The life of Pierre Curie

Pierre Curie lived from 1859 to 1906. He worked hard to show people his talents and his hard work paid off by winning nobel prizes and becoming a famous scientist along with his wife.



The Life of Marie Curie

Marie Curie's life spanned from November 7, 1867 to July 4, 1934. Her work will always be remembered and it helped save thousands of lives. 


Marie Curie's Death


Marie Curie died in Passey, France on July 4, 1934

The Invention of the Portable X-ray



Science life with guests Marie and Pierre Currie





An interview with the famous Marie and Pierre Curie about their interesting lives and amazing discoveries. 

How Marie Curie Discovered Radium


The Nobel Prize in Physics 1903



The Nobel Prize in Physics is Awarded to Marie and Pierre Curie (and Antoine Henri Bacquerel, who was unable to make it) for their "extraordinary services they have rendered by their researches on radioactivity." 

The Curie's Field of Study

Marie Curie is a scientific icon remembered for her new ideas in the field of radiation research. Marie Curie, who first established the term "radioactivity", was key in developing methods for detailed measuring of radioactivity and for discovering its effect on living cells. Marie Curie studied radioactivity, the simple growth of certain elements into other elements and energy. 


Marie was the famous chemist and physicist was the first person in the history to be awarded with the two Nobel Prizes in diverse fields of science; chemistry and physics. She is notable for her theory of radioactivity, techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of two new elements, polonium and radium. Her work has received great appreciation from many scientists all over the world.



 Pierre was Lab Chief for the Paris Municipal School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry, and he had a background in magnetism and crystals. Marie and Pierre shared lab space. Pierre gave Marie a lab of her own. In Marie, Pierre found an equal with a comparable devotion to science.



Pierre also did the study of magnetism. He discovered a basic relationship between magnetic properties and temperature. The temperature at which certain magnetic materials undergo a marked change in their magnetic properties is today called the Curie point after Pierre.



The Curies in their laboratory at the School for Industrial Physics and Chemistry. 

Marie succeeded her husband as Head of the Physics Laboratory at the Sorbonne, gained her Doctor of Science degree in 