Marie Curie

Marie Curie is a renowned person in the world of science. A physicist and chemist, who is known for her research in radioactivity. She is the first woman to have been awarded the Nobel Prize. Her achievements didn’t stop there though. She was also the first and only woman to have won the award in two different subjects, Physics and Chemistry.

Maria Salomea Sklodowska, otherwise known as Marie Curie, was born in Warsaw, Poland on November 7, 1867. Her parents, Bronislawa and Vladislav, gave her the nickname Manya. At the time of her birth, Poland was not its own country but instead divided among Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Although Warsaw was being dominated by Russia in order to convert Poland’s people to Russian ways and to completely disregard their own culture. Her parents though, raised and advocated their children to have Polish ways.

Marie was the youngest of five children. Both of her parents were instructors. Her father, Vladislav, taught physics and math while her mother ran a boarding school for girls. However, once her mother gave birth to Marie, she retired. Her father eventually was fired from his job due to him promoting Pro Polish ways. At only eight years old, one of Marie’s sisters, Zofia, came down with typhus which killed her. Only three years later would her mother die of tuberculosis.

Although tragedy had struck the Curies, it did not deter Marie. She got a general education and excelled in school, taking mostly after her father with the subjects she was interested in. She graduated at 15 in 1883.

Marie and all her siblings were determined to further their education and get degrees. One of her brothers, Joseph, began attending medical school at the University of Warsaw. Being a boy’s only school, Marie a...

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...e in Warsaw.

Through all the years of her research and working with radium, Marie fell ill. In 1934, she went to the Sancellemoz Sanatorium in an effort to get better. On July 4th, at age 66, Marie died. The cause of her death was labeled as aplastic anemia, which occurs when exposed to a large amount of radiation over time.

Marie Curie is one of the most notable people in scientific history. Her discoveries changed the world of science forever.

Works Cited

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