Marie curie c. 1920s

MARIE CURIE

  • Birth

    Birth
    She was born on November 7, in Warsaw. She was the fifth child of Władysław Skłodowski, a high school teacher in Physics and Mathematics, and Bronisława Boguska, a teacher, pianist and singer.
  • Studies

    Studies
    When she was ten years old, she went to boarding school and later moved to an all-girls institute. When she graduated, she could not enter a higher education institution because she was a woman, so she together with her sister Bronisława entered the clandestine “floating university.” a patriotic institution of higher education that admitted women students
  • She went to france

    She went to france
    She continued her studies in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics at the University of Paris.
  • She got her first degree

    She got her first degree
    She received her bachelor's degree in physics and began working in Professor Lippmann's industrial laboratory.
  • She got her second degree

    She got her second degree
    When she didn´t work, she studied at the University of Paris and she obtained a second degree.
  • Her scientific career

    Her scientific career
    She began with an investigation of the magnetic properties of various steels, commisioned by the Society for the Promotion of National Industry.
  • She got married

    She got married
    After starting her career she met Pierre Curie and their passion for science brought them together. Pierre had a small laboratory and she used it to work. He proposed to her, she accepted it but she wanted to return to her city. They married on July 26, in Sceaux, in a simple wedding without a religious ceremony.
  • Birth of her daughter

    Birth of her daughter
    Her daughter Irène was born. To support her family she began teaching at the Higher Normal School.
  • Discovery of polonium

    Discovery of polonium
    In July, the couple jointly published an article announcing the existence of an element they called "polonium," after Poland
  • Disease caused by radioactivity

    Disease caused by radioactivity
    In October, Marie suffered from inflamation in her fingertips. fingers, the first known symptoms of the lightning disease that would accompany her for the rest of his life
  • Discovery of Radium

    Discovery of Radium
    On December 26, the Curies announced the existence of a second element, which they called "radium," derived from a Latin word meaning lightning.
  • A very important work

    A very important work
    Marie was the first woman to be appointed professor at the Higher Normal School and her husband received a professorship at the University of Paris.
  • They won the Davy Medal

    They won the Davy Medal
    On November 5, the Royal Society of London awarded the couple the Davy Medal, which is awarded annually to the most important discovery in the field of chemistry.
  • Radioactivity

    Radioactivity
    The Curies were invited by the Royal Institution of Great Britain to give a speech on radioactivity, but she was prevented from speaking because she was a woman and only her husband spoke.
  • They won a Nobel Prize in Physics

    They won a Nobel Prize in Physics
    The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Marie Curie the Nobel Prize in Physics, along with her husband and Henri Becquerel, "for join research into the radiation phenomena discovered by Henri Becquerel." She was the first woman to receive such an award. At first, the selection committee intended to honor only Pierre and Henri, denying recognition to Marie for being a woman. Pierre said that he would reject the Nobel Prize if Marie's work was not also recognized.
  • Died of Pierre Curie

    Died of Pierre Curie
    On April 19, Pierre died in an accident in Paris. While walking in the rain on rue Dauphine, he was hit by a horse-drawn carriage.
  • The second Nobel Prize

    The second Nobel Prize
    International recognition for her work had grown much more and the Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded her the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This award was "in recognition of her services in the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this element." She was the first person to win two Nobel Prizes.
  • She helped on the first World War

    She helped on the first World War
    She acquired X-ray equipment, vehicles and auxiliary generators and designed mobile radiography units and she became the director of the Radiology Service of the French Red Cross and created the first military radiology center in France.
  • She was in the White House

    She was in the White House
    The President Warren G. Harding received her at the White House and symbolically gave her a gram of radium collected in the North American country.
  • The Radium Institute

    The Radium Institute
    She visited Poland to participate in the build of the Radium Institute in Warsaw.
  • Died

    Died
    She died on July 4 at the Sancellemoz sanatorium, near Passy (Haute Savoie), due to aplastic anemia, probably contracted by the radiation that she was exposed at her work. She is buried in the Paris Pantheon.