Polish, then French chemist. Born in Warsaw in a family of intellectuals during the difficult period of the Russian occupation that fell to the lot of Poland. While studying at school, she helped her mother maintain a boarding house, serving in it as a maid. After leaving school, she worked for a time as a governess for wealthy families in order to earn funds for her sister's medical education. During this period, Sklodowska's engagement, upset by the groom's parents, with a young man from the family where she served (the parents considered such a marriage of their son unworthy of their social position and missed a brilliant opportunity to improve their family gene pool) falls. After her sister received a medical education in Paris, Sklodowska herself also went to study there.
The brilliant results of the entrance exams in physics and mathematics attracted the close attention of leading French scientists to the young Pole. The result was her engagement in 1894 to Pierre Curie and marriage to him the following year. In those years, studies of the phenomenon of radioactivity were just beginning, and there was no end to work in this area. Pierre and Marie Curie took up the extraction of radioactive samples from the ores mined in Bohemia, and their study. As a result, the couple managed to discover several new radioactive elements at once ( cm. Radioactive decay), one of which was named curium in their honor, and another - polonium in honor of Mary's homeland. For these studies, the Curies were, together with Henri Becquerel (1852-1908), who discovered X-rays, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1903. It was Marie Curie who first introduced the term "radioactivity" - after the name of the first discovered by Curie of the radioactive element radium.
After the tragic death of Pierre in 1906, Marie Curie refused the pension offered by the Sorbonne University and continued her research. She managed to prove that as a result of radioactive decay, the transmutation of chemical elements occurs, and, thereby, lay the foundation for a new branch of the natural sciences - radiochemistry. For this work, Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 and became the first scientist to win twice the most prestigious award for achievements in the natural sciences. (In the same year, the Paris Academy of Sciences rejected her candidacy and did not accept Marie Curie into its ranks. Apparently, two Nobel Prizes seemed to the gentlemen academicians not enough to overcome their tendency to discriminate on national and gender grounds.)
During World War I, Marie Curie was active in applied medical research, working at the front with a portable X-ray machine. In 1921, a subscription was opened in America to raise funds for the purchase of 1 gram of pure radium for Marie Curie, which she needed for further research. During her triumphant tour of America with public lectures, the key to the box of precious radioactive metal was presented to Curie by US President Warren Harding himself.
The last years of Marie Curie's life were filled with important international initiatives in science and medicine. In the early 1930s, Marie Curie's health deteriorated sharply - the huge doses of radioactive exposure she received in the course of many years of experiments affected - and in 1934 she died in a sanatorium in the French Alps.
(1867-1934) Polish and French physicist and chemist, one of the creators of the modern theory of radioactivity, the only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice
Maria Sklodowska was born in Warsaw into a family of Russian gymnasium teachers. There were five children in their family, and the parents barely made ends meet.
Most of the life of Maria Sklodowska was filled with a stubborn struggle for the most modest means of subsistence. The girl lost her mother early, at the age of 16 (in 1883), having graduated from the Russian gymnasium with a gold medal, she could not continue her education because of the need. Maria had to start tutoring in rich families, work as a governess in provincial towns in order to help the family and save some money for further studies. But in Poland at that time, universities did not accept women.
In 1890, Maria's elder sister marries and invites her to Paris. At the age of 24, Sklodowska entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Sorbonne - the famous University of Paris - and began to attend meetings of the physical society, at which new scientific discoveries were reported. She had to live on such modest means that it often came to starvation fainting.
The young Polish woman worked hard to fill in the gaps in education, showing great abilities and exceptional diligence. In 1893, at the age of 26, she graduated from the university and received two licentiate diplomas - in physics (1893) and mathematics (1894).
In the spring of 1894, an unexpected meeting with a young talented French physicist Pierre Curie changed her whole life. On July 25, 1895, the wedding of Pierre and Maria took place. From the same year, Maria Sklodowska-Curie began working in the laboratory of the Paris School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry, of which Pierre Curie became a professor in 1895.
In 1896, the French physicist Henri Becquerel discovered the amazing property of uranium compounds to emit "invisible rays" that cause air ionization and can illuminate a photographic plate. Interested in his discovery, Marie Skłodowska-Curie begins to study the radioactive emission of uranium salts and comes to the conclusion that it is a property of the uranium atoms themselves.
On September 12, 1897, her eldest daughter, Irene, was born. Soon Maria started working again in the laboratory with the aim of preparing her doctoral dissertation. In her first work, Skłodowska-Curie introduces the term "radioactivity". In 1898, she proved the presence of radioactivity in thorium, about which she made a report on April 12, 1898 at a meeting of the Paris Academy of Sciences. Since that time, Pierre Curie also joined in the search for radioactive elements and the study of their properties. As a result of joint hard and painstaking work on the processing of large quantities of uranium pitch, they come to the conclusion that there are two new radioactive elements, which explain the unusual activity of uranium oxide.
In July 1898, the Curies discover one of these elements, polonium (named after Mary's native country, Poland), and in December of the same year, the second, radium. The discovery of these elements heralded a new era in physics. But in order to isolate a few decigrams of pure radium salt, it took four years of continuous, exhausting and, as it turned out later, extremely dangerous work for health, in which everything was a problem from the very beginning: there was no raw materials, no premises, no funds. The management of the School of Physics, where Pierre Curie taught, gave him an old barn in the yard for work, without a floor, with a leaking glass roof, without heating. In this shed, the staff of the medical faculty used to dissect corpses. Without any state assistance, spending their own modest funds on the purchase of equipment, raw materials, reagents, the Curie spouses performed the work of loaders, stokers, laboratory assistants, analytical chemists and research physicists. Maria Sklodowska-Curie worked for free all these years and was not even on the staff of the School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry, which owned the barn.
