Marie Curie: The Greatest Woman Scientist in History

 

                   Hello Folks! As many of you may have realized, exam season has begun, so I have not had as much time as usual to get my research done. So today, I thought I would do a blog post that I have been dreaming about doing for a while. Today we are talking about my idol and slight obsession: Marie Curie. 

    Born in Warsaw, Poland, as Maria Sklowdowska, Maria was the daughter of two teachers during wartime. Due to the consistent fighting, her parents knew it was not safe to send their daughter to either of their schools. Thus, she went to a boarding school nearby instead. At age eight, her older sister died, and just two years later, so did her mother. Deceived by their deaths, Maria began to immerse herself in her study to cover her grief. By the time she had finished secondary school, she had gotten a gold medal for her dedication and effort. After completing her schooling, Maria decided to become a governess to pay for one of her sisters to study in France.  Later on, she also moved there to attend college at the Sorbonne (University of Paris). She changed her name to Marie to fit within French customs. Marie studied profusely and, in 1893, graduated top of her class with a degree in physics. 

    Then in 1894, she graduated second in her class for mathematics. After finishing her studies, she needed to get lab space, which led to her meeting Pierre Curie. She needed the space, and they had the opportunity to share a makeshift lab. Soon after they fell in love over their love of science, in 1895, they got married. 

    A few years later, they conducted research with Henri Becquerel as they studied radioactivity in uranium. While they were studying uranium ores, they discovered two new elements within them, called polonium (named after its home country) and radium. These were highly radioactive elements that made a severe impact on the chemical field. In 1903, she won her first Nobel Prize along with her husband and their partner for their work in radioactivity and physics. 

    Sadly, in 1906, her husband died due to being hit by a horse-drawn carriage. By then, Marie had to continue her work as a single mother of two daughters named Irene and Eve Curie. Despite the hardship she faced, she chose to work harder and eventually was able to isolate both of the elements she had previously discovered, which allowed her to win her second Nobel Prize in 1911. 

    However, right before she received the prize, she fell in love with a married but estranged man, and their relationship was leaked to the press. Soon, she was berated with hatred and called a homewrecker despite the marriage already being ruined. It got so far that the Nobel Prize committee suggested she should come to collect her prize to avoid scandal. Yet with her dignity, she went and collected her award and became not only the first person to win two Nobel Prizes but also the only person to win two Nobel Prizes in different fields- physics and chemistry. 

    After this immense achievement, she went on to have many other achievements, such as making little curies for World War 1 (small trucks with x-rays used to aid soldiers), founding the radium institute (where important cancer research was conducted, and gaining global recognition for her work. 

    Her legacy continued with her daughter Irene, who went on to a Nobel Prize in physics with her husband. Her other daughter, Eve, went on to become a journalist and published "Madame Curie," dictating her mother's life and circumstances.

     On July 4, 1934, at 66 years old, Marie Curie died from a bone-deteriorating condition most likely caused by her immense overexposure to radiation. 

Anyway, Marie Curie is amazing, and while this is a brief overview of her life, I would recommend doing more research on this wonderful woman. I am happy I got to write this, but I promise to get back on the science grind after next Sunday (when exams are over). Anyway, as always, thanks for reading. I hope you learned something new, and a question: who is your idol? See you next week. Bye!