Marie Curie

French-Polish scientist Marie Curie (7 November

1867 – 4 July 1934).

Marie Curie is credited with the invention of mobile X-ray units during World War I. She also
paved the way for radiation therapy, a technique where radiation is used to shrink tumors and
destroy cancer cells. Less well known, though equally well documented, is Curie’s work during
the First World War, inspired by her humanitarian spirit and devotion to her host country. With
the outbreak of conflict and the threat of a German invasion looming over Paris, daily life was
suspended, including Curie’s research. The French government moved to Bordeaux, where the
scientist also brought her most precious treasured, a gram of radium in a lead-lined container,
which she left in a safety deposit box at a local bank.

Award winning chemist and physicist Marie Curie made a significant contribution to the fields of
medical and scientific research, and her legacy lives on to this day. Along with her husband
Pierre Curie, Marie discovered two new chemical elements: polonium and radium. Together
they were awarded a Nobel Prize in physics, while Curie went on to earn another Nobel Prize in
chemistry for learning how to study radioactivity.
But it seems that Curie was not particularly interested in awards. In fact, years later she rejected
the Order of the Legion of Honour, as her husband had done earlier. She never wanted to leave
any medals behind; instead, from her Radium Institute she dedicated the rest of her life to
developing her legacy for humanity, a therapy that today continues to save lives. “Radiotherapy
has saved many people from dying of cancer, and for those it cannot save, it has prolonged their
life and reduced their pain,” Jorgensen concludes.