Marie Curie

About

Marie Curie was a pioneering Polish-French physicist and chemist born on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw. She is renowned for her groundbreaking work on radioactivity, a term she coined. Curie's achievements include being the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person to win two Nobel Prizes in different scientific fields: Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911. Her work led to the discovery of the elements polonium and radium, named after her homeland and a highly radioactive element, respectively. Curie's contributions extended beyond her scientific achievements. She was a trailblazer for women in academia, becoming the first woman to teach at the Sorbonne and the first female professor at the University of Paris. During World War I, she developed mobile radiography units to aid in treating wounded soldiers. Curie founded the Curie Institutes in Paris and Warsaw, which remain major medical research centers. She passed away on July 4, 1934, due to complications from radiation exposure. Her legacy continues to inspire scientific advancements and women's empowerment globally.