Inventor: Madam (Marie) Curie
Invention: Radium
Rarely has a woman made such a name in history as Marie Curie did. The accomplishments of Marie Curie provide ample evidence as to how perseverance and hard work can work wonders.
Maria Sklodowska was the maiden name of Marie Curie. She was born as the fifth child of a Polish family in Warsaw. Her father and mother both were teachers who gave the highest priority towards the education of their children. Maria was a precocious child and was the most brilliant among them. Though she displayed exceptional talents, the lifelong accomplishments of Marie Curie were purely a result of hard work and patience.
Maria’s childhood was not a prosperous one. The family often struggled financially. Nevertheless, her parents maintained their focus on educating their children well. Maria easily learnt most of the things from her parents. In fact she was so enthusiastic to learn new things that she would even forget about food and sleep.
Maria was shaken by the early demises of her mother and elder sister. Despite her personal losses she continued to perform well in her studies. But due to severe financial losses, Maria was forced to temporarily abandon her studies after her schooling in Poland. Going to Paris to continue her studies was a tough task for her. So she planned to send her elder sister Bronislawa to Paris for the time being to take her medical graduation. She even worked as a governess to help her sister in her studies. When Bronoslawa finished her graduation, she sent Maria to Paris for her master’s degree.
Maria joined Sorbonne University, Paris to take her master’s degree in physics and mathematics. In 1893, she took the master’s in physics and a year later, in mathematics as well. She planned to return to Poland after her brilliant achievements in Paris. But in Sorbonne, she happened to meet the famous French physicist Pierre Curie. The common interest in the research subject brought them together. They got married on July 25 1895 to start a new life in Paris. This was a turning point in her life which triggered off the series of accomplishments of Marie Curie.
Marie Curie got interested in the amazing revelations by the famous scientist Henry Becquerel on radioactivity. No wonder, she selected the challenging subject for her thesis. The later accomplishments of Marie Curie were based on the assumptions that radioactivity is an atomic property. She suggested the presence of other radioactive elements which were much powerful than Uranium. In order to prove her stand, she worked incessantly, while maintaining the enthusiasm. Her partner Pierre Curie effectively assisted and guided her in each and every step. As a result of these efforts, they proved that Thorium was a radioactive element. Both husband and wife continued their research with pitch blende, the easily available ore of Uranoum. World saw the greatest accomplishments of Marie Curie when she discovered the two radioactive elements – Polonium (in respect of her home country) and Radium in the year of 1898.
The invention of Radium, one among the accomplishments of Marie Curie, still finds its application in most of the fields of science, that too with full swing. Marie Curie took her doctorate in science by presenting these findings. The scientific community could not ignore the worthy accomplishments of Marie Curie. Madam Curie, Pierre Curie and Henry Becquerel were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in the year of 1903. Marie thus became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize.
The tragic death of Pierre Curie was a big blow to Marie, but the iron lady continued with her research work in Radium. The efforts were duly recognized when she was awarded the Nobel Prize for the second time in 1911, this time in Chemistry. Despite the financial difficulties she faced, she never attempted to patent the valuable inventions. Her great life came to an end in 1934 after saving millions of human lives. As an honour, her mortal remains were moved to the dome of Pantheon in Paris later.