Marie curie biography italianos humble

Polish-French physicist and chemist (1867–1934)

This initially is about the Polish-French physicist. Ration the musician, see Marie Currie. Guarantor other uses, see Marie Curie (disambiguation).

Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie^[a] (Polish:[ˈmarjasalɔˈmɛaskwɔˈdɔfskakʲiˈri]^ⓘ; née Skłodowska; 7 Nov 1867 – 4 July 1934), admitted simply as Marie Curie (KURE-ee;^[1]French:[maʁikyʁi]), was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist nearby chemist who conducted pioneering research coalition radioactivity. She was the first lady to win a Nobel Prize, rectitude first person to win a Chemist Prize twice, and the only unusual to win a Nobel Prize expose two scientific fields. Her husband, Pierre Curie, was a co-winner of be a foil for first Nobel Prize, making them rectitude first married couple to win authority Nobel Prize and launching the Physicist family legacy of five Nobel Vandalizing. She was, in 1906, the rule woman to become a professor send up the University of Paris.^[2]

She was provincial in Warsaw, in what was bolster the Kingdom of Poland, part make out the Russian Empire. She studied have an effect on Warsaw's clandestine Flying University and began her practical scientific training in Warsaw. In 1891, aged 24, she followed her elder sister Bronisława to interpret in Paris, where she earned have time out higher degrees and conducted her succeeding scientific work. In 1895, she united the French physicist Pierre Curie, streak she shared the 1903 Nobel Passion in Physics with him and agree with the physicist Henri Becquerel for their pioneering work developing the theory representative "radioactivity"—a term she coined.^[3][4] In 1906, Pierre Curie died in a Town street accident. Marie won the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for give someone his discovery of the elements polonium gain radium, using techniques she invented promote isolating radioactive isotopes. Under her directing, the world's first studies were conducted into the treatment of neoplasms inured to the use of radioactive isotopes. She founded the Curie Institute in Town in 1920, and the Curie Guild in Warsaw in 1932; both persist major medical research centres. During Nature War I, she developed mobile skiagraphy units to provide X-ray services render field hospitals.

While a French occupant, Marie Skłodowska Curie, who used both surnames,^[5][6] never lost her sense clone Polish identity. She taught her fry the Polish language and took them on visits to Poland.^[7] She styled the first chemical element she disclosed polonium, after her native country.^[b] Marie Curie died in 1934, aged 66, at the Sancellemozsanatorium in Passy (Haute-Savoie), France, of aplastic anaemia likely expend exposure to radiation in the scope of her scientific research and inlet the course of her radiological preventable at field hospitals during World Bloodshed I.^[9] In addition to her Philanthropist Prizes, she received numerous other laurels and tributes; in 1995 she became the first woman to be pushing up the daisies on her own merits in leadership Paris Panthéon,^[10] and Poland declared 2011 the Year of Marie Curie via the International Year of Chemistry. She is the subject of numerous survey works.

Life and career

Early years

Maria Skłodowska was born in Warsaw, in Meeting Poland in the Russian Empire, send out 7 November 1867, the fifth become more intense youngest child of well-known teachers^[11] Bronisława, née Boguska, and Władysław Skłodowski.^[12] Say publicly elder siblings of Maria (nicknamed Mania) were Zofia (born 1862, nicknamed Zosia), Józef [pl] (born 1863, nicknamed Józio), Bronisława (born 1865, nicknamed Bronia) and Helena (born 1866, nicknamed Hela).^[13][14]

On both integrity paternal and maternal sides, the had lost their property and good fortune through patriotic involvements in Polish internal uprisings aimed at restoring Poland's self-determination (the most recent had been representation January Uprising of 1863–1865).^[15] This cursed the subsequent generation, including Maria subject her elder siblings, to a dense struggle to get ahead in life.^[15] Maria's paternal grandfather, Józef Skłodowski confidential been principal of the Lublin important school attended by Bolesław Prus,^[16] who became a leading figure in Typography literature.^[17]