On June 25, 1903, Maria defended her doctoral dissertation. In November of the same year, the Royal Society awarded her and Pierre Curie the Davy Medal, one of the highest scientific awards in England. And in December 1903, the Curies and Henri Becquerel were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their research on radioactivity. Due to poor health, Marie Curie was unable to travel to Stockholm to receive this high award, and the King of Sweden presented their Nobel diploma to the French minister.
The Curies become world famous. But it should be noted that both Marie and Pierre saw fame primarily as an obstacle to further research. Once Maria even refused the Order of the Legion of Honor - the highest award in France.
Sklodowska-Curie showed amazing dedication, readiness for self-sacrifice in the name of the interests of science and humanity. Repeatedly, while working with very active substances, she received burns on her hands and experienced various types of exposure to these substances. Similar experiments with radioactive substances paved the way for the treatment of cancerous tumors.
In 1906, Marie Skłodowska-Curie had an unexpected misfortune: while crossing the street, Pierre Curie died under the wheels of a cart. It was a huge loss for Maria herself and her daughters: eight-year-old Irene and one-year-old Eva, it was a huge loss for science as well.
Skłodowska-Curie continued her work with her usual tenacity and perseverance. The Faculty of Exact Sciences at the University of Paris offered her to replace Pierre as professor. Considering herself obliged to continue their common work, in 1906 Maria became the heiress of his chair at the Sorbonne. First female Nobel Prize winner becomes France's first female professor.
Sklodowska-Curie continued to study the problems of radioactivity and in 1910, together with the chemist Andre Debier, obtained radium in the metallic state. For this achievement, in 1911 she was awarded a second Nobel Prize, this time in chemistry. Maria Skłodowska-Curie is the only scientist to win the Nobel Prize twice for scientific achievement. In the same year, on the eve of the opening of the Brussels Radiological Congress, she made the first standard of radium, stored in the International Bureau of Weights and Measures.
This year was very difficult for her: Eugene Curie, Pierre's father, died, her health could not stand it, which had long given cause for concern. Maria was near death and underwent a serious kidney operation, after which she recovered for a very long time.
She had to spend a lot of work before she was able to get a worthy laboratory for the development of a new science of radioactivity. Now her concerns, in addition to scientific ones, are also connected with the construction of the Radium Institute in Paris, which was built in 1914. But the institute did not start its work: the employees were mobilized into the army, as the First World War of 1914-1918 broke out. Maria Skłodowska-Curie begins work on the creation of X-ray units for military hospitals. Her eldest daughter Irene helps her in this and works with her mother at these installations. During the war years, she organized 22 mobile and stationary X-ray units for X-ray and radiological services in French hospitals. Only after the end of the war was she able to start working at the Radium Institute, of which she was director from 1914 until the end of her days.
Maria Sklodowska-Curie liked to spend her free time on country walks or working in the garden, where she grew flowers. She spent her holidays in the mountains or at sea.
In the last years of her life, the successes of her laboratory staff were a great joy for Maria: the discovery of the fine structure of radium rays in 1929 by Rosenblum, a series of works by Irene and Frederic Joliot-Curie related to the discovery of neutrons in 1932 and artificial radioactivity in early 1934. She had the good fortune to observe the successes of nuclear physics, created under the leadership of E. Rutherford and N. Bohr.
However, Mary's health began to deteriorate. Unfortunately, she developed cataracts in both eyes, and in 1924 she underwent surgery, after which she was forced to wear special glasses. Sometimes Maria suffered bouts of renal colic. In the autumn of 1933, her health deteriorated sharply, and from May 1934 she no longer got out of bed.
On July 4, 1934, Marie Skłodowska-Curie died of a serious blood disease - acute pernicious anemia (leukemia), caused by prolonged exposure to large doses of radioactive radiation.
She devoted her life to the study of radioactivity, the creation of a major research center, the education of young French and foreign scientists and the development of international scientific relations; was elected a member of many academies of sciences, including a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, since 1926 - a foreign member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Sklodowska-Curie Maria
(b. 1867 - d. 1934)
An outstanding physicist and chemist, one of the creators of the theory of radioactivity. Together with her husband Pierre Curie, she discovered radium and polonium (1898). Twice winner of the Nobel Prize - for the study of radioactivity (1903) and for the study of the properties of metallic radium (1911).
Once Maria Sklodowska wrote in her diary: “Life is not easy, but what can you do - you need to have perseverance, and most importantly, believe in yourself. You must believe that you were born into the world for some purpose, and achieve this goal, no matter what it takes. Perhaps, these words hide the amazing secret of the success of an outstanding scientist, a woman who, during her lifetime, was awarded all sorts of honors and became famous throughout the world. The genius and incredible luck of the twice Nobel Prize winner were undeniable for those around, but only Maria knew what titanic work and willpower are behind every scientific discovery...
Maria Sklodowska was born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw in a large family of teachers. When the girl was 11 years old, her mother died of tuberculosis. All care for the children was taken by the father, who had to combine the teaching of physics and mathematics in the gymnasium with the difficult role of the head of the family. However, he honorably coped with these duties and not only helped the children to go through a difficult period, but also did everything to ensure that each of them could fully enjoy life. Maria Sklodowska retained her love for her father and the feeling of spiritual closeness with him for the rest of her life. One by one, the children graduated from the gymnasium - and all with gold medals. Maria was no exception, who grew up inquisitive from childhood and was the first student in the gymnasium. Even then, she felt the attractive power of science and worked as a laboratory assistant in her cousin's chemical laboratory. One day, seeing the girl at work, a family friend, the great Russian chemist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, predicted a great future for Maria if she continued her studies. Continuing her studies was Maria's most cherished dream, but two obstacles stood in the way of her realization: the poverty of the family and the ban on the admission of women to the University of Warsaw. Therefore, immediately after graduating from high school, Maria began to earn extra money with private lessons. In rain and snow, she ran around Warsaw from one student to another, but she perfectly understood the futility of her position as a “tutor” and therefore began to look for at least some way out. Together with her sister Bronya, they developed a plan: Bronya leaves for Paris and receives a medical education, and Maria works as a governess for five years and regularly sends her money. When the sister finishes her studies, she will call Maria to her and, in turn, will help her.
