Maria Salomea Skłodowska Curie (Polish: [ˈmarja salɔˈmɛa skwɔˈdɔfska kiˈri]; born Maria Skłodowska on November 7, 1867, and died July 4, 1934) was a Polish and French scientist who studied physics and chemistry. She shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with her husband, Pierre Curie, for their work on radioactivity, a term she created. She also won the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the elements radium and polonium, isolating radium, and studying its properties.

She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win two Nobel Prizes, and the only person to win them in two different fields. Marie and Pierre were the first married couple to win a Nobel Prize, starting a family legacy that includes five Nobel Prizes. In 1906, she became the first woman to teach at the University of Paris.

Maria was born in Warsaw, which was part of the Russian Empire. She studied at a secret university in Warsaw and began her scientific training there. In 1891, at age 24, she moved to Paris to study and later earned her degrees. She married Pierre Curie in 1895, and together they studied radioactivity. Pierre died in a street accident in Paris in 1906.

Under her leadership, scientists first used radioactive materials to treat cancer. She founded the Curie Institute in Paris in 1920 and the Curie Institute in Warsaw in 1932, both of which are important research centers. During World War I, she created mobile X-ray units to help soldiers in hospitals.

Although she became a French citizen, Marie never forgot her Polish heritage. She taught her daughters Polish and took them to visit Poland. She named the element polonium after her homeland.

Marie died in 1934 at age 66 in a sanatorium in France from aplastic anemia, likely caused by radiation exposure during her research and wartime work. She received many honors, including being the first woman buried in the Paris Panthéon in 1995. Poland celebrated 2011 as the Year of Marie Curie during the International Year of Chemistry. She is the subject of many books, including Madame Curie by her daughter, Ève Curie. The element curium is named after her.

Life and career

Maria Salomea Skłodowska was born on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw, which was part of Congress Poland in the Russian Empire. She was the fifth and youngest child of Bronisława, née Boguska, and Władysław Skłodowski, both well-known teachers. Her older siblings were Zofia (born 1862), Józef (born 1863), Bronisława (born 1865), and Helena (born 1866).

On both sides of her family, members had lost their homes and money because they supported Polish uprisings to help Poland gain independence. The most recent uprising was the January Uprising from 1863 to 1865. This made it difficult for Maria and her siblings to have a good life. Maria’s paternal grandfather, Józef Skłodowski, was the principal of a school in Lublin that Bolesław Prus, a famous Polish writer, attended.

Władysław Skłodowski taught math and physics, subjects Maria later studied. He also directed two boys’ secondary schools in Warsaw. When Russian officials removed lab classes from Polish schools, he brought lab equipment home and taught his children how to use it. He was fired for supporting Poland and had to take lower-paying jobs. The family also lost money from a bad investment and later earned extra income by boarding boys in their home. Maria’s mother, Bronisława, ran a prestigious girls’ boarding school in Warsaw but resigned after Maria was born. She died of tuberculosis in May 1878, when Maria was 10 years old. Earlier, Maria’s oldest sister, Zofia, had died of typhus from a boarder. Maria’s father was an atheist, and her mother was a devout Catholic. After losing her mother and sister, Maria stopped being Catholic and became agnostic.

At age 10, Maria attended J. Sikorska’s boarding school. She later graduated from a girls’ secondary school in 1883 with a gold medal. After a health issue, possibly depression, she spent a year with relatives in the countryside and another year with her father in Warsaw, where she tutored students. Because she was a woman, she could not attend a regular university, so she and her sister Bronisława joined the secret Flying University, which allowed women to study.

Maria and Bronisława agreed that Maria would help pay for Bronisława’s medical studies in Paris, and Bronisława would help Maria later. To save money, Maria worked as a tutor in Warsaw and later as a governess for a wealthy family, the Żorawskis, in Szczuki. While there, she fell in love with their son, Kazimierz Żorawski, a future mathematician. His parents refused to let him marry Maria because she had no money. Their relationship ended, and Kazimierz later became a professor and rector of Kraków University. In his old age, he would sit before a statue of Maria Skłodowska, which was built in 1935 near the Radium Institute she founded in 1932.

In early 1890, Bronisława, who had recently married Kazimierz Dłuski, invited Maria to join them in Paris. Maria refused because she could not afford university tuition. She saved money with help from her father, who found a better-paying job. During this time, Maria continued learning by reading, writing letters, and being tutored. In 1889, she returned to Warsaw to live with her father. She worked as a governess until late 1891, tutored students, studied at the Flying University, and began practical science training in a chemistry lab in Warsaw. The lab was run by her cousin, Józef Boguski, who had worked with the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleyev.

In late 1891, Maria moved to Paris. She briefly stayed with her sister and brother-in-law before renting a small apartment near the university. She studied physics, chemistry, and math at the University of Paris, where she enrolled in late 1891. She lived on very little money, wearing all her clothes to stay warm in winter. She studied hard and sometimes forgot to eat. In 1893, she earned a physics degree and worked in an industrial lab with Gabriel Lippmann. She also earned a second degree in 1894 with a fellowship.

Maria began her scientific work in Paris by studying the magnetic properties of steel for a society that supported national industry. That same year, Pierre Curie entered her life. They met through a Polish physicist, Józef Wierusz-Kowalski, who thought Pierre could help Maria find lab space. Pierre, who taught at a science school, provided her with a small lab to work in.

