Marie Curie Biography

Marie Curie was a French physicist and chemist who is known today for being associated with the origin of radioactivity and the discovery of radium and polonium. She is a legendary scientist for being the first woman to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics and the first scientist to have won two Nobel Prizes.

Maria Sk?odowska, who is known today as Marie Curie, was born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw, Poland.  She was Polish-raised and she was the fifth and youngest child. Her parents were both educators. Her father, W?adys?aw Sk?odowski, was a mathematics and physics professor. Her mother, Bronis?awa Boguska, died of tuberculosis when Maria was still twelve.

Marie Curie was an intelligent student. In 1883, she finished her secondary education earning a gold medal. She first learned physics from her father. She wanted to learn more but women in Poland were not allowed to enter universities during her time. She wanted to study at the Sarbonne which is the University of Paris but she did not have the means to do so. She earned a living to help sustain her family by being a tutor and being a governess in well-off families. In 1891, she moved to Paris in lieu to an arrangement with her sister who had just finished a degree in medicine there and she entered as a physics student at the Sarbonne where she studied physics, chemistry, and mathematics. She devoted herself to her studies. In 1893, she finished first place with her degree in physics. In 1894, she finished second place with her degree in mathematics.

In 1894, Marie Curie was working on her research project that involved the magnetic properties of metal mixtures when she met Pierre Curie who was associated with the school of Physics and Chemistry. In 1895, she was married to Pierre Curie and the two of them continued studying radioactivity together. Marie Curie was the one who invented the word radioactivity to describe the phenomenon in which elements give off radiation. In July 1898, Pierre and Marie Curie announced their discovery of a radioactive element which they named polonium after Marie’s country Poland. In December 1898, they announced their discovery of another radioactive element which they named radium.

Marie Curie got her doctorate degree in science in 1903 and she, along with her husband Pierre Curie and with Antoine Henry Becquerel, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in the same year for their work on radioactivity.

In 1906, Pierre Curie died and Marie Curie replaced her husband’s professorship at the Sarbonne. In 1908, she became a full professor at the Sarbonne and she was the first woman to have been given this position at the Sarbonne.

Marie Curie became the director of the Institute of Radioactivity which is in Warsaw, Poland in 1911 and she won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in the same year for her work on isolating pure radium. In 1914, she became the first director of the Radium Institute in Paris.

Marie Curie had two daughters with Pierre. She died of anemia on July 4, 1934 and her health condition was due to too much exposure to high levels of radiation. The negative health effects of radioactivity were not recognized and known while she was still doing her study on radioactivity. Marie Curie’s great work and discoveries in the field of radioactivity makes her one of the most important scientists in physics.

Marie Curie was a French physicist and chemist who is known today for being associated with the origin of radioactivity and the discovery of radium and polonium. She is a legendary scientist for being the first woman to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics and the first scientist to have won two Nobel Prizes.

Maria Sk?odowska, who is known today as Marie Curie, was born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw, Poland.  She was Polish-raised and she was the fifth and youngest child. Her parents were both educators. Her father, W?adys?aw Sk?odowski, was a mathematics and physics professor. Her mother, Bronis?awa Boguska, died of tuberculosis when Maria was still twelve. 

Marie Curie was an intelligent student. In 1883, she finished her secondary education earning a gold medal. She first learned physics from her father. She wanted to learn more but women in Poland were not allowed to enter universities during her time. She wanted to study at the Sarbonne which is the University of Paris but she did not have the means to do so. She earned a living to help sustain her family by being a tutor and being a governess in well-off families. In 1891, she moved to Paris in lieu to an arrangement with her sister who had just finished a degree in medicine there and she entered as a physics student at the Sarbonne where she studied physics, chemistry, and mathematics. She devoted herself to her studies. In 1893, she finished first place with her degree in physics. In 1894, she finished second place with her degree in mathematics.

In 1894, Marie Curie was working on her research project that involved the magnetic properties of metal mixtures when she met Pierre Curie who was associated with the school of Physics and Chemistry. In 1895, she was married to Pierre Curie and the two of them continued studying radioactivity together. Marie Curie was the one who invented the word radioactivity to describe the phenomenon in which elements give off radiation. In July 1898, Pierre and Marie Curie announced their discovery of a radioactive element which they named polonium after Marie’s country Poland. In December 1898, they announced their discovery of another radioactive element which they named radium.

Marie Curie got her doctorate degree in science in 1903 and she, along with her husband Pierre Curie and with Antoine Henry Becquerel, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in the same year for their work on radioactivity. 

In 1906, Pierre Curie died and Marie Curie replaced her husband’s professorship at the Sarbonne. In 1908, she became a full professor at the Sarbonne and she was the first woman to have been given this position at the Sarbonne.

Marie Curie became the director of the Institute of Radioactivity which is in Warsaw, Poland in 1911 and she won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in the same year for her work on isolating pure radium. In 1914, she became the first director of the Radium Institute in Paris. 

Marie Curie had two daughters with Pierre. She died of anemia on July 4, 1934 and her health condition was due to too much exposure to high levels of radiation. The negative health effects of radioactivity were not recognized and known while she was still doing her study on radioactivity. Marie Curie’s great work and discoveries in the field of radioactivity makes her one of the most important scientists in physics.