Having excellent characteristics in her hands, Maria easily found a place as a governess in a family of wealthy landowners. She spent three long painful years in a province far from home among strangers. For most of the day, the girl studied with her little students, and in her free time she read a lot, solved algebraic and trigonometric problems, and completed assignments in physics and chemistry. Sklodowska was finally convinced that none of the sciences attracted her as much as physics and mathematics. Often Maria closed her eyes and imagined how she would study at the Sorbonne, where the very air is saturated with knowledge, where they teach biology, sociology, chemistry and her favorite physics.
The loneliness of the girl sometimes became unbearable. Sometimes it seemed to her that dreams could not come true and time had stopped. By an effort of will, she forced herself to continue working and regularly sent money to her sister in Paris. During the three years spent in the village, only one significant event happened to her, which, however, brought Mary an additional portion of pain and disappointment: love broke out between her and the son of the owners. But the groom's parents opposed the conclusion of an unequal marriage. Having experienced a personal drama, Maria became even more withdrawn into herself. Some time later, she returned to Warsaw, where she continued to work as a governess.
In 1891, a long-awaited letter arrived from Paris, in which Bronya happily announced that Maria had the opportunity to become a student at the Sorbonne. Having collected her meager savings, she left for the capital of France. The girl was happy: at last, on the horizon, the outlines of her most secret dream glimmered. Before Paris, Sklodowska traveled for several days in a fourth-class carriage, spending the entire journey on a folding chair. But these inconveniences seemed to her mere trifles - after all, ahead of the Sorbonne and a new, exciting life. Arriving in Paris, Sklodowska entered the university at the Faculty of Natural Sciences. Maria studied with passion and enviable perseverance. And in the evenings she returned to the modest apartment of her sister and son-in-law on German Street, which Bronya furnished with excellent taste with things bought at sales. Peace and mutual understanding reigned here, large companies of compatriots gathered, who over a cup of tea recalled their homeland, sang and played the piano. However, despite the love with which she was surrounded by relatives and new friends, Maria soon began to suffer due to the fact that she could not retire and work in silence. Under the pretext that it was far - and expensive - for her to travel to the university, she rented a small room near the Sorbonne, where she could study in peace.
Difficult months passed. According to the memoirs of her daughter Maria, Sklodowska "doomed herself to a Spartan existence, where there was no place for human weaknesses." The room in which the girl lived was hardly heated; there was no lighting or water in it. In order to pay for housing, to buy notebooks and books, she lived in the strictest economy: she never used omnibuses, and in order not to spend money on kerosene, she studied in libraries. For many weeks, her daily diet consisted of only tea and bread and butter, and sometimes only a bunch of radishes or a few cherries. It happened that from malnutrition Maria lost consciousness right at the lectures. Despite this, the girl continued to work hard: step by step, she took a course in mathematics, chemistry, physics, and mastered the technique of research. It seemed to her that she would never be able to quench her thirst for knowledge. Sklodowska did not understand those who considered science to be a "dry area". “I am one of those,” she wrote many years later, “who are convinced of the great beauty of science. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a specialist. It is also a child standing in front of natural phenomena that amaze him like a fairy tale. We must be able to tell others about these feelings. We should not put up with the opinion that all scientific progress is reduced to mechanisms, machines, gears, although they are also beautiful in themselves.
Such perseverance and love for science could not but bear fruit: in 1893, Sklodowska became the first among the licentiates of the Faculty of Physics, and a year later - among the licentiates of the Mathematics.
After some time, one of the most significant events happened in the life of Mary: she met Pierre Curie while visiting her friends. The famous French physicist was an intelligent and noble person, just like Sklodowska, deeply devoted to science. Having devoted his life to scientific vocation, he needed a girlfriend who "could live the same dream as he did - a scientific dream." Pierre Curie seemed to Mary very young, although he was then already 35 years old. “I was struck by the expression of his clear eyes and a slight shade of ease in the posture of his tall figure. His speech, somewhat slow and deliberate, his simplicity, smile, both serious and youthful, inspired confidence,” M. Curie later recalled.
Having become close on the basis of common interests, young people began to meet. More and more they were imbued with mutual sympathy, which grew into a deep feeling. For 27-year-old Maria, who had no illusions about her personal life for a long time, this unexpected love seemed like a magical miracle. On July 25, 1895 they got married. From now on, the spouses were together everywhere: in laboratories, at lectures, in preparation for exams and in moments of rest. They were happy, understood and loved each other, not forgetting about their favorite work. Even the birth of her daughter Irene could not prevent Maria from continuing to do science. The young woman managed to manage the household, take care of the baby, and work in her husband's laboratory. In addition, Marie Curie began work on her dissertation, becoming interested in the discovery of uranium radiation by A. Becquerel, a completely new and unexplored material. When deciding to take on the development of this topic, Maria had no idea that she was at the very epicenter of the scientific interests of the 20th century.
In a damp and cold workshop that served as a warehouse and machine room, Curie began her research. A careful study of various materials confirmed the correctness of Becquerel, who believed that pure uranium has more radioactivity than any of its compounds. And although the results of hundreds of experiments spoke about this, the spouses subjected more and more new substances to research. Scientists drew attention to the fact that two uranium minerals - chalcolite and the resin ore of Bohemia - are much more radioactive than uranium and thorium. The conclusion suggested itself: they contain an unknown chemical element (perhaps more than one) with an even higher degree of radioactivity. In order to find a new substance, Pierre Curie left all the research he had previously worked on and joined his wife. In June 1898, the Curies announced the existence of a new radio element, proposing to name it "polonium" (in honor of Mary's homeland), and in December of the same year they announced the discovery of radium, which was named so for its inexhaustible ability to emit radiation ("radius" in translated from Latin - a ray).