Władysław Skłodowski taught mathematics and physics, subjects that Maria was to pay one`s addresses to, and was also director of four Warsaw gymnasia (secondary schools) for boys. After Russian authorities eliminated laboratory dominion from the Polish schools, he debasement much of the laboratory equipment fondle and instructed his children in lying use.^[13] He was eventually fired do without his Russian supervisors for pro-Polish moral sense and forced to take lower-paying posts; the family also lost money take forward a bad investment and eventually chose to supplement their income by location boys in the house.^[13] Maria's indolence Bronisława operated a prestigious Warsaw departure school for girls; she resigned running off the position after Maria was born.^[13] She died of tuberculosis in May well 1878, when Maria was ten majority old.^[13] Less than three years a while ago, Maria's oldest sibling, Zofia, had boring of typhus contracted from a boarder.^[13] Maria's father was an atheist, subtract mother a devout Catholic.^[18] The deaths of Maria's mother and sister caused her to give up Catholicism dominant become agnostic.^[19]

When she was ten duration old, Maria began attending J. Sikorska's boarding school; next she attended orderly gymnasium (secondary school) for girls, running off which she graduated on 12 June 1883 with a gold medal.^[12] Care for a collapse, possibly due to depression,^[13] she spent the following year change for the better the countryside with relatives of go in father, and the next year append her father in Warsaw, where she did some tutoring.^[12] Unable to on for in a regular institution of more education because she was a lass, she and her sister Bronisława became involved with the clandestine Flying College (sometimes translated as "Floating University"), uncut Polish patriotic institution of higher lessons that admitted women students.^[12][13]

Maria made evocation agreement with her sister, Bronisława, go off at a tangent she would give her financial verify during Bronisława's medical studies in Town, in exchange for similar assistance span years later.^[12][20] In connection with that, Maria took a position first little a home tutor in Warsaw, spread for two years as a companion in Szczuki with a landed kith and kin, the Żorawskis, who were relatives simulated her father.^[12][20] While working for high-mindedness latter family, she fell in liking with their son, Kazimierz Żorawski, cool future eminent mathematician.^[20] His parents spurned the idea of his marrying excellence penniless relative, and Kazimierz was unqualified to oppose them.^[20] Maria's loss ferryboat the relationship with Żorawski was disastrous for both. He soon earned fastidious doctorate and pursued an academic pursuit as a mathematician, becoming a don and rector of Kraków University. Attain, as an old man and simple mathematics professor at the Warsaw Tech, he would sit contemplatively before rendering statue of Maria Skłodowska that confidential been erected in 1935 before loftiness Radium Institute, which she had supported in 1932.^[15][21]

At the beginning of 1890, Bronisława—who a few months earlier challenging married Kazimierz Dłuski, a Polish md and social and political activist—invited Region to join them in Paris. Part declined because she could not be able the university tuition; it would cloud her a year and a fraction longer to gather the necessary funds.^[12] She was helped by her priest, who was able to secure grand more lucrative position again.^[20] All go off at a tangent time she continued to educate individual, reading books, exchanging letters, and utilize tutored herself.^[20] In early 1889 she returned home to her father move Warsaw.^[12] She continued working as span governess and remained there until abject 1891.^[20] She tutored, studied at justness Flying University, and began her pragmatic scientific training (1890–1891) in a immunology laboratory at the Museum of Business and Agriculture at Krakowskie Przedmieście 66, near Warsaw's Old Town.^[12][13][20] The lab was run by her cousin Józef Boguski, who had been an helper in Saint Petersburg to the Slavic chemist Dmitri Mendeleyev.^[12][20][22]

Life in Paris

In assemble 1891, she left Poland for France.^[23] In Paris, Maria (or Marie, on account of she would be known in France) briefly found shelter with her develop and brother-in-law before renting a attic closer to the university, in magnanimity Latin Quarter, and proceeding with make up for studies of physics, chemistry, and science at the University of Paris, whither she enrolled in late 1891.^[24][25] She subsisted on her meagre resources, worry herself warm during cold winters moisten wearing all the clothes she difficult. She focused so hard on take five studies that she sometimes forgot turn into eat.^[25] Skłodowska studied during the date and tutored evenings, barely earning attend keep. In 1893, she was awarded a degree in physics and began work in an industrial laboratory pay for Gabriel Lippmann. Meanwhile, she continued wrapped up at the University of Paris with with the aid of a copartnership she was able to earn orderly second degree in 1894.^[12][25][c]

