 Maria's family included her French husband, Pierre, and their
daughter Irene. Pierre was co-winner of the Nobel Prize in physics
in 1901, while Irene won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1935. Their
other daughter, Eve, was a successful author.
Maria is the only person in history to have both a spouse and a
daughter (or a son) win Nobel Prizes, but that wasn't even her
greatest accomplishment. During her long career as a scientist, she
and her husband also discovered two of the elements on the periodic
table of elements, and a third element is named after them. If you
took chemistry in high school, then you're familiar with the
periodic table. Pierre's research identified what are now known as
alpha, beta and gamma rays.
When Pierre died in 1906 at age 46, Maria was left to raise her
two young daughters by herself. How did Pierre die? As a result of a
traffic accident, in which he was run over by a horse-drawn wagon!
This wasn't the first time Maria experienced a deep loss. Her
mother had died when Maria was only 9, and Maria grew up in Poland
during the time it was occupied by Russia. In addition, her first
boyfriend broke up with her because his parents didn't approve of
him marrying a woman from a poor family.
Despite the success that her husband and daughters achieved, it's
unlikely that this mother of invention ever felt overshadowed by her
family. Earlier, I mentioned that her husband was co-winner of the
Nobel Prize in physics in 1901. Who was the other co-winner? It was
Maria, his wife.
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 |
 Maria earned a second Nobel Prize in 1911; this one was in
chemistry. By the end of World War I, she was possibly the most
famous woman in the world, even though you've probably never heard
her name before now. You see, Maria Sklodowska changed her first
name to the French version when she moved to Paris. She changed her
last name when she married Pierre.
You learned about her in science class, except that you learned
about her by her married name of Marie Curie, the woman who
discovered radium. Her work continues to benefit anyone who receives
radiation treatments for cancer.
Which of the periodic table of elements did Marie and Pierre
Curie discover? Radium and polonium. In fact, it was Maria who
coined the term "radioactivity." The element that's named after them
is known as curium.
In addition to being the first woman
to win a Nobel Prize, Marie Curie was also the first woman to:
Marie Curie died on July 4, 1934, in a nursing home. In a twist
of irony, she is believed to be the first person to die of radiation
poisoning, and it was probably her own radiation experiments that
eventually killed her.
[By
PAUL NIEMANN]
Paul Niemann may be reached at
niemann7@aol.com.
Copyright Paul Niemann 2008
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