However, scientists did not flatter themselves about relatively quick success, since the main work was ahead: in order to prove to the whole world the correctness of their assumptions, it was necessary to isolate these chemical elements, determine their atomic weight. Here the Curies faced a colossal problem: even the most radioactive products contained only traces of new elements, which meant that tons of raw materials would have to be processed to isolate them. They knew what methods could achieve the desired results, but the research required large material costs, in addition, they needed staff and appropriate premises, and the Curies had none of this. Perhaps someone else in their place would have given up, but the spouses did not have to stop in their thoughts. They turned to one of the Austrian physicists with a request to help them acquire uranium ore waste at an affordable price and, in parallel, they began to search for a suitable room for the upcoming work. The management of the Sorbonne refused to help, and the couple placed their workshop next to the university - in an old abandoned barn with plank walls, asphalt instead of a floor and a glass roof that leaked during the rain. Subsequently, M. Curie will say that it was in these miserable "mansions" that "the best and happiest years of our lives, entirely devoted to science, passed."
While scientists were developing their new possessions, good news came from Austria: at the request of the Vienna Academy of Sciences, the Austrian government instructed the director of the mine to send several tons of uranium ore waste to Paris. Soon the cherished bags of material were in the "laboratory". At first, the couple worked together on the chemical isolation of radium and polonium. Gradually, however, they came to the conclusion that it was advisable to separate responsibilities. Maria continued processing the ore to obtain pure radium salts, and Pierre experimented to refine the properties of the new material.
There were no hoods in the barn, and harmful gases were released during work, so Maria could more often be seen in the yard, surrounded by clouds of smoke. In winter, and in bad weather, she worked in a barn with open windows. “I had to process up to twenty kilograms of the starting material a day,” Curie recalled, “and as a result, our entire shed was filled with large vessels with sediments and solutions: it was exhausting work to carry bags, vessels, pour liquids and stir boiling water with an iron rod for hours.” weight in a cast-iron cauldron. However, despite the difficult working conditions, the scientists felt happy and lived absorbed in one concern, as if enchanted. In 1902, four long years after the day the Curies announced the probable existence of radium, they managed to isolate one decigram of this element, thereby gaining its official recognition.
Scientists dreamed of a new laboratory where they could continue to get acquainted with their offspring, but fate was in no hurry to make their dream come true. However, even under conditions that left much to be desired, they learned more and more details about radium. It turned out, for example, that it emits not only rays: each gram of this metal releases heat per hour, sufficient to melt the same amount of ice. If, however, a small pinch of radium salts is placed in a glass tube and soldered, and after a few days the air is displaced from it into another sealed tube, then it will begin to glow in the dark with a greenish-blue light. Many scientists became interested in these studies, among them such as Ernst Rutherford, Frederick Soddy, William Ramsay. In addition, many doctors drew attention to the new element, since it had another property: radium radiation caused burns to the human body. Pierre Curie voluntarily exposed his hand to radium for several hours: the skin first turned red, then a wound formed, which took more than two months to heal. After that, the Curies conducted a series of experiments on irradiating animals. The results were stunning: by destroying diseased cells, radium helps to cure skin cancer, a disease against which medicine was powerless.
In 1904, radium, with which scientists hoped to defeat cancer, began to be mined industrially - the first plant was built to obtain it. Despite constant financial difficulties, the Curies abandoned the patent for the production of radium, giving the world their unique discovery disinterestedly. Very quickly, almost all corners of the globe learned about the French pioneering physicists. In 1903, Maria and Pierre, at the invitation of the Royal Society, visited London, where they were awarded one of the highest awards - the Davy medal. Almost simultaneously with this event, the Curies, together with Henri Becquerel, were awarded the Nobel Prize for their discovery in the field of radioactivity. This is the first time a woman has received such a prize in physics. This was the pinnacle of their scientific glory! An honorary and prestigious award from the Swedish Academy of Sciences put an end to their financial difficulties.
Finally, Marie and Pierre Curie had the hope that the coming years of work would not be as difficult as the previous ones. Life seemed to get better and opened up new perspectives for scientists. The spouses were pleased not only with their favorite work, but also with the harmony and tranquility in the family. By this time, they had already raised two daughters - the eldest Irene and the youngest Eve, whom they dearly loved. But this happy period of life did not last long. On April 19, 1906, Pierre died a terrible and ridiculous death, falling under the wheels of a horse-drawn carriage. Maria lost a like-minded person, a husband, a father of her small children. “His love was an excellent gift, faithful and selfless, full of affection and care. How good it was to be surrounded by this love, and how bitter it was to lose it!” she wrote in her memoirs. Many years passed before Mary began to recover from her grief. “Basically, she never consoled herself or reconciled herself,” recalled her eldest daughter, Irene Joliot-Curie.
Marie Curie replaced her husband as professor at the University of Paris, becoming the first female professor at a French university. For those years when it was not even thought that a woman could take the position of a teacher in a higher educational institution, this initiative was very bold. At the Sorbonne, she gave the first and at that time the only course in the world of radioactivity. Simultaneously with teaching, M. Curie managed the laboratory and raised her daughters, one of whom was still a baby. Pierre's father, who lived with them for many years, helped her look after the girls. However, in 1911 he died, which was another severe blow for her. In 1910, Marie Curie was nominated for the Academy of Sciences, but failed: anti-feminists launched a vicious campaign against her nomination. Subsequently, she became a member of many foreign academies of sciences, but was never elected to the French Academy of Sciences.
During this dark period of her life, the second Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded by the Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, was especially valuable for Marie Curie. Years later, her daughter Irene received the same award.
