Marie Curie – A Pioneer of Radiochemistry and Dual Nobel Prize Laureate

Abstract

Marie Skłodowska Curie (1867–1934) was born in Warsaw. She was a pioneer in the field of radiochemistry and coined the word ‘radioactivity’ in 1898 as a result of her early research work in Paris. She discovered two new radioactive elements, polonium and radium, in 1898. She received two Nobel Prizes, the first in 1903 in Physics, jointly with Henri Becquerel and Pierre Curie, and the second in 1911 in Chemistry. These Prizes ensured her recognition as an outstanding scientist not only by the French government, who appointed her as the first woman professor in the University of Paris, but also by the wider international public. She showed great creativity and perseverance throughout her life and is recognized as one of the great women of science. It is fitting that her second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 and her outstanding career have been recognized by the United Nations by its declaration of 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry, and by IUPAC devoting a special issue of ‘Chemistry International’ (Vol. 33, No. 1) to her memory.