Bluestocking Oxford

By Félicités Rapon

There are women who belong in the Pantheon, not only literally but also figuratively, so impressive and inspiring are their careers. There are life stories, with their ups and downs, that forge the character and spirit of the most talented women. Marie Skłodowska-Curie is one such female figure who has left an indelible mark on generations of girls and women worldwide since the early 20th century, but not only as a two-time Nobel Prize winner.

It all begins on 7 November 1867 in Poland which had been partitioned and occupied for decades by empires such as Russia. Maria Salomea Skłodowska was born into a family, where her parents, both teachers, wanted their five children (Zofia, Józef, Bronia and Helena) to benefit from a rich education in the Polish language. During her childhood, she discovered a real passion for mathematics and physics, which her father taught her. Her childhood was not a restful one, for even before she turned twelve, she watched helplessly as her father was dismissed following the repression of the Russian Empire (1873), her sister died of typhoid fever (1876) and her mother of tuberculosis (1878). After excelling at high school, and unable to enrol at Krakow University as a woman, she aspired to follow in the footsteps of her sister, who had gone to Paris to study medicine. The two made a pact to support each other: Maria would work as a governess and teacher in Poland to support them both, and once Bronia graduated, she would help Maria to pursue her studies in Paris. The years went by, during the day as a governess for wealthy families in town and countryside, and at night as a student and tutor at the Flying University. The latter had been set up informally by female students as a counterweight to Russian academic institutions and to help Polish students take courses in a range of subjects, including sciences. Finally, Maria joined her sister in Paris in October 1891, at the age of 24, with a solid scientific background.

At a time when questions regarding the status of women in society were beginning to feature prominently in public debate, Maria arrived in Paris with determination at the Sorbonne University. There she graduated at the top of her class in physics, chemistry and mathematics. She then began working as an assistant in a laboratory where she met the man who was to become her research partner, her husband and the father of her two daughters Irène and Eve: Pierre Curie.

After marrying him in 1895 changing her name to Marie Skłodowska-Curie, and giving birth to her first daughter Irène in 1897, she undertook her PhD, studying ‘Research on Radioactive Substances’. Her work followed discoveries of X-rays by Wilhelm Röntgen (1895) and the uranic rays by Henri Becquerel (1896). X-rays propagate in a straight line at the speed of light and can be absorbed by matter through which they pass, whereas uranic rays are different in that they are emitted directly by the element uranium.These latter rays particularly interested Marie Curie. She quantitatively measured the ability of uranium salts to electrify the surrounding air using various instruments, including the piezoelectric quartz. This instrument, invented by Pierre Curie and his brother Jacques in 1880, is based on the principle of piezoelectricity (from the Greek “piezo” meaning ‘to push’), which states that certain crystals, such as quartz, emit small amounts of electricity under physical pressure such as compression or traction.

Using a compensation method now known as the Curie method, Marie and Pierre discovered that by processing several tonnes of uranium-rich ores, including pitchblende, they could find elements that emitted even more radiation. By isolating these elements in 1898, they discovered polonium, named by Marie in tribute to her native Poland, and radium, which emitted even more radiation than uranium and polonium. In a note, she coined the term radioactivity (from the Latin “radius” meaning ray) to define the spontaneous radiation emitted by these radioactive elements. This work earned her, Pierre, and Henri Becquerel the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics. That same year, she defended her thesis, outlining not only her prize-winning discoveries but also her successful work to isolate radium to determine its atomic weight.

Following the birth of their second daughter Ève in 1904, tragedy struck with the death of her husband. Yet, once again Marie Skłodowska-Curie displayed remarkable resilience. His absence could have been felt in the education of her daughters, but also in their joint research work. Marie Curie not only provided her daughters with a scientific and literary education, but she also pursued her activities as a researcher. She became the first woman director of a research laboratory, the first woman to hold a professorship at the Sorbonne University in Paris, and the first person to win two Nobel Prizes: in 1911 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, this time alone, for her work on the characterisation of radium.

When Marie Curie died in 1934 as a result of prolonged exposure to radioactivity, she left behind a scientific legacy that remains partly unexploited to this day as some of her writings are still radioactive, leaving years of research and discoveries secret. Like her daughters, she was and will remain a dedicated fighter for great causes, as demonstrated by her involvement at the front during the First World War alongside her eldest daughter Irène. They were diagnosing fractures caused by bullets or shrapnel on soldiers using mobile X-ray units (known as ‘Little Curies’). She also began investigating the effect of radioactive rays on cancer cells. Her daughters were also role models, Irène, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with her husband, and Ève, who became an artist and ambassador who played a major role in the Second World War as she joined the French resistance movement and worked as a war correspondent all over the world.

Although Marie Skłodowska-Curie did not study medicine, she was able to save millions of lives to this day thanks to her discoveries about radioactivity, which continue to have applications in medicine today, whether in diagnosing or treating patients. She once wrote that ‘Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood’ and throughout her life, she embodied her own words. It is this legacy she transmitted to her daughters and one that still holds true for all women who dare to face the unknown.

References

Jandrić Miroslav, & Dimić Dimitrije. (2017). Marie and Irene Curie, mother and daughter, two ladies, three Nobel awards. Scientific Technical Review, 67(2), 3–12. Retrieved from https://doaj.org/article/a3e19891f40f45c888fa86cbacff4a4a

Kondelik, V. J. (2024, March 15). Marie Curie and Her Daughters by Shelley Emling. Retrieved from U-M Library Blogs website: https://blogs.lib.umich.edu/lost-stacks/marie-curie-and-her-daughters-shelley-emling

Musée Curie. (2019). Pierre et Marie Curie : histoire d’un couple de scientifiques – Musée Curie. Retrieved from musee.curie.fr website: https://musee.curie.fr/decouvrir/la-famille-curie/un-couple-de-pionniers

The Nobel Prize. (2019). The Nobel Prize | Women who changed science | Marie Curie. Retrieved from Nobelprize.org website: https://www.nobelprize.org/womenwhochangedscience/stories/marie-curie

Valiunas, A. (2012). The Marvelous Marie Curie. Retrieved from The New Atlantis website: https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-marvelous-marie-curie