Their shared love of science made them close. Pierre proposed marriage, but Maria hesitated because she planned to return to Poland. Pierre said he would move to Poland with her even if it meant teaching French. In the summer of 1894, Maria visited her family in Warsaw but was denied a spot at Kraków University because of sexism. A letter from Pierre convinced her to return to Paris for a PhD. Pierre earned his own doctorate in March 1895 and became a professor. A contemporary joke called Maria "Pierre’s biggest discovery."

On July 26, 1895, Maria and Pierre married in Sceaux without a religious ceremony. Maria wore a dark blue outfit instead of a wedding dress, which she later used as a lab coat. They enjoyed long bike rides and traveling together, which strengthened their bond. In Pierre, Maria found a partner, a friend, and a scientific collaborator she could trust.

In 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays, though the process behind their creation was not yet understood.

Legacy

Marie Curie's scientific work and the challenges she faced helped shape the world in the 1900s and 2000s. Her research created the basis for modern nuclear physics, cancer treatments, and medical imaging. The methods she developed to separate radioactive materials are still used in scientific studies and medicine. Cornell University professor L. Pearce Williams notes:

Marie Curie’s discoveries changed long-held beliefs in physics and chemistry. Her scientific success required her to overcome obstacles in both her home country and the country where she later lived, because she was a woman. She also helped train other women in science at the Radium Institute, making it easier for future female scientists in physics and chemistry to succeed.

She was known for her honesty and simple way of living. After receiving a small scholarship in 1893, she returned it in 1897 once she started working and earning money. She gave much of her first Nobel Prize money to friends, family, students, and colleagues. Marie Curie chose not to patent the process for isolating radium so scientists could study it freely. She asked that money and awards be given to the scientific institutions she worked with, not to her personally. She and her husband often refused honors and medals. Albert Einstein once said she was likely the only person who could not be influenced by fame.

Commemorations

Marie Curie is one of the most well-known scientists in history. She is celebrated worldwide as a symbol of scientific achievement and has been honored in many ways, even in pop culture. She received many honorary degrees from universities around the world.

Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. She was also the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. She is the only woman to win in two different fields, and the only person to win in more than one science. Some of the awards and honors she received include:

• Nobel Prize in Physics (1903, with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel)
• Davy Medal (1903, with Pierre)
• Matteucci Medal (1904, with Pierre)
• Actonian Prize (1907)
• Elliott Cresson Medal (1909)
• Legion of Honour (1909, but she refused it)
• Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1911)
• Civil Order of Alfonso XII (1919)
• Franklin Medal of the American Philosophical Society (1921)
• Order of the White Eagle (2018, given after her death)

Many things have been named after Marie Curie, including:

• The unit of radioactivity called "curie" (symbol Ci), named after her and her husband, Pierre Curie.
• The element with atomic number 96 is called "curium" (symbol Cm).
• Three radioactive minerals are named after the Curies: curite, sklodowskite, and cuprosklodowskite.
• The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fellowship program, which helps young scientists work in other countries.
• A Paris metro station was renamed after the Curies in 2007.
• A planned underground station in Montreal, called "Marie-Curie," and a nearby road, "Avenue Marie Curie," are named in her honor.
• The Polish research nuclear reactor "Maria."
• The asteroid "7000 Curie."
• The "Marie Curie" charity in the United Kingdom.
• The "IEEE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award," given for achievements in nuclear and plasma sciences.
• The "Marie Curie Medal," an annual science award given by the Polish Chemical Society.
• The "Marie Curie–Sklodowska Medal and Prize," an award for contributions to physics education.
• "Maria Skłodowska-Curie University" in Poland.
• "Pierre and Marie Curie University" in Paris.
• The "Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology" in Poland.
• Schools named after her, such as "École élémentaire Marie-Curie" in Canada, "Curie Metropolitan High School" in the United States, and others.
• A street in Beirut, Lebanon, called "Rue Madame Curie."
• A beetle species named "Psammodes sklodowskae."

Many books have been written about her, including:

• "Madame Curie" by Ève Curie (her daughter), published in 1938.
• "Marie Curie: A Life" by Françoise Giroud (1987) and Susan Quinn (1996).
• "Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie" by Barbara Goldsmith (2005).
• "Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, a Tale of Love and Fallout" by Lauren Redniss (2011), which became a film in 2019.
• "The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science" by Dava Sobel (2024).

Marie Curie has been the subject of many films, including:

• "Madame Curie" (1943), a U.S. film starring Greer Garson.
• "Les Palmes de M. Schutz" (1997), a French film starring Isabelle Huppert.
• "Marie Curie, une femme sur le front" (2014), a French-Belgian film.
• "Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge" (2016), a European film.
• "Super Science Friends" (2016), an animated series.
• "Radioactive" (2019), a British film starring Rosamund Pike.

She has also been the subject of plays, such as "False Assumptions" (2013) and "Manya: The Living History of Marie Curie" (2014). A play titled "The Half-Life of Marie Curie" (2019) focuses on her struggles after winning the 1911 Nobel Prize.

A 2018 Korean musical titled "Marie Curie" was later translated into English and performed in Asia and Europe.

Marie Curie has appeared on more than 600 postage stamps worldwide.

She was featured on a 20,000-złoty banknote in Poland from 1989 to 1996. A 20-złoty commemorative banknote was issued in 2011 to mark the 100th anniversary of her Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

In 1994, the Bank of France issued a 500-franc banknote with her image. Since 2024, she has been on French 50-cent euro coins to honor her role in French history.

On November 7, 2011, a Google Doodle celebrated her life.

In 2025, the European Central Bank announced that she would appear on 20-e