1867 - 1934

Marie Curie

By Kaja Letowska

Quick facts Marie Curie (Maria Salomea Skłodowska) was born on the 7th

November 1867 and died on the 4th of July, 1934. She lived in Poland and in France through her life. She travelled

a lot too. She worked in physics and chemistry. She got awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. However, she refused to collect it personally. She and her husband Pierre said they didn’t like the crowds of

people and were too busy with their work.

Early Years Marie Curie, or Maria Salomea Skłodowska, was born in

Warsaw, Poland on the 7th of November, 1867. She had four older siblings- Zofia, Józef, Bronisława and

Helena.

This is the hospital where Marie was born now days- beside it is the ‘Marie Curie’ museum. It stands on ulica Freta in Warsaw.

When Maria was ten, she attended boarding school.

Later she was learning in a gymnasium and got a gold medal for graduating.

Because of depression, she then moved to the countryside with her father’s relatives.

Paris In 1891 Maria left Poland and set out to live in Paris, France. In Paris, she stayed with her sister until she got an apartment

beside a university she wanted to attend. She studied physics in the university. In 1983 she was rewarded a degree in physics and went to

study in a laboratory.

Pierre Curie Pierre Curie was a scientist that worked on the same subject as

Marie. They were working for a year in the same laboratory. After that year Pierre proposed and Maria Skłodowska became

Marie Curie. They both loved long bicycle trips and journeys abroad which

brought them even closer. In 1897 they had a daughter called Irene.

Pierre, Irene and Marie Curie.

Discoveries Marie took great interest in x-rays. She began to study them. X-rays were very weak and not understood- Marie changed

that. She made the word ‘radioactivity’ to describe how they work. Pierre wanted to join Marie to help her in her studies. He left his important

work on crystals so they

can work on the same

subject.

Final Days Marie visited Poland for the last time in 1934. A few months later, in July 1934 she died. She was exposed to too much

radiation from her studies. She carried test tubes with chemicals

in her pockets and in her drawers. No-one knew that you need special

equipment so you don’t get too

much radiation.

Statue of Marie Curie in Warsaw, Poland. It faces the Radium Institute she established in 1932.