Despite the fact that the work left little time for rest and entertainment, Mary's interests were not limited to science. She loved poetry, knew many poems by heart. According to the memoirs of her daughter, Curie enjoyed spending time in country walks, she liked to work in the garden. “She loved nature and knew how to enjoy it, but not contemplatively. In the garden she took care of flowers, in the mountains she loved to walk, stopping, of course, sometimes to rest and admire the scenery. But it would give her no pleasure to spend the day in an armchair in front of a magnificent panorama ... "
Marie Curie did not like secular receptions and tried to visit them as little as possible. Irene recalled: “... the fact that her mother did not seek secular connections is sometimes considered evidence of her modesty ... I believe that this is rather just the opposite: she very correctly assessed her importance and she was not at all flattered by meetings with titled persons or with ministers. I think she was very pleased when she happened to meet Rudyard Kipling, and the fact that she was introduced to the Queen of Romania did not make any impression on her.
In 1914, what the Curies had dreamed of more than once came true: in Paris, on Pierre Curie Street, the construction of the Radium Institute was completed. It would seem that now Maria could plunge headlong into her favorite work, but the war burst into her plans like a whirlwind. Curie decided that she could not remain in the silence of offices if people were dying somewhere.
With the same energy with which she processed tons of ore in her time, Maria took on the most difficult task - organizing X-ray examinations of the wounded not only in the rear hospitals, but also in the field. Curie created the first mobile X-ray machine, equipping an ordinary car with the necessary equipment. Then, by analogy, several dozen more machines were created. Jokingly nicknamed "kiurichki" at the front, they appeared everywhere where there were fierce battles. Often Maria herself examined the wounded, moving from one field hospital to another.
After the war, M. Curie continued her research, devoting a lot of energy to the development of a large research center - the Institute of Radium.
In the autumn of 1933, her health deteriorated sharply, and a few months later the outstanding scientist passed away. She died on May 4, 1934 from a severe blood disease caused by prolonged exposure to radioactive substances, becoming the first person on Earth to die from the deadly rays of radium.
The whole life of Marie Sklodowska-Curie is a hymn to science, which she loved and without which she could not imagine her existence. She sincerely believed that only science and its creative power could save humanity from wars and suffering. The woman who became the first researcher of nuclear radiation hoped that "she would derive more good from new discoveries than evil."
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Almost everyone heard the name of Maria Sklodowska-Curie. Some may still remember that she was studying radiation. But due to the fact that science is not as popular as art or history, not many are familiar with the life and fate of Marie Curie. Discovering her life path and achievements in science, one cannot believe that this woman lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
At that time, women were just beginning to fight for their rights - and for the opportunity to study and work on an equal basis with men. Without noticing the stereotypes and condemnation of society, Maria did what she loved - and achieved success in science, along with the greatest geniuses of those times.
Childhood and family of Marie Curie
Maria was born in Warsaw in 1867 in the family of two teachers - Vladislav Sklodovsky and Bronislava Bohunska. She was the youngest of five children. She had three sisters and one brother.
At that time, Poland was under the control of the Russian Empire. Relatives on the maternal and paternal lines lost all property and fortune due to participation in patriotic movements. Therefore, the family was in poverty, and the children had to go through a difficult life path.
Video: Pierre and Marie Curie
Father, Vladislav Sklodovsky, taught mathematics and physics, was the director of a gymnasium for boys. When the school laboratory was ordered to close, he brought all the equipment home. It was he who introduced young Mary to science.
Mother, Bronislava Bohunska, ran the prestigious Warsaw School for Girls. After the birth of Mary, she left her post. During this period, her health deteriorated significantly, and in 1878 she died of tuberculosis. And shortly before that, Mary's oldest sister, Zofia, died of typhus. After a series of deaths, Mary becomes an agnostic - and forever renounces the Catholic faith that her mother professed.
At the age of 10, Maria enters school. Then she goes to study at the gymnasium for girls, which she graduated with a gold medal in 1883.
After graduation, she takes a break from her studies and leaves for her father's relatives in the village. After returning to Warsaw, she is engaged in tutoring. 
Irresistible thirst for knowledge
At the end of the 19th century, women did not have the opportunity to receive higher education and engage in science in Poland. And her family did not have the means to study abroad. Therefore, after graduating from high school, Maria began working as a governess.
In addition to work, she devoted considerable time to her studies. At the same time, she found time to help peasant children, because they did not have the opportunity to get an education. Maria gave reading and writing lessons to children of all ages. At that time, this initiative could be punished, violators were threatened with exile in Siberia. For about 4 years, she combined work as a governess, diligent study at night and "illegal" teaching to peasant children.
She later wrote:
“You cannot build a better world without trying to change the fate of a particular person; therefore, each of us should strive to improve both his own life and the life of another.
Upon returning to Warsaw, she began to study at the so-called "Flying University" - an underground educational institution that existed due to the significant limitation of educational opportunities by the Russian Empire. In parallel, the girl continued to work as a tutor, trying to earn some money.
Maria and her sister Bronislava had an interesting arrangement. Both girls wanted to study at the Sorbonne, but could not afford it because of their poor financial situation. They agreed that first Bronya enters the university, and Maria earns money for her education so that she can successfully complete her studies and settle in Paris. Then Bronislava was supposed to contribute to Maria's studies.
In 1891, the future great female scientist was finally able to leave for Paris - and begin her studies at the Sorbonne. She devoted all her time to studying, while sleeping little and eating poorly.
Personal life
In 1894, Pierre Curie appeared in the life of Mary. He was the head of the laboratory at the School of Physics and Chemistry. They were introduced by a professor of Polish origin, who knew that Maria needed a laboratory for research, and Pierre just had access to those.
Pierre gave Maria a small corner in his laboratory. In the process of working together, they realized that both have a passion for the natural sciences.
Constant communication and the presence of common hobbies led to the emergence of feelings. Later, Pierre recalled that he understood about his feelings when he saw the hands of this fragile girl, eaten away by acid.
Maria rejected the first marriage proposal. She contemplated returning to her homeland. Pierre said that he was ready to move with her to Poland - even if he had to work until the end of his days only as a French teacher.
Soon Maria went home to visit her family. At the same time, she wanted to know about the possibility of finding a job in science - however, she was refused due to the fact that she is a woman.
