My Memoir in the Making 73rd Chapter Marie Curie - the First Woman Nobel Laureate (Chemistry and Physics)

My interest in Marie Curie dates back to the time when in the tenth class my science teacher, while teaching the chapter on radiation activation, with gleaming eyes, named Marie Curie the first woman recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911.?These awards were started just two years earlier, in 1901, in the name of Alfred Nobel who dedicated his entire wealth to the Nobel Committee for the welfare of human society for peace and the generation of knowledge.?Between 1901-2022 the Nobel Prizes and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economics were awarded 615 times to 989 individuals and 27 organizations. At that point in time, Western society, like elsewhere, was also engulfed in feminine discrimination.?

The nomination and awards to Marie Curie a Polish-born, French resident, excited me to write a chapter on a woman who, in the first two decades of the twentieth century, immensely contributed to physical sciences (Chemistry and Physics), stepping ahead of her contemporaries. With Henri Becquerel and her husband, Pierre Curie, Marie Curie was the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903.?Initially, Marie’s claim was rejected but Gosta Millage–Leffler, one of the committee members, a women activist, contested for Marie’s nomination. Besides, her meritorious contribution, Marie too could not escape facing censure as her alleged relations appeared in the press.?But Marie faced the criticism unflinchingly and continued to devote her time to research leading to her second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911.?The other awardee with two Nobel prizes was Linus Panting: in 1954 he received the award for Chemistry, and the Nobel Peace award in 1962.

Pierre and Marie became Nobel Laureates in 1903 in Physics. In 1911, Marie Curie received her second award, this time in Chemistry, in recognition of her discovery and isolation of pure radium and her investigation of its properties.?She again faced a difficult time on account of her alleged relations.?Her opponents started smearing her reputation in the press ruining her name in academic circles. This public uproar pained her initially, but she continued unperturbed with her groundbreaking research in the field of radioactivity.?Her Professorship was also questioned on grounds of moral turpitude and the charge that she was having an affair with a married man.?Despite all the stress, Marie stayed strong and, in the end, retained her respect for her scientific discoveries which edged over the prejudiced charges levied against her.?The Nobel award in 1911 silenced her opponents forever.

Marie Curie is an exception, being honoured as a Nobel Laureate in both Chemistry and Physics. Her achievements are remarkable being a woman. However, in this chapter the focus is on the Nobel Laureates in the field of science, particularly Nobel Awards granted over the years in Chemistry and Physics. These are summarized below.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded 114 times to 191 Nobel Prize laureates between 1901 and 2022. Frederick Sanger and Barry Sharpless have both been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice. This means that a total of 189 individuals have received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded 116 times to 222 Nobel Prize laureates between 1901 and 2022. John Bardeen is the only laureate who has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice, in 1956 and 1972. This means that a total of 221 individuals have received the Nobel Prize in Physics.

The first Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Wilhelm Conrad R?ntgen for his discovery of X-rays in 1901. R?ntgen's groundbreaking work in the field of physics revolutionized medical imaging and had widespread applications in science and medicine.

History has several instances wherein the scientific achievement of an individual travelled down the generations in the progeny, three generations in the case of Marie. This husband-wife partnership of the aforesaid genius family broke the conventional sex discrimination which was then in vogue even in western society. Marie Curie, after her education in France, intended to settle in Poland, her home country, but was rejected for the post of Professor, ignoring her merit on miscellaneous considerations.?Her co-researcher named Pierri Curie arranged a place for her in France.?He eventually married her in 1926, opening the gates for this Curie couple to reach the tallest height in groundbreaking research on radioactivity.

Marie Curie, born Maria Sk?odowska in Warsaw, Poland, on November 7, 1867, and later known as Marie Curie after marrying Pierre Curie, was one of the most influential scientists in history. Her research in radioactivity laid the foundation for modern physics and chemistry.?

Marie Curie and her family received a total of five Nobel Prizes. Here's a breakdown of the Nobel Prizes awarded to the Curie family:

Marie Curie: Two Nobel Prizes

Nobel Prize in Physics (1903) - Awarded jointly with her husband Pierre Curie and physicist Henri Becquerel for their research on radioactivity.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1911) - Awarded for her discovery of the elements polonium and radium, as well as her investigation of their properties.

Pierre Curie: One Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in Physics (1903) - Awarded jointly with his wife Marie Curie and physicist Henri Becquerel for their research on radioactivity.

Irène Joliot-Curie (Marie and Pierre Curie's daughter) and Frédéric Joliot: One Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1935) - Awarded for their synthesis of new radioactive isotopes.

Frédéric Joliot-Curie (Marie and Pierre Curie's son-in-law): One Nobel Prize

Nobel Peace Prize (1957) - Awarded for his work as the High Commissioner for Atomic Energy, advocating for the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Marie has another facet of life of becoming a daredevil to serve the people with her expertise and mobile X-ray unit built by funding from Parsian woman and public donations.?Curie trained 150 X-ray operations personally driving one of the mobile units to the frontlines treating over a million wounded soldiers during the First World War.?She breathed her last on July 4, 1934, due to her exposure to high levels of radiation throughout her career. This way she merged her scientific prominence with humanitarian efforts.??

To sum up, the Curie family's contributions to science and their collective five Nobel Prizes highlight their remarkable achievements and lasting impact on the fields of physics, chemistry, and radioactivity research. They remain an inspiring and influential scientific family in history.?She was the first woman to receive two Nobel awards, especially in two sciences which makes her distinct from others.?She set the tone with her first award in partnership with her husband in Physics in 1903.?This was also the ever first Nobel prize for a woman since the inception of the awards in 1901.?Furthermore, Marie became the first person to win Nobel Prizes in two different scientific disciplines.?In 1911 for her work on the discovery of the element polonium and radium she received the award in Chemistry for her work on radioactivity. This made her the first iconic scientist in history breaking the boundaries of gender barriers in the scientific community.

Marie was an intelligent woman who knew what action to be taken when in distress.?She took a break for one year to stay with her daughters in England.?She came back when the situation had calmed down. Under the worst situation, she retracted to ensure that her said alleged relations are brought down to zero level. Marie has proven that women can also undertake trailblazing work and pursue careers in science. Shoolini University intends to pay homage to Marie Curie by raising a photographic gallery like that of the legacy of Raman and his family.?But her contributions and the collective impact of Marie and her legacy are unparalleled.?