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Marie Curie

Marie Curie was one of the most famous scientists of the 19° century. As a physicist and chemist, she made great contributions to science. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and the only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice, and the only person so far to win the Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. In her lifetime, many other scientists said Marie Curie was the greatest scientist in the world.

Marie Curie’s dream was to pursue a career in science, which was impossible for a woman at that time. Working hard to save money for a study tour abroad enabled her to go to Paris to pursue her dream at Sorbonne in 1891. While she was studying, she had to work hard to earn a living. Despite such difficulties, she successfully finished her education in physics and in mathematics. She got married to Pierre Curie and worked with him on research. In 1903, she shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with her husband for their work on radioactive elements.

After her husband’s death in 1906, she took over his job and became the first female professor at Sorbonne University. In 1911, she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for determining the atomic weight of radium.

With her amazing achievements, Marie Curie has become an icon in the scientific world. She died in 1934, aged 66, due to continual exposure to radiation during her research.

radioactive elements (noun phrase) chemical elements that have or produce energy from the breaking up of atoms.