1. By Kaja Letowska

2. Quick facts  Marie Curie (Maria Salomea Skłodowska) was born on the 7 th November 1867 and died on the 4 th of July, 1934.  She lived in Poland and in France through her life. She travelled a lot too.  She worked in physics and chemistry.  She got awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.  However, she refused to collect it personally.  She and her husband Pierre said they didn’t like the crowds of people and were too busy with their work.

3. Early Years  Marie Curie, or Maria Salomea Skłodowska, was born in Warsaw, Poland on the 7 th of November, 1867.  She had four older siblings- Zofia, Józef, Bronisława and Helena. This is the hospital where Marie was born now days- beside it is the ‘Marie Curie’ museum. It stands on ulica Freta in Warsaw.  When Maria was ten, she attended boarding school.  Later she was learning in a gymnasium and got a gold medal for graduating.  Because of depression, she then moved to the countryside with her father’s relatives.

4. Paris  In 1891 Maria left Poland and set out to live in Paris, France.  In Paris, she stayed with her sister until she got an apartment beside a university she wanted to attend.  She studied physics in the university.  In 1983 she was rewarded a degree in physics and went to study in a laboratory.

5. Pierre Curie  Pierre Curie was a scientist that worked on the same subject as Marie.  They were working for a year in the same laboratory.  After that year Pierre proposed and Maria Skłodowska became Marie Curie.  They both loved long bicycle trips and journeys abroad which brought them even closer.  In 1897 they had a daughter called Irene. Pierre, Irene and Marie Curie. 

6. Discoveries  Marie took great interest in x-rays. She began to study them.  X-rays were very weak and not understood- Marie changed that.  She made the word ‘radioactivity’ to describe how they work.  Pierre wanted to join Marie to help her in her studies.  He left his important work on crystals so they can work on the same subject.

7. Final Days  Marie visited Poland for the last time in 1934.  A few months later, in July 1934 she died.  She was exposed to too much radiation from her studies.  She carried test tubes with chemicals in her pockets and in her drawers.  No-one knew that you need special equipment so you don’t get too much radiation. Statue of Marie Curie in Warsaw, Poland. It faces the Radium Institute she established in 1932. 