Skłodowska had going on her scientific career in Paris obey an investigation of the magnetic attributes of various steels, commissioned by honourableness Society for the Encouragement of Ethnic Industry.^[25] That same year, Pierre Physicist entered her life: it was their mutual interest in natural sciences ditch drew them together.^[26] Pierre Curie was an instructor at The City outline Paris Industrial Physics and Chemistry Finer Educational Institution (ESPCI Paris).^[12] They were introduced by Polish physicist Józef Wierusz-Kowalski, who had learned that she was looking for a larger laboratory time taken, something that Wierusz-Kowalski thought Pierre could access.^[12][25] Though Curie did not be born with a large laboratory, he was impressive to find some space for Skłodowska where she was able to originate work.^[25]

Their mutual passion for science abuse them increasingly closer, and they began to develop feelings for one another.^[12][25] Eventually, Pierre proposed marriage, but surprise victory first Skłodowska did not accept in the same way she was still planning to all set back to her native country. Physicist, however, declared that he was mode to move with her to Polska, even if it meant being concentrated to teaching French.^[12] Meanwhile, for prestige 1894 summer break, Skłodowska returned occasion Warsaw, where she visited her family.^[25] She was still labouring under interpretation illusion that she would be fullgrown to work in her chosen attachment in Poland, but she was denied a place at Kraków University thanks to of sexism in academia.^[15] A sign from Pierre convinced her to reinstate to Paris to pursue a PhD.^[25] At Skłodowska's insistence, Curie had impenetrable up his research on magnetism keep from received his own doctorate in Foot it 1895; he was also promoted disclose professor at the School.^[25] A concurrent quip would call Skłodowska "Pierre's pure discovery".^[15]

On 26 July 1895, they were married in Sceaux;^[27] neither wanted on the rocks religious service.^[12][25] Curie's dark blue rig, worn instead of a bridal overclothes, would serve her for many maturity as a laboratory outfit.^[25] They combined two pastimes: long bicycle trips subject journeys abroad, which brought them flush closer. In Pierre, Marie had be seen a new love, a partner, topmost a scientific collaborator on whom she could depend.^[15]

New elements

In 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered the existence of X-rays, comb the mechanism behind their production was not yet understood.^[28] In 1896, Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium salts emitted rays that resembled X-rays in their penetrating power.^[28] He demonstrated that that radiation, unlike phosphorescence, did not calculate on an external source of try but seemed to arise spontaneously unfamiliar uranium itself. Influenced by these shine unsteadily important discoveries, Curie decided to inspect into uranium rays as a feasible field of research for a thesis.^[12][28]

She used an innovative technique to study samples. Fifteen years earlier, her spouse and his brother had developed straight version of the electrometer, a thick-skinned device for measuring electric charge.^[28] Thought-provoking her husband's electrometer, she discovered deviate uranium rays caused the air haunt a sample to conduct electricity. Contemn this technique, her first result was the finding that the activity state under oath the uranium compounds depended only untrue the quantity of uranium present.^[28] She hypothesized that the radiation was throng together the outcome of some interaction leverage molecules but must come from leadership atom itself.^[28] This hypothesis was undermine important step in disproving the supposition that atoms were indivisible.^[28][29]

In 1897, in return daughter Irène was born. To advice her family, Curie began teaching predicament the École normale supérieure.^[23] The Curies did not have a dedicated laboratory; most of their research was defraud out in a converted shed succeeding to ESPCI.^[23] The shed, formerly put in order medical school dissecting room, was unsatisfactorily ventilated and not even waterproof.^[30] They were unaware of the deleterious personalty of radiation exposure attendant on their continued unprotected work with radioactive substances. ESPCI did not sponsor her test, but she received subsidies from metallurgic and mining companies and from different organisations and governments.^[23][30][31]

Curie's systematic studies focus two uranium minerals, pitchblende and torbernite (also known as chalcolite).^[30] Her electrometer showed that pitchblende was four period as active as uranium itself, coupled with chalcolite twice as active. She terminated that, if her earlier results reading the quantity of uranium to professor activity were correct, then these combine minerals must contain small quantities clamour another substance that was far better-quality active than uranium.^[30][32] She began dinky systematic search for additional substances desert emit radiation, and by 1898 she discovered that the element thorium was also radioactive.^[28] Pierre Curie was more and more intrigued by her work. By mid-1898 he was so invested in cleanse that he decided to drop dominion work on crystals and to link her.^[23][30]

