History
science drew them together. When
Curie proposed marriage to her,
she at first declined, since she had
planned to return to teach in Poland.
But she was rejected for a teaching
post at Krakow University -- because
she was a woman.
Pierre’s pursuit of her by letters
convinced her to return to Paris to
obtain a PhD. Part of her decision
must have been related to the fact
that her own pressure on Pierre led
him to write up his research on
magnetism and receive his PhD and
professorship in 1895. Marie’s focus
was on invisible radiation from
uranium salts, which led to her PhD
from the Sorbonnes Institute.
Marie and Pierre were married in
1895 in a civil ceremony. (Curie was
not religious, which fact was used
against her professionally.) Their
two pastimes were bicycling and
journeys abroad, but primarily their
joint passion was collaboration
in scientific research. After the
marriage they continued this study
and made numerous experiments
together. However, they both agreed
that for work, Marie would publish
her findings under her own name.
Marie concentrated on two uranium
minerals: pitchblende and torbernite.
By 1898, from these minerals,
they were able to isolate two new
radioactive substances: polonium
and radium. Despite considerable
skepticism from other scientists, by
1902, they were able to isolate this
radium completely. As a result, she
and her husband received the 1903
Nobel Prize.
Curie began teaching in Paris in
1900. She became the first female
full professor of physics at the
renowned Sorbonne in Paris. She
succeeded to her late husband’s
chair after his untimely death from
a carriage accident in 1906. Despite
her grief, she continued her devotion
to scientific research.
Marie Curie continued work with
intricate scientific experiments.
During this period, she developed her
scientific theory of radioactivity.
After isolating pure metallic radium
in 1910, she received a second Nobel
Prize, this time in chemistry.
radon, was very useful in sterilizing
infected tissue.
She started to travel extensively,
coming, in 1921, to the United
States, where she was welcomed
at the White House and received
numerous honors and monetary
awards. She also traveled to Belgium,
Brazil, Spain, Czechoslovakia and her
native Poland.
She visited Poland for the last time
in early 1934. That summer, she
became critically ill with aplastic
anemia and died in July, 1934. The
conclusion was that Curie had
suffered fatal effects from long term
exposure to radiation. During her
lifetime, the damaging impact from
such exposure an BF