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Marie Curie was born in November 7, 1867 in Warsaw, in what was then the Kingdom of Poland, part of the Russian Empire. -
Marie Curie received some scientific training from her father. She became involved in a students’ revolutionary organization and found it prudent to leave Warsaw which at that time was under Austrian rule. In 1891, she went to Paris to continue her studies at the Sorbonne where she obtained Licenciateships in Physics and the Mathematical Sciences.
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Marie Curie is remembered for her discovery of radium,polonium and her huge contribution to finding treatments for cancer. -
Marie Curie's work on radioactivity laid the foundation for modern understanding of this phenomenon. She conducted groundbreaking research alongside her husband which led to the discovery of two new radioactive elements, polonium and radium.One of Marie Curie's significant contributions was the development of the theory of radioactivity. She observed that certain elements spontaneously emit radiation, a process that she termed "radioactivity."
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Marie Curie met Pierre Curie, Professor in the School of Physics in 1894.On 26 July 1895 Pierre and Marie had a civil wedding ceremony in Sceaux and instead of a bridal gown, Marie chose a dark blue dress. She and her husband came together through a shared love of science and research. They spent their marriage working side by side, sharing ground-breaking scientific discoveries and a Nobel Prize. -
The discovery of polonium was made by Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie. These two scientists discovered polonium during their research on radioactivity. Polonium is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84.The discovery of polonium is a significant milestone in the history of chemistry and science as it is a highly radioactive element. -
In 1903 Marie and Pierre were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics jointly with Henri Becquerel for their combined, though separate, work on radioactivity.In the same year, Marie passed her doctorate thesis in Physics. -
Her determination and remarkable endeavours led to a second Nobel Prize in 1911, this time in chemistry for creating a means of measuring radioactivity. Not long after, Sorbonne built the first radium institute with two laboratories; one for study of radioactivity under Marie Curie's direction, and the other for biological research into the treatment of cancer. -
On 4 July 1934, at the Sancellemoz Sanatorium in Passy, France at the age of 66, Marie Curie died. The cause of her death was given as aplastic pernicious anaemia, a condition she developed after years of exposure to radiation through her work. -
Marie Curie’s renown has led to her being the subject of numerous films over the years.Below are two of the many dramatisations that have been created about her work and life.
*Radioactive – 2020
British actress Rosamund Pike portrays Marie Curie in Radioactive , the most recent film about the physicist.
*The Courage of Knowledge – 2016
It is a French-language film screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.