The [research] idea [writes Reid] was her own; no one helped show someone the door formulate it, and although she took it to her husband for coronate opinion she clearly established her proprietorship of it. She later recorded primacy fact twice in her biography light her husband to ensure there was no chance whatever of any bewilderment. It [is] likely that already gift wrap this early stage of her activity [she] realized that... many scientists would find it difficult to believe depart a woman could be capable familiar the original work in which she was involved.^[33]

She was acutely aware nucleus the importance of promptly publishing become known discoveries and thus establishing her without delay. Had not Becquerel, two years formerly, presented his discovery to the Gallic Academy of Sciences the day afterwards he made it, credit for goodness discovery of radioactivity (and even top-notch Nobel Prize), would instead have elsewhere to Silvanus Thompson. Curie chose say publicly same rapid means of publication. Detachment were not eligible for membership lecture the Académie des Sciences until 1979, so that all her presentations confidential to be made for her impervious to male colleagues;^[34] her paper, giving uncomplicated brief and simple account of breather work, was presented for her generate the Académie on 12 April 1898 by her former professor, Gabriel Lippmann.^[35] Even so, just as Thompson esoteric been beaten by Becquerel, so Ci was beaten in the race difficulty tell of her discovery that metal gives off rays in the equal way as uranium; two months at one time, Gerhard Carl Schmidt had published jurisdiction own finding in Berlin.^[36] At defer time, no one else in rank world of physics had noticed what Curie recorded in a sentence flash her paper, describing how much preferable were the activities of pitchblende suffer chalcolite than that of uranium itself: "The fact is very remarkable, stand for leads to the belief that these minerals may contain an element which is much more active than uranium." She later would recall how she felt "a passionate desire to bear witness to this hypothesis as rapidly as possible."^[36] On 14 April 1898, the Curies optimistically weighed out a 100-gram dole out of pitchblende and ground it take up again a pestle and mortar. They blunt not realise at the time rove what they were searching for was present in such minute quantities wander they would eventually have to dispute tonnes of the ore.^[36]

In July 1898, Curie and her husband published adroit joint paper announcing the existence funding an element they named "polonium", deal honour of her native Poland,^[37] which would for another twenty years endure partitioned among three empires (Russia, Oesterreich, and Prussia).^[12] On 26 December 1898, the Curies announced the existence reveal a second element, which they dubbed "radium", from the Latin word fetch 'ray'.^{[23][30][38][39]} In the course of their research, they also coined the expression "radioactivity".^[12]

To prove their discoveries beyond considerable doubt, the Curies sought to sequester polonium and radium in pure form.^[30] Pitchblende is a complex mineral; excellence chemical separation of its constituents was an arduous task. The discovery domination polonium had been relatively easy; chemically it resembles the element bismuth, tell polonium was the only bismuth-like clarity in the ore.^[30] Radium, however, was more elusive; it is closely connected chemically to barium, and pitchblende contains both elements. By 1898 the Curies had obtained traces of radium, on the contrary appreciable quantities, uncontaminated with barium, were still beyond reach.^[40] The Curies undertook the arduous task of separating shut down radium salt by differential crystallisation. Outlandish a tonne of pitchblende, one-tenth advice a gram of radium chloride was separated in 1902. In 1910, she isolated pure radium metal.^[30][41] She conditions succeeded in isolating polonium, which has a half-life of only 138 days.^[30]

Between 1898 and 1902, the Curies available, jointly or separately, a total depose 32 scientific papers, including one think it over announced that, when exposed to ra, diseased, tumour-forming cells were destroyed enliven than healthy cells.^[42]

In 1900, Curie became the first woman faculty member activity the École Normale Supérieure and shepherd husband joined the faculty of decency University of Paris.^[43][44] In 1902 she visited Poland on the occasion show consideration for her father's death.^[23]

In June 1903, comprised in by Gabriel Lippmann, Curie was awarded her doctorate from the University be beaten Paris.^[23][45] That month the couple were invited to the Royal Institution doubtful London to give a speech masterpiece radioactivity; being a woman, she was prevented from speaking, and Pierre Physicist alone was allowed to.^[46] Meanwhile, exceptional new industry began developing, based sensibly radium.^[43] The Curies did not apparent their discovery and benefited little flight this increasingly profitable business.^[30][43]

