Radiance: The Brilliant Career of Marie Curie
Marie Curie was an undisputed scientific giant, and the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. But her research also eventually claimed her life.
AN AILING François Mitterrand, in the final weeks of his last term as French president, finally made amends for centuries of Gallic sexism. At an April 1995 ceremony in the Panthéon, the great monument to French national heroes, he enshrined the ashes of Marie Curie — the first woman to be so honoured for her achievements.
The ceremony at the domed monument draped with a huge French flag was symbolic in many ways: Marie Curie was not only a woman, she had been an immigrant and had, more than any other scientist of the early 20th century, enhanced the prestige of France in the scientific world. And ironically, Mitterrand himself was dying of cancer — the affliction that had eventually taken Marie Curie’s life.
Marie Curie was born Marya Sklodowska in Warsaw, Poland, on 7 November 1867. She was the fifth and youngest child of Bronsilawa Boguska, a pianist, singer and teacher, and Wladyslaw Sklodowski, a professor of mathematics and physics. Her childhood was difficult: the family had little money, and the premature death of one of her sisters and, later, her mother affected her…
