A woman among men
Marie Curie was the first woman to get one of the Nobel Prizes. She got it in 1903 for physics and her work on radioactive elements. She worked together with others and Henri Becquerel got half of the price. Marie shared the other half with her husband, Pierre Curie.
Marie grew up in Poland and lived in Paris. Researchers at this time were mostly men. Women were supposed to stay at home and take care of the household. Marie fought for a place in research. The Nobel Prize was a victory for her as a woman. She had been accepted as a researcher.
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Portrett av Marie Curie med svart bakgrunn
A unique performance
Marie won another Nobel prize in 1911, this time in chemistry. Still today, there is no one who has received two Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields. Marie was a genius who made important contributions to the future of science.
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Marie og Pierre Curie
A magical element
Marie discovered that the chemical element radium sent rays from its atomic nucleus. This is radioactivity. In the beginning, it was used for many things, like toothpaste and watches.
The usefulness of radium
Today we know that radium radiation is dangerous for our health. But in the right doses, it can save lives. One example is the treatment of cancer.
Marie created mobile x-ray laboratories using cars. These were actually used in World War I. By using them, they could see injuries inside the body of soldiers. Marie’s radium was used for this.
Marie Curie i en bil kalt røntgenlaboratorier på hjul
Personal issues
Marie’s husband died in a traffic accident in 1906. Marie took over his job as a professor at the Sorbonne. Marie had an affair with a married man. This was not accepted despite the fact that he was separated from his wife. Marie became sick from all the rumors.
The greatest victim
Marie Curie became sick from all the radiation and she died of anemia when she was 67. At that time, people didn’t know how dangerous it was. You could say that she gave her life for her research.
Today, her notebooks must be kept in a special box because they were and still are highly radioactive.
Illustrasjon av laboratorium til Marie og Pierre Curie
Marie Curie’s Legacy
Marie had two daughters. Irène followed in her mother’s footsteps, and in 1935 Irène and her husband, Frédéric Joliot, got the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Her other daughter is Eve. She was a concert pianist, journalist, and author.
Marie was brave, interested and really passionate about what she did.
Sources:
- Historiens største kvinner (2019)
Orage forlag AS, 2019
- Pedersen, Bjørn: Marie Curie i Store norske leksikon på snl.no.
Hentet 4. januar 2021 fra https://snl.no/Marie_Curie
- New Scientist (24.10.2022): Marie Curiehttps://www.newscientist.com/people/marie-curie/
- NPR (24.10.2022): Don’t Come to Stockholm! Madame Curie’s Nobel Scandalhttps://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2010/12/14/132031977/don-t-come-to-stockholm-madame-curie-s-nobel-scandal
- Encyclopedia Britannica (24.10.2022): Marie Curie: Polish-born French physicisthttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Marie-Curie/Death-of-Pierre-and-second-Nobel-Prize
- The Nobel Prize (24.10.2022): Marie Curie: Biographicalhttps://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1903/marie-curie/biographical/
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Henri Manuel
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Foto: Ukjent (CC BY 4.0)
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