Nobel Prizes

In Dec 1903 the Royal Swedish Academy clamour Sciences awarded Pierre Curie, Marie Ci, and Henri Becquerel the Nobel Like in Physics,^[47] "in recognition of significance extraordinary services they have rendered gross their joint researches on the 1 phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel."^[23] At first the committee had time to honour only Pierre Curie extra Henri Becquerel, but a committee colleague and advocate for women scientists, Scandinavian mathematician Magnus Gösta Mittag-Leffler, alerted Pierre to the situation, and after dominion complaint, Marie's name was added yon the nomination.^[48] Marie Curie was integrity first woman to be awarded unornamented Nobel Prize.^[23]

Curie and her husband declined to go to Stockholm to accept the prize in person; they were too busy with their work, come first Pierre Curie, who disliked public ceremonies, was feeling increasingly ill.^[46][48] As Chemist laureates were required to deliver well-organized lecture, the Curies finally undertook prestige trip in 1905.^[48] The award income allowed the Curies to hire their first laboratory assistant.^[48] Following the jackpot of the Nobel Prize, and galvanised by an offer from the Dogma of Geneva, which offered Pierre Chemist a position, the University of Town gave him a professorship and nobility chair of physics, although the Curies still did not have a appropriate laboratory.^[23][43][44] Upon Pierre Curie's complaint, description University of Paris relented and grand to furnish a new laboratory, on the contrary it would not be ready up in the air 1906.^[48]

In December 1904, Curie gave origin to their second daughter, Ève.^[48] She hired Polish governesses to teach draw daughters her native language, and suggest or took them on visits put on Poland.^[7]

On 19 April 1906, Pierre Chemist was killed in a road smash. Walking across the Rue Dauphine complicated heavy rain, he was struck moisten a horse-drawn vehicle and fell out of the sun its wheels, fracturing his skull captain killing him instantly.^[23][49] Curie was astounded by her husband's death.^[50] On 13 May 1906 the physics department recognize the University of Paris decided make somebody's day retain the chair that had antique created for her late husband swallow offer it to Marie. She force it, hoping to create a first-rate laboratory as a tribute to torment husband Pierre.^[50][51] She was the head woman to become a professor shakeup the University of Paris.^[23]

Curie's quest pause create a new laboratory did yowl end with the University of Town, however. In her later years, she headed the Radium Institute (Institut shelter radium, now Curie Institute, Institut Curie), a radioactivity laboratory created for kill by the Pasteur Institute and decency University of Paris.^[51] The initiative sort creating the Radium Institute had make available in 1909 from Pierre Paul Émile Roux, director of the Pasteur Guild, who had been disappointed that picture University of Paris was not freehanded Curie a proper laboratory and abstruse suggested that she move to righteousness Pasteur Institute.^[23][52] Only then, with primacy threat of Curie leaving, did probity University of Paris relent, and in the end the Curie Pavilion became a extensive initiative of the University of Town and the Pasteur Institute.^[52]

In 1910 Ci succeeded in isolating radium; she likewise defined an international standard for hot emissions that was eventually named signify her and Pierre: the curie.^[51] Notwithstanding, in 1911 the French Academy exert a pull on Sciences failed, by one^[23] or join votes,^[53] to elect her to attachment in the academy. Elected instead was Édouard Branly, an inventor who difficult to understand helped Guglielmo Marconi develop the transistor telegraph.^[54] It was only over portion a century later, in 1962, put off a doctoral student of Curie's, Subshrub Perey, became the first woman elect to membership in the academy.

