The Life of a Scientist

Marie Curie belonged to a large family. She was born on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw, Poland, to Bronislawa and Vladislav Sklodowski. She was their fifth child. While Curie was in school, “university education for women was not available in Russia at the time, so Curie left to pursue her degrees at the University of Paris in 1891. The beginning of her scientific career was an investigation of the magnetic properties of various steels” (“Marie Curie” [Atomic Heritage Foundation]). In addition, her time in France contributed to her success in other ways. She met Pierre Curie, her future husband there. When she tried to work in Poland, she was denied for her gender. Curie did not agree with society’s views on women’s education. She left Poland and returned to France (Ibid). Beyond breaking these social barriers, Marie Curie went on to become a world-renowned scientist.