when Marie Curie died on 07/04/34. Biography outstanding physicist interrupted in Sancellmoz, France. Albert Einstein once said that she is the only celebrity who has not been spoiled by fame.

Marie Curie: interesting facts

  • The brilliant female physicist personally provided medical care French soldiers during the First World War. She helped equip 20 ambulances and hundreds of field hospitals with primitive X-ray machines to make it easier for surgeons to find and remove bullets and shrapnel from wounded soldiers. This and radon sterilization of wounds saved the lives of a million people.
  • Curie became the first owner of two Nobel Prizes and remains the only one to receive them in different disciplines.

  • Initially, her name was not mentioned in the nomination for the Nobel Foundation's physics award. However, through the efforts of committee member Magnus Gustav Mittag-Leffler, professor of mathematics at Stockholm University College, and her husband, the official nomination was expanded.
  • The Marie Curie University, founded in 1944, is one of the largest in Poland. state universities countries.
  • The physicist did not know about the dangers of radioactivity. She spent every day in a laboratory full of hazardous materials. At home, Curie used a sample radioactive substance as a night light by your bed. Until the very end, Maria did not know that her discovery was the cause of her pain and illness. Her personal belongings and laboratory records are still so contaminated that they cannot be safely inspected or studied.
  • Her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie also won the prestigious award. She and her husband were recognized for their achievements in the synthesis of new radioactive elements.
  • The word "radioactivity" was coined by Pierre and Marie Curie.
  • The 1943 film Madame Curie, directed by American director Mervyn LeRoy, was nominated for an Oscar.