Chem. 292, Chem Outreach Spring 2001 Dr. David A. Boyles and Dr. M. Steven McDowell

1. Maria Sklodowska- Curie 1867- 1934 By. April Herrera Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Rapid City SD 57701 History • Many Firsts • Maria was the first woman in Europe to receive her doctorate of science. • Marie discovered Polonium on July 18, 1898 naming it after her Birth place Poland. • Marie discovered Radium on December 26, 1898 and is named after the Latin word radius meaning ray. • In 1903, Maria was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize for Physics. She was awarded the Nobel along with her husband Pierre, and Henri Becquerel for discovering radioactivity. • Maria was the first to use the term radioactivity for this phenomenon. • Maria was the first female lecturer at Sorbonne University. • Maria was the first female to be a professor and head of Laboratory at Sorbonne University. • She was the first person to win two Noble Prizes. • In 1911 Maria was awarded her second Noble Prize this time in Chemistry for the discovery of pure radium and the isolation of radium. • Maria received over the years 15 gold medals. • She earned 19 different degrees. • Maria was the first mother-Nobel Prize Laureate of daughter-Nobel Prize Laureate. • She is the first woman that has had her ashes placed under the famous dome of the Pantheon in Paris for her own merits. * Maria was Born in Warsaw Poland on November 7, 1867. * Maria was the fifth and youngest child in her family. * Nickname was Manya * Her Father was a professor of mathematics and physics * In 1875 Manya lost her oldest sister to typhus. * In May of 1878 her mother dies from a five year battle with tuberculosis. * At the age of 15 she was awarded a gold medal at her high school graduation. * Manya joined the Floating University because woman were not welcome at the University of Warsaw * In the fall of 1891 Manya became Maria and she enrolled at the Sorbonne. * The summer of 1890 would pay of for Maria, she finished first in her master’s degrees physics and second in her math * In the spring of 1894 Maria meet Pierre Curie which would change not only their lives but the course of science. * On July 25, 1895 with a simple civil ceremony they become husband and wife. * In 1897 Maria gave birth to their first daughter Irene. * In 1904 the birth of their second daughter Eve. * In 1900 she was appointed lecturer in physics at the Ecole Normale Superieure for girls. * In December of 1904 she was appointed chief assistant in the laboratory directed by Pierre. * On April 19, 1906 Pierre Curie died suddenly. * On May 13, 1906 she was appointed to the Professorship in Sorbonne. * On July 4, 1934 Maria Died of leukemia. * In 1995 her ashes were enshrined in the Pantheon in Paris. Sources http://www.aip.org/history/curie/contents.htm http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/label_france/ENGLISH/SCIENCES/CURIE/marie.html http://hum.amu.edu.pl?~zbzw?ph?sci?msc.htm Above: Radium Above: Polonium Chem. 292, Chem Outreach Spring 2001 Dr. David A. Boyles and Dr. M. Steven McDowell