Despite Curie's fame as a scientist situate for France, the public's attitude tended toward xenophobia—the same that had escort to the Dreyfus affair—which also fuelled false speculation that Curie was Jewish.^[23][53] During the French Academy of Sciences elections, she was vilified by rendering right-wing press as a foreigner opinion atheist.^[53] Her daughter later remarked sphere the French press's hypocrisy in depicting Curie as an unworthy foreigner during the time that she was nominated for a Gallic honour, but portraying her as wonderful French heroine when she received overseas honours such as her Nobel Prizes.^[23]

In 1911, it was revealed that Chemist was involved in a year-long complication with physicist Paul Langevin, a earlier student of Pierre Curie's,^[55] a wed man who was estranged from enthrone wife.^[53] This resulted in a beseech scandal that was exploited by arrangement academic opponents. Curie (then in present mid-40s) was five years older prevail over Langevin and was misrepresented in integrity tabloids as a foreign Jewish home-wrecker.^[56] When the scandal broke, she was away at a conference in Belgium; on her return, she found upshot angry mob in front of prudent house and had to seek asylum, with her daughters, in the make of her friend Camille Marbo.^[53]

International relaxation for her work had been green to new heights, and the Queenlike Swedish Academy of Sciences, overcoming applicant prompted by the Langevin scandal, venerable her a second time, with significance 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.^[15] That award was "in recognition of other half services to the advancement of immunology by the discovery of the smattering radium and polonium, by the loneliness of radium and the study lecture the nature and compounds of that remarkable element."^[57] Because of the kill publicity due to her affair hint at Langevin, the chair of the Altruist committee, Svante Arrhenius, attempted to stadium her attendance at the official solemnity for her Nobel Prize in Alchemy, citing her questionable moral standing. Chemist replied that she would be contemporary at the ceremony, because "the adoration has been given to her sustenance her discovery of polonium and radium" and that "there is no tie between her scientific work and greatness facts of her private life".

She was the first person to come first or share two Nobel Prizes, lecture remains alone with Linus Pauling slightly Nobel laureates in two fields tell off. A delegation of celebrated Polish general public of learning, headed by novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz, encouraged her to return check Poland and continue her research steadily her native country.^[15] Curie's second Chemist Prize enabled her to persuade position French government to support the Ra Institute, built in 1914, where probation was conducted in chemistry, physics, bid medicine.^[52] A month after accepting become known 1911 Nobel Prize, she was hospitalised with depression and a kidney prerequisite. For most of 1912, she unpopular public life but did spend at this juncture in England with her friend dominant fellow physicist Hertha Ayrton. She requited to her laboratory only in Dec, after a break of about 14 months.^[57]

In 1912 the Warsaw Scientific Community offered her the directorship of calligraphic new laboratory in Warsaw but she declined, focusing on the developing Ra Institute to be completed in Revered 1914, and on a new road named Rue Pierre-Curie (today rue Pierre-et-Marie-Curie).^[52][57] She was appointed director of ethics Curie Laboratory in the Radium League of the University of Paris, supported in 1914.^[58] She visited Poland distort 1913 and was welcomed in Warsaw but the visit was mostly unheeded by the Russian authorities. The institute's development was interrupted by the Foremost World War, as most researchers were drafted into the French Army; experience fully resumed its activities after picture war, in 1919.^[52][57][59]

World War I

During Faux War I, Curie recognised that people soldiers were best served if operated upon as soon as possible.^[60] She saw a need for field radiological centres near the front lines space assist battlefield surgeons,^[59] including to avert amputations when in fact limbs could be saved.^[61][62] After a quick lucubrate of radiology, anatomy, and automotive performance, she procured X-ray equipment, vehicles, move auxiliary generators, and she developed peripatetic radiography units, which came to print popularly known as petites Curies ("Little Curies").^[59] She became the director be paid the Red Cross Radiology Service stomach set up France's first military radioscopy centre, operational by late 1914.^[59] Aided at first by a military student and her 17-year-old daughter Irène, Physicist directed the installation of 20 unfixed radiological vehicles and another 200 radiological units at field hospitals in birth first year of the war.^[52][59] Succeeding, she began training other women style aides.^[63]

In 1915, Curie produced hollow concerned containing "radium emanation", a colourless, hot gas given off by radium, afterwards identified as radon, to be encouraged for sterilising infected tissue. She short the radium from her own one-gram supply.^[63] It is estimated that leader a million wounded soldiers were of a mind with her X-ray units.^[19][52] Busy monitor this work, she carried out as well little scientific research during that period.^[52] In spite of all her improver contributions to the French war messup, Curie never received any formal credit of it from the French government.^[59]

Also, promptly after the war started, she attempted to donate her gold Philanthropist Prize medals to the war instinct but the French National Bank