Marie Curie

Facts, information and articles about Marie Curie, a famous woman In history

Marie Curie summary: Marie Curie was a chemist and physicist from Poland who worked mostly in France. She became known for her historical research on radioactivity. Not only is Marie Curie the only woman to win the Nobel Prize in two fields she was the first woman to win it and the only one to win it in more than one science.

She was quite the groundbreaker in many ways. Not only with the Nobel Prize, but she was also the first woman professor at the University of Paris. In 1995 she was the first woman who was entombed for her own achievements to the Pantheon.

The start of her scientific training was in Warsaw. She coined the word radioactivity and part of her achievements included theories in radioactivity. She was responsible for several techniques used in isolating radioactive isotopes as well as discovering two elements; radium and polonium.

She guided the first studies in the world on the treatment of neoplasms with radioactive isotopes. She was the founder of the Curie institutes in Paris and also in Warsaw, both are still major centers for medical research. She was responsible for forming the first military radiological centers in the field during World War II. Marie Curie was also the winner of the Davy Medal, the Franklin Medal, the Matteucci Medal and the Elliot Cresson Medal. Because of her many achievements she received many honorary degrees including doctorates from many European Universities. To this day there are numerous locations, schools and foundations named after her.