Born on November 7th, 1867, in Warsaw, Poland, Maria Sklodowska would go on to become a well-known scientist. Her father, Wladysaw Sklodowski, was also a scientist. Later, in 1891, she would move to Paris. This was when she changed her name to Marie and began working at a research laboratory, where she met her husband Pierre Curie in 1894. 

She would go on to marry her husband, Pierre Curie, in July of 1895. The couple would go on to work together, and eventually discovered the element Polonium. Marie Curie named their newly discovered element after the country she was from: Poland. They would also discover a second element, Radium, months later in 1898. Marie and Pierre Curie had two daughters, Irene (born in 1897) and Eve (born in 1904). In 1903, Marie and her husband won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their research about radiation.

On April 19, 1906, her husband Pierre was killed after a street accident. It is thought to be possible that part of the reason for his death was his and Marie’s repeated exposure to radium, a dangerous substance which weakened them both. Following this, however, Marie continued her work in science, and in 1911 won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This time for her work about radioactivity. 

Eventually, Marie Curie would die on July 4, 1934 of aplastic anemia, due to her constant work with radiation. She was 66 years old at this time. Marie Curie was a great scientist, and the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.

– Peri A.

Several books about Marie Curie are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.