When I started looking at lists of people who changed the world with their genius, Marie Curie was the only woman there. So much has changed with women’s opportunities over the years! Madame Curie had to fight to follow her genius and earned her right to be on those lists.
She was born in Warsaw in 1867, the youngest of five, and lost her mother when she was only 10. She wanted to learn but had to leave the country to earn a graduate degree. Many countries at that time did not believe women belonged in the classroom. She and her sister hatched a plan. They would go to France where Marie would help her sister through college, and then once her sister completed her degree, she would help Marie. It took five years of working to help her sister before she was able to start, but once she did, she dove into her studies. In two years, Marie completed her master’s degree in physics. The next year she earned another degree in math.
When she needed a place to do her research, she was relegated to a leaky shed. She was a woman, and at that time, women were second class citizens. Fortunately, she found a man that didn’t allow her to be treated that way. Her husband, Pierre Curie, was named with her on her first Nobel Prize. Initially, she wasn’t on it. He refused the prize unless she was included. Not all men were as forward-thinking. Einstein’s first wife was just as brilliant as he was and collaborated with him for much of his work when they were married. He never included her name on any of his research.
Marie discovered radioactivity through her research and with Pierre, the elements polonium and radium. Pierre stopped his research when he saw what Marie had found to help her.
They had two daughters, but when their youngest was only two, Pierre was killed when he was run over by a horse-drawn wagon. It was devastating for Marie personally, but she was offered his teaching position at the Sorbonne and became the first woman professor there. Marie worked to help develop x-rays and during the First World War, championed portable x-ray machines that could be used on the battlefield.
She died in 1934 due to her prolonged exposure to her research material, radium. She was the first person to receive two Nobel prizes, after being the first woman to receive one. She remains the only person to receive prizes in two different scientific categories.
She was a brilliant woman, but her genius would have never been shared with the world if she hadn’t had the patience and perseverance to further her education. She had someone who believed in her and was willing to put aside his work to help her. Marie Curie deserves to be on that list with all the men. She shared a genius paradigm and helped forge a trail for other women.
Want to learn more?
Books:
Madame Curie: A Biography. By Eve Curie
Websites:
https://www.biography.com/scientist/marie-curie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marie-Curie/Death-of-Pierre-and-second-Nobel-Prize
https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/who/our-history/marie-curie-the-scientist
https://www.livescience.com/38907-marie-curie-facts-biography.html
Websites for kids:
https://www.ducksters.com/biography/women_leaders/marie_curie.php
https://kidskonnect.com/people/marie-curie/
https://tekidshouldseethis.com/post/the-genius-of-marie-curie-ted-ed
Books for Kids:
Who was Marie Curie? By Megan Stine
Marie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries, with 21 Activities and Experiments. By Amy O’Quinn