Today, November 7th, it is exactly 150 years ago Maria Salomea Sklodowska was born in the Polish city of Warschau. The world would remember her as Marie Curie. Without her scientific breakthroughs the world would look different today.
Who is Marie Curie
Marie Curie was a very smart woman. She was born in Poland but moved to France at the end of the 19th century to study in Paris. There she met her future husband Pierre Curie, hence the name change. Together with her husband she did pioneering research to radioactivity and new chemical elements. In 1903 she received, together with her husband, the Nobel prize in physics. She was the first woman ever to receive that prize. In 1911 she received another Nobel prize in Chemistry. She was the first person to be awarded two prizes. In 1934 she died of leukemia, most probably of working so much with radioactive radiation. Her daughter, Irene, was also awarded the Nobel prize in Chemistry together with her husband.
Revolutionary discoveries
Her achievements were made at the end of the 19th century, a time at which the world believed it understood almost everything about physics and chemistry. At that moment in time radioactivity was discovered and she, together with her husband did research in this field. The result of that research was the need for a total different view of how matter is composed. She did research with uranium and discovered two new elements: radium and plutonium. She firmly stood up for women in science.
Impact on today's world
Marie Curie saw practical purposes for her discoveries right away. First she understood the radium radiation could help fight cancer. Second she started medical imaging by using X-rays. During the first world war mobile units were set up with her help to help wounded French soldiers. Both these techniques are still used today for cancer treatment and medical imaging.
