Irene Joliot-Curie
A French radiochemist, a battlefield radiologist, feminist and pacifist. Irene was awarded — jointly with her husband — the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of artificial radioactivity, which revolutionised modern physics and medicine.
Featuring artwork & words by Dr. Eleonora Adami, Sci-Illustrate Stories. Set in motion by Dr. Radhika Patnala.
Early Life
Irene (1897–1956) was born in Paris in 1897, first daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, the eminent scientists who pioneered work on radioactivity, a term coined by Marie. Aged 9, Irene was already showing a strong potential in mathematics and Marie quickly realised that no school in Paris was able to meet her daughter’s needs. That’s how “the Cooperative” was born: a group of 6 scholars from the Sorbonne agreeing to educate each other’s children in their respective fields of study. Focus on self-expression and a well-rounded curriculum were founding elements of the cooperative “school”. After this unusual experience, Irene went on to study at the Collège Sévigné and at the Sorbonne, but her studies were interrupted in 1916 by World War I.
