PEOPLE'S BIOGRAPHIES

Marie Curie was born in Warsaw on

November 7th, 1867. She was the daughter
of physics and mathematics professor
Władysław Skłodowski and teacher
Bronisława Boguska. Her family had serious
economic problems and she was unable to
enter an institution of higher education simply
because she was a woman. But she joined
her sister Bronislawa at an underground
Polish university that admitted women, and in
1891, at the age of 24, Marie Curie finally
moved to study in France thanks to her savings and her father's help.
In 1893, Marie Curie graduated in Physics from the University of Paris, being number
one in her class. Then, a year later, she met the scientist Pierre Curie, who became
her husband in 1895. To obtain his doctorate he conducted research on radioactive
substances. In 1898, together with her husband, they announced the discovery of
new elements: radium and polonium, both more radioactive than uranium. In 1903,
she completed his doctorate and received the Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1906, she
became a professor at the Sorbonne University after the death of her husband. In
1911 she discovered that radiotherapy could be a treatment against cancer and she
received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She died on July 4th, 1934 from the radiation
she was exposed to in her experiments. Marie Curie is an example of perseverance
and hard work.