6) Marie Skłodowska Curie
Yes, that's her real, full name, and no she never dropped it--Western Media did, #polishpride
(Quick note, I'm not Polish but if you need someone new to watch on YouTube I highly recommend the Meme Mom herself Karolina Żebrowska !)
Anyway, back to Marie
Born: 7 November 1867, Warsaw, Russian Controlled Poland (Present-day Warsaw, Poland)
Died: 4 July 1934, Passy, France
Marie was a chemist who had a rudimentary education before eventually studying at the Sorbonne.
After meeting her husband (who worked at the Sorbonne) Marie succeeded him as Head of the Physics Laboratory there at the school. She earned her doctor of science degree in 1903. Marie became the first woman to become Professor of General Physics in the Faculty of Sciences after her husband’s tragic death. Her main study was in radium and during World War I she and her daughter worked as x-ray technicians. Marie is the only person to hold two Nobel Prizes in two different fields (chemistry and physics). Her journals are so radioactive you have to wear a protective suit to study them and she died from cancer because of her exposure to radium.
In 2024, the French government announced they were redesigning their 10, 20, and 50 cent Euro coins. The new coins will feature Marie, Simone Veil, and Josephine Baker. The coins will go into circulation beginning in the summer.
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Located in My Personal Library:
Who Was Marie Curie? By Megan Stine
How They Croaked by Kevin O'Malley
Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky
The Only Woman by Immy Humes
The Book of Awesome Women: Boundary Breakers, Freedom Fighters, Sheroes, and Female Firsts by Becca Anderson
Sources:
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1903/marie-curie/biographical/