Marie Curie — Pioneer of Radioactivity and the First Woman Nobel Laureate
Marie Curie (1867-1934) was a Polish-born French physicist and chemist who pioneered research on radioactivity -- a term she coined. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person to win Nobels in two different sciences (Physics 1903, Chemistry 1911). Her discoveries of polonium and radium opened the doors to nuclear physics, modern radiology, and molecular cancer therapy. She died of aplastic anemia caused by decades of exposure to the very radiation she discovered.
Events
Born Maria Salomea Skłodowska in Warsaw
Marie Curie is born in Warsaw, then part of the Russian Empire, to a family of teachers. Her father teaches mathematics and physics. Her mother dies of tuberculosis when Maria is 10.
Moves to Paris to Study at the Sorbonne
After working as a governess for years, Marie Skłodowska moves to Paris to study at the University of Paris (Sorbonne). She earns a degree in physics in 1893, graduating first in her class.
Location: Paris, France
Meets Pierre Curie
While researching the magnetic properties of steel, she meets Pierre Curie, a physicist at the School of Physics and Chemistry. They share a passion for science and marry in 1895 in a civil ceremony.
Location: Paris, France
Begins Research on Uranium Rays
Inspired by Henri Becquerel's 1896 discovery that uranium emits mysterious rays, Marie chooses this phenomenon as her doctoral thesis topic. Working in a poorly equipped shed, she develops techniques to measure the radioactivity of various substances.
Location: Paris, France
Discovers the Element Polonium
Marie and Pierre Curie announce the discovery of a new radioactive element, which she names polonium after her native Poland. They identify it after systematically processing tons of pitchblende ore whose radioactivity far exceeds what uranium alone could produce.
Location: Paris, France
Discovers the Element Radium
The Curies announce the discovery of radium, a highly radioactive element. They labor four more years in an unheated shed to isolate a decigram of pure radium chloride from tons of pitchblende waste from Joachimsthal, Bohemia.
Location: Paris, France
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
Marie, Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerel share the Nobel Prize in Physics for their joint research on radioactivity. Marie becomes the first woman ever awarded a Nobel Prize. The Academy initially planned to honor only Pierre and Becquerel but corrected this after Pierre's protest.
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Pierre Curie Killed in Street Accident
Pierre Curie is struck by a horse-drawn carriage and killed instantly while crossing Rue Dauphine in Paris. Marie is devastated. She succeeds him as professor at the Sorbonne, becoming the university's first female professor.
Location: Paris, France
Appointed Professor at the Sorbonne
Marie Curie is appointed Professor of Physics at the University of Paris, the first woman to hold a professorship at the Sorbonne. Her inaugural lecture draws international attention.
Location: Paris, France
Isolates Pure Metallic Radium
Working with Andre Debierne, Marie Curie succeeds in isolating pure metallic radium, definitively establishing it as a distinct chemical element and completing the work she and Pierre began.
Location: Paris, France
Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Marie Curie wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium. She becomes the first and only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences.
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Founds the Radium Institute in Paris
The Radium Institute (Institut du Radium) is established in Paris, with Curie directing the physics and chemistry section. The institute becomes a world-leading center for nuclear physics and cancer research, later renamed the Curie Institute.
Location: Paris, France
Develops Mobile X-Ray Units for World War I
Curie shuts down her laboratory and repurposes her radiological knowledge during WWI. She develops mobile X-ray units mounted on cars and personally trains 150 female operators. These units help battlefield surgeons locate shrapnel and fractures, saving countless lives.
Location: France
Dies of Radiation-Induced Aplastic Anemia
Marie Curie dies at a sanatorium in Passy, France, at age 66, from aplastic anemia caused by decades of exposure to ionizing radiation. Her personal papers and lab notebooks remain dangerously radioactive -- stored in lead-lined boxes requiring protective gear to handle.
Location: Passy, France