sciencebook
Marie Curie
Born: 7\11\1867
Died: 4\7\1934
About Nationality: Polish
About me
• Marie Curie was a physicist, chemist and a
pioneer in the study of radiation
• She discovered the elements polonium and
radium
• Marie received the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry in 1911
• Her work with radioactive materials was
what ultimately killed her
• When Curie registered at the Sorbonne in
Paris, she signed her name as "Marie" to
seem more French
Work, education and personal life…
Curie and her older sister, Bronya, both wished to
pursue a higher education, but the University of
Warsaw did not accept women. To get the
education they desired, they had to leave the
country. At the age of 17, Curie became a
governess to help pay for her sister's attendance at
medical school in Paris. Curie continued studying
on her own and eventually set off for Paris in
November 1891.
Marie Curie
The things I am most famous for…
Curie was intrigued by the reports of German
physicist Wilhelm Rontgen's discovery of X-rays and
by French physicist Henri Becquerel's report of
similar "Becquerel rays" emitted by uranium salts.
Curie continued to test more uranium compounds.
She experimented with a uranium-rich ore called
pitchblende, and found that even with the uranium
removed, pitchblende emitted rays that were stronger
than those emitted by pure uranium. She suspected
that this suggested the presence of an undiscovered
element.
History by year
Marie Sklodowska was born in Warsaw on 7 November 1867, the daughter of
a teacher. In 1891, she went to Paris to study physics and mathematics at the
Sorbonne where she met Pierre Curie, professor of the School of Physics. They
were married in 1895. In July 1898, the Curies announced the discovery of a
new chemical element, polonium. At the end of the year, they announced the
discovery of another, radium. The Curies, along with Becquerel, were awarded
the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903.