The girl returned to Paris, and on July 26, 1895, the lovers got married. The young couple refused to hold the traditional ceremony in the church. Maria came to her own wedding in a dark blue dress - in which she later worked in the laboratory every day, for many years.
This marriage was as perfect as it could be, because Marie and Pierre had many common interests. They were united by an all-consuming love for science, to which they devoted most of their lives. In addition to work, the young spent all their free time together. Their common hobbies were cycling and traveling.
Mary wrote in her diary:
“My husband is the limit of my dreams. I never imagined that I would be next to him. He is a real heavenly gift, and the longer we live together, the more we love each other.
The first pregnancy was very difficult. But, nevertheless, Maria did not stop working on her research on the magnetic properties of hardened steels. In 1897, the first daughter of the Curie couple, Irene, was born. The girl in the future will devote herself to science, following the example of her parents - and being inspired by them. Almost immediately after giving birth, Maria began work on her doctoral dissertation.
The second daughter, Eva, was born in 1904. Her life was not connected with science. After Marie's death, she would write her biography, which would become so popular that it was even filmed in 1943 (Madame Curie).
Mary describes the life of that period in a letter to her parents:
“We are still living. We work hard, but we sleep soundly, and therefore work does not harm our health. I spend the evenings with my daughter. In the morning I dress her, feed her, and around nine o'clock I usually leave the house.
For the whole year we have never been to the theater, or at a concert, or at a party. Despite all that, we feel good. Only one thing is very difficult - the absence of a native family, especially you, my dears, and dad.
Often and with sadness I think about my alienation. I can’t complain about anything else, since our health is not bad, the child is growing well, and my husband is the best you can even imagine.”
Curie's marriage was happy, but short-lived. In 1906, Pierre was crossing the street in a downpour, and was hit by a horse-drawn carriage, his head fell under the wheels of the carriage. Maria was crushed, but she did not give up, and continued the work begun together.
The University of Paris offered her to take the place of her late husband in the department of physics. She became the first female professor at the University of Paris (Sorbonne).
She never remarried.
Advances in Science
- In 1896, Maria, together with her husband, discovered a new chemical element, which was named after her homeland - polonium.
- In 1903 she won the Nobel Prize for her services in the study of radiation (together with her husband and Henri Becquerel). The rationale for the award was: "In recognition of the exceptional services they have rendered to science through their joint research into the phenomena of radiation discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel."
- After the death of her husband, in 1906, she became acting professor at the Department of Physics.
- In 1910, together with Andre Debierne, he isolated pure radium, which is recognized as an independent chemical element. This achievement took 12 years of research.
- In 1909, she became director of the department of fundamental research and medical applications of radioactivity at the Radium Institute. After the First World War, at the initiative of Curie, the activities of the institute focused on the study of cancer. In 1921, the institution was renamed the Curie Institute. Maria taught at the institute until the end of her life.
- In 1911, Maria received the Nobel Prize for the discovery of radium and polonium ("For outstanding services in the development of chemistry: the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element").
Maria understood that such dedication and loyalty to science and career is not inherent in women.
She never encouraged others to lead the life she lived herself:
“There is no need to lead such an unnatural life as I led. I gave a lot of time to science because I had a passion for it, because I loved scientific research.
All I want for women and young girls is a simple family life and a job that interests them.”
Maria devoted her whole life to the study of radiation, and this did not go unnoticed.
In those years, it was not yet known about the destructive effects of radiation on the human body. Maria worked with radium without using any means of protection. She also always had test tubes with a radioactive substance with her.
Her eyesight began to deteriorate rapidly, cataracts developed. Despite the catastrophic harmfulness of her work, Maria was able to live to 66 years.
She died on July 4, 1934 in a sanatorium in Sancellmoz in the French Alps. The cause of Marie Curie's death was aplastic anemia and its consequences.
persecution
Throughout her life in France, Mary was condemned on a variety of occasions. It seemed that the press and the people did not even need a valid reason for criticism. If there were no reasons to emphasize her alienation from French society, they simply composed. And the public happily picked up a new "hot fact".
But Maria did not seem to pay attention to idle conversations, and continued to do her favorite thing, not reacting in any way to the displeasure of others.
Often the French press stooped to direct insults to Marie Curie because of her religious views. She was a convinced atheist - and simply not interested in religious issues. At that time, the church played one of the most important roles in society. Her visit was one of the obligatory social rituals of "decent" people. Refusing to go to church was practically a challenge to society.
The hypocrisy of society manifested itself after Maria received the Nobel Prize. Immediately, the press began to write about her as a French heroine and the pride of France.
But when, in 1910, Marie announced her candidacy for membership in the French Academy, there were new reasons for condemnation. Someone presented evidence of her alleged Jewish origin. I must say that in those years anti-Semitic sentiments were strong in France. This rumor was widely discussed - and did influence the decision of the members of the Academy. In 1911, Mary was denied membership.
Even after Maria's death in 1934, discussion of her Jewish roots continued. The newspapers even wrote that she was a cleaner in the laboratory, and married Pierre Curie to herself by cunning.
In 1911, it became known about her affair with a former student of Pierre Curie, Paul Langevin, who was married. Maria was 5 years older than Paul. A scandal arose in the press and society, which was picked up by her opponents in the scientific community. She was called the "Jewish destroyer of families." When the scandal broke, she was at a conference in Belgium. When she returned home, she found an angry mob in front of her house. She and her daughters had to seek refuge in a friend's house.
Unappreciated altruism
Maria was interested not only in science. One of her actions speaks of her firm civic position and support for the country. During World War I, she wanted to give away all of her gold awards for scientific achievement in order to contribute financially to support the army. However, the National Bank of France refused her donation. However, she spent all the funds she received along with the Nobel Prize to help the army.
