Marie Curie

Marie Curie, the well-known physicist and chemist was Polish by birth and French by citizenship. As a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, Marie Curie made extraordinary contribution to science, along with her husband. She was the first and only person till date to be honored with two Nobel Prize in two different fields. She was also the first female professor at the University of Paris and also the first person to initiate treatment of neoplasms. Marie remained dedicated to the progress of science throughout. She promoted the use of science for humanitarian causes during the First World War. For the treatment of wounded soldiers, during World War I, Marie urged for the use of mobile radiography units. These units are popularly known as "Petites Curies" or 'Little Curies'. She and her husband even didn't hesitate to donate their gold Nobel Prize medals for the war effort. In 1925, she founded the Warsaw Radium Institute, in which her sister was a director. Marie also headed the Pasteur Institute, along with a radioactivity laboratory, which was created for her by the University of Paris.

Life And Profile Of Marie Curie

Childhood And Family
Born on 7 November 1867 Marie Sklodowska aka Marie Curie was the youngest daughter of Bronislawa and Wladyslaw Sklodowski, both of whom were well-known teachers. After she lost her mother and older sibling, Marie gave up Catholicism and became an agnostic. At the age of 10, Marie started attending a boarding school, where her mother once worked as a teacher. Maria had a pact with her sister, Bronislawa that she would give her financial assistance during Bronislawa's medical studies in Paris, in return she would also have to do the same two years later. To keep her commitment Marie took a position as governess for some time. During this period, Marie fell in love with Kazimierz Zorawski. But the love affair had a bitter ending owing to Zorawski's parents' disagreement and consequently Marie lost her job. Till the age of 24, Marie lived in Warsaw, but later following her sister, she moved to Paris to attain higher education and perform her subsequent scientific work.

Marriage And Career
In 1891, Marie joined her sister and received an undergraduate degree in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, ranking first. During her years at the University of Paris, she met and married Pierre Curie, someone with common interests. Soon they joined each other in their research endeavors. In July 1898, Curie and her husband published a paper together declaring the presence of an element which they named "polonium"a substance much more radioactive than uranium. Later that year, Marie-Pierre discovered yet another element present in pitchblende, which was far more radioactive than the former and named it radium.In 1897 and 1904, respectively, Curie gave birth to their daughters, Irene and Eve Curie. She later hired Polish governesses to teach her daughters her native language, and also made them visit Poland.

Five years later, in 1903, Marie received her first Nobel Prize in Physics, becoming the first woman ever to receive such an accolade. The same year shealso received her DSc from the University of Paris and became the first woman in France to hold a doctorate. She was offered the position professor in the University of Paris in 1909. Two years later 1911 she stunned the world when she received her second Nobel Prize, this time for Chemistry. With this, she became the first person till date to win or share two Nobel Prizes, in two different fields.

Death
On the 4 of July 1934, Curie died from Aplastic Anemia. The anemia was contracted from her excessive exposure to radiation. Marie was buried near Pierre Curie - her husband and scientific collaborator.

Awards And Honors
In 1903, she was awarded her first Nobel Prize and in 911, when she was awarded a second one Marie became the first woman to receive Nobel Prize twice. Till date, Marie is the only person who has been honored with two Nobel Prizes, in two different fields. Curie was adorned with the French Legion of Honor. Curie, a unit of radioactivity, has been named after Marie-Pierre.While in Poland, Marie received honorary doctorates from the Lwow Polytechnic, Poznan University, Krakow's Jagiellonian University and Warsaw Polytechnic.