Marie Curie
Noble Prize winner of 1911 in chemistry
Come see her speak at The Institute of Scientific Studies in Paris, France This February!
Information/ Biography
Curie was born 7 November 1867 in Poland but moved with her sister to Paris, France at age 24 to study the higher degrees in physics and chemistry. Along with her husband, Pierre, they shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in physics.
After the discovery of x-rays , the Curies and a good friend of theirs, Gustave Bemont, began researching and experimenting with radioactive chemicals that Marie had discovered. Those chemicals included uranium, polonium, and radium; polonium being named after her birthplace.
Radium, an extremely radioactive chemical, was extracted from the compound, uraninite. Its discovery was published 5 days after. It was kept in a metallic form where Curie could experiment with electrolysis.
She became the winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize in chemistry, making her the first woman in history to win this award.
Works Cited
Crawford-Brown, Douglas John. "Curie, Marie Skłodowska." World Book Student. World Book, 2014. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.
Marie Curie by Press Illustrating Service, New York City. Image is available in the public domain.