Her help during World War I was invaluable. Curie quickly realized that the sooner a wounded soldier was operated on, the better the prognosis for recovery would be. Surgeons needed mobile x-ray machines to help them. She purchased the necessary equipment - and created X-ray machines "on wheels". These vans were later called "Little Curies".
She became the head of the radiology division at the Red Cross. More than a million soldiers have used mobile x-rays.
She also provided radioactive particles that were used to disinfect infected tissue.
The French government did not thank her for her active participation in helping the army.
- The term "radioactivity" was coined by the Curie couple.
- Marie Curie "raised" four future Nobel Prize winners, among whom were Irene Joliot-Curie and Frédéric Joliot-Curie (her daughter and son-in-law).
- Marie Curie was a member of 85 scientific communities around the world.
- All the records that Maria kept are still extremely dangerous due to the high level of radiation. Her papers are stored in libraries in special lead boxes. You can get acquainted with them only after putting on a protective suit.
- Maria was fond of long bike rides, which was very revolutionary for the ladies of that time.
- Maria always carried with her an ampoule of radium - her own kind of talisman. Therefore, all her personal belongings are contaminated with radiation to this day.
- Marie Curie is buried in a lead coffin in the French Pantheon, the place where the most prominent figures of France are buried. Only two women are buried there, and she is one of them. Her body was transferred there in 1995. At the same time, it became known about the radioactivity of the remains. It will take one and a half thousand years for the radiation to disappear.
- She discovered two radioactive elements - radium and polonium.
- Maria is the only woman in the world to have received two Nobel Prizes.
Even at the beginning of the 20th century, before the First World War, when time was measured and unhurried, ladies wore corsets, and women who were already married had to observe decency (housekeeping and staying at home), Curie Marie was awarded two Nobel Prizes: in 1908 - in physics, in 1911 - in chemistry. She did a lot of things first, but perhaps the main thing is that Mary made a real revolution in the public mind. Women after her boldly went into science, without fear from the scientific community, which at that time consisted of men, of ridicule in their direction. Marie Curie was an amazing person. The biography below will convince you of this.
Origin
The maiden name of this woman was Sklodowska. Her father, Vladislav Sklodovsky, graduated from St. Petersburg University in his time. Then he returned to Warsaw to teach mathematics and physics at the gymnasium. His wife, Bronislava, ran a boarding school where schoolgirls studied. She helped her husband in everything, was a passionate lover of reading. In total, the family had five children. Maria Sklodowska-Curie (Manya, as she was called in childhood) is the youngest.
Warsaw childhood
All her childhood passed under the cough of her mother. Bronislava suffered from tuberculosis. She died when Mary was only 11 years old. All the children of the Sklodovskys were distinguished by curiosity and learning abilities, and it was simply impossible to tear Manya away from the book. The father encouraged the passion for learning in his children as best he could. The only thing that upset the family was the need to study in Russian. In the photo above - the house in which Maria was born and spent her childhood. Now there is a museum here.
The situation in Poland
Poland at that time was part of the Russian Empire. Therefore, all the gymnasiums were controlled by Russian officials who ensured that all subjects were taught in the language of this empire. Children even had to read in Russian, and not in their native language, in which they prayed and spoke at home. Vladislav often got upset because of this. After all, sometimes a student capable of mathematics, who perfectly solved various problems in Polish, suddenly became "stupid" when it was required to switch to Russian, which he did not speak well. Having seen all these humiliations since childhood, Maria all her future life, however, like the rest of the inhabitants of the state, torn apart at that time, was a fierce patriot, as well as a conscientious member of the Parisian Polish community.
Sisters Persuasion
It was not easy for a girl to grow up without a mother. Dad, always busy at work, pedantic teachers at the gymnasium ... Manya was best friends with Bronya, her sister. They agreed as teenagers that they would definitely study further, after graduating from the gymnasium. In Warsaw, higher education was impossible for women at that time, so they dreamed of the Sorbonne. The agreement was as follows: Bronya will be the first to start her studies, since she is older. And Manya will earn money for her education. When she learns to be a doctor, Manya will immediately begin to study, and her sister will help her as best she can. However, it turned out that the dream of Paris had to be postponed for almost 5 years.
Work as a governess
Manya became a governess at the Pike estate, to the children of a wealthy local landowner. The owners did not appreciate the bright mind of this girl. At every step they let her know that she was just a poor servant. In Pike, the girl's life was not easy, but she endured for the sake of Armor. Both sisters graduated from the gymnasium with a gold medal. Brother Jozef (also, by the way, a gold medalist) left for Warsaw, enrolling in the Faculty of Medicine. Elya also received a medal, but her claims were more modest. She decided to stay with her father, run the household. The 4th sister in the family died as a child when her mother was still alive. In general, Vladislav could rightfully be proud of his remaining children.
First lover
Maria's employers had five children. She taught the younger ones, but Kazimierz, the eldest son, often came for holidays. He drew attention to such an unusual governess. She was very independent. In addition, which was very unusual for a girl of that time, she ran on skates, perfectly handled the oars, skillfully drove the carriage and rode. And also, as she later admitted to Kazimierz, she was very fond of writing poetry, as well as reading books on mathematics, which seemed to her poetry.
After a while, a platonic feeling arose between the young people. Manya was plunged into despair by the fact that the arrogant parents of his lover would never allow him to connect his fate with a governess. Kazimierz came for summer vacations and holidays, and the rest of the time the girl lived in anticipation of a meeting. But now it's time to quit and go to Paris. Manya left Pike with a heavy heart - Kazimierz and the years illuminated by first love remained in the past.
Then, when Pierre Curie appears in the life of 27-year-old Mary, she will immediately understand that he will become her faithful husband. Everything will be different in the case of him - without violent dreams and outbursts of feelings. Or maybe Maria will just get older?
