Marie Curie (1867–1934) was a pioneering physicist and chemist whose groundbreaking discoveries reshaped science and medicine. Born Maria Skłodowska in Warsaw, Poland, she moved to Paris to pursue higher education at the Sorbonne, where she met and later married fellow scientist Pierre Curie.
Together, the Curies discovered two new elements, polonium and radium, in 1898, a breakthrough that transformed the understanding of radioactivity—a term Marie herself coined. For this work, she became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize (Physics, 1903, shared with Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel). After Pierre’s death in 1906, Marie continued her research, becoming the first female professor at the Sorbonne.
In 1911, she won a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, for her work in isolating pure radium, making her the first person ever to win Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields.
Her research opened the door to modern nuclear physics, cancer therapies, and medical X-rays—she even equipped mobile X-ray units during World War I to help treat wounded soldiers. Despite her monumental contributions, her constant exposure to radiation ultimately led to her death in 1934.
Marie Curie remains a symbol of perseverance, intellect, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge, breaking barriers not just in science but for women worldwide.
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