Marie grew up in Russian-occupied Warsaw. After graduating from gymnasium at age 15, she attended an underground “Flying University”, because the Czar forbade girls from attending university.
At the age of 24, Marie traveled 1000 miles by train to begin her studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. The ride was very difficult. She even carried her own mattress to Paris.
Working with her husband, Pierre Curie, Marie pioneered work on radiation. However, the Nobel Committee did not recognize her contribution and awarded the Prize in Physics to Pierre and another researcher. It was only because Pierre and a friend intervened that Marie was included. However, when they went to Stockholm to collect their Prize, only Pierre presented the findings; Marie sat in the audience.
In 1906, Pierre was killed in a tragic street accident in Paris. Marie fell into a deep depression and even contemplated suicide. She did not return to her laboratory for an entire year.
In 1910, Marie began a love affair with a fellow scientist, Paul Langevin. Because Paul was a married Frenchman with four children, Marie was vilified in the press. For a period of time she and her two daughters left the country.
In 1911, the Nobel Prize Committee awarded Marie her second Nobel Prize for identifying radium and polonium. When news of the scandal broke, the committee threatened to withdraw Marie’s award.
Upon the outbreak of WWI, Marie created a fleet of mobile X-ray units, called “little Curies.” Because there were hardly any men available, she formed a cadre of women and taught them how to operate the units. These women became the first X-ray technicians in history. Marie personally made over 30 trips to the war front. Her heroic efforts saved the lives and limbs of thousands of Allied soldiers and solidified Marie’s opposition to war forever.
Following WWI, Marie returned to her laboratory and focused her energy on medicine. She is credited for creating the field of radiation oncology. For her efforts, she was elected to the French Academy of Medicine in 1922.
Despite her years of scientific accomplishment, the chauvinistic French Academy of Science refused to admit Marie, a move that negatively impacted her scientific career by denying her access to new findings. Subsequently, the Academy voted never to accept women, a decision that also affected Marie’s daughter Irene. This exclusionary policy was not rescinded until 1979.
Marie spent her final years traveling internationally and working in her laboratory with Irene. She died in 1934 of complications from radiation exposure, one year before Irene became the second woman to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