Device in Paris
The girl arrived in 1891 in France. Armor and her husband, Kazimierz Dlussky, who also worked as a doctor, began to patronize her. However, the determined Maria (in Paris she began to call herself Marie) opposed this. She rented a room on her own, and also enrolled in the Sorbonne, in the natural faculty. Marie settled in Paris in the Latin Quarter. Libraries, laboratories and the university were in the neighborhood with him. Dlussky helped his wife's sister to carry modest belongings on a handcart. Marie resolutely refused to settle down with any girl in order to pay less for a room - she wanted to study until late and in silence. Its budget in 1892 was 40 rubles, or 100 francs a month, that is, 3 and a half francs a day. And it was necessary to pay for a room, clothes, food, books, notebooks and university studies ... The girl cut herself off in food. And since she studied very hard, she soon fainted right in the classroom. A classmate ran to ask for help to the Dlusskys. And they again took Marie to them so that she could pay less for housing and eat normally.
Acquaintance with Pierre
One day, a fellow student of Marie invited her to visit a famous physicist from Poland. Then the girl first saw the man with whom she was destined to subsequently win world fame. At that time, the girl was 27, and Pierre was 35 years old. When Marie entered the living room, he was standing in the balcony opening. The girl tried to examine it, and the sun blinded her. This is how Maria Sklodowska and Pierre Curie met.
Pierre was devoted to science with all his heart. Parents have already tried several times to introduce him to a girl, but always in vain - they all seemed to him uninteresting, stupid and petty. And that evening, after talking with Marie, he realized that he had found an equal interlocutor. At that time, the girl was carrying out work commissioned by the Society for the Promotion of National Industry, on the magnetic properties of different grades of steel. Marie had just begun her research in Lipmann's lab. And Pierre, who worked at the School of Physics and Chemistry, already had research on magnetism and even the "Curie law" discovered by him. The young people had a lot to talk about. Pierre was so carried away by Marie that early in the morning he went to the fields in order to pick daisies for his beloved.
Wedding
Pierre and Marie got married on July 14, 1895 and went to Ile-de-France for their honeymoon. Here they read, rode bicycles, discussed scientific topics. Pierre, even to please his young wife, began to learn Polish ...
Fateful acquaintance
By the time of the birth of Irene, their first daughter, Marie's husband had already defended his doctoral dissertation, and his wife graduated first in her graduation from the Sorbonne University. At the end of 1897, a study on magnetism was completed, and Curie Marie began to look for a topic for a dissertation. At this time, the couple met a physicist. He discovered a year ago that uranium compounds emit radiation that penetrates deeply. It was, unlike X-ray, an intrinsic property of uranium. Curie Marie, fascinated by the mysterious phenomenon, decided to study it. Pierre set aside his work in order to help his wife.
The first discoveries and the award of the Nobel Prize
Pierre and Marie Curie discovered two new elements in 1898. They named the first of them polonium (in honor of Marie's homeland, Poland), and the second - radium. Since they did not isolate either one or the other element, they could not provide evidence of their existence to chemists. And for the next 4 years, the couple extracted radium and polonium from Pierre and Marie Curie from morning to night worked in a crevice barn, being exposed to radiation. The couple suffered burns before realizing the dangers of the research. However, they decided to continue them! The couple received 1/10 gram of radium chloride in September 1902. But they failed to isolate polonium - as it turned out, it was a decay product of radium. Radium salt gave off warmth and a bluish glow. This fantastic substance attracted the attention of the whole world. In December 1903, the couple was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in collaboration with Becquerel. Curie Marie was the first woman to receive it!
Loss of a husband
Their second daughter, Eva, was born to them in December 1904. By that time, the financial situation of the family had improved significantly. Pierre became a professor of physics at the Sorbonne, and his wife worked for her husband as the head of the laboratory. A terrible event happened in April 1906. Pierre was killed by the crew. Maria Sklodowska-Curie, having lost her husband, colleague and best friend, fell into a depression for several months.
Second Nobel Prize
However, life went on. The woman concentrated all her efforts on isolating pure radium metal, and not its compounds. And she received this substance in 1910 (in collaboration with A. Debirn). Marie Curie discovered it and proved that radium is a chemical element. They even wanted to accept her for this as a member of the French Academy of Sciences in the wake of great success, but debates unfolded, persecution began in the press, and eventually won. In 1911, Marie was awarded the 2nd She became the first laureate to be awarded it twice.
Work at the Radiev Institute
The Radiev Institute was established for research on radioactivity shortly before the outbreak of the First World War. Curie worked here in the field of basic research on radioactivity and its medical applications. During the war years, she trained military doctors in radiology, for example, to detect shrapnel in the body of a wounded person using X-rays, and delivered portable ones to the front line. Irene, her daughter, was among the doctors she taught.
last years of life
Even in her advanced years, Marie Curie continued her work. A brief biography of these years is marked by the following: she worked with doctors, students, wrote scientific papers, and also released a biography of her husband. Marie traveled to Poland, which finally gained independence. She also visited the USA, where she was greeted with triumph and where she was presented with 1 g of radium to continue the experiments (its cost, by the way, is equivalent to the cost of more than 200 kg of gold). However, interaction with radioactive substances made itself felt. Her health was deteriorating, and on July 4, 1934, Curie Marie died of leukemia. It happened in the French Alps, in a small hospital located in Sansellemosa.
Marie Curie University in Lublin
In honor of the Curies, the chemical element curium (No. 96) was named. And the name of the great woman Mary was immortalized in the name of the university in Lublin (Poland). It is one of the largest state-owned institutions of higher education in Poland. The Maria Curie-Skłodowska University was founded in 1944, in front of it there is a monument shown in the photo above. Associate Professor Heinrich Raabe became the first rector and organizer of this educational institution. Today it consists of the following 10 faculties:
Biology and biotechnology.
Arts.
Humanities.
Philosophy and sociology.
Pedagogy and psychology.
Geosciences and Spatial Planning.
Mathematics, physics and computer science.
Rights and management.
Political Science.
Pedagogy and psychology.
More than 23.5 thousand students have chosen the Marie Curie University, of which about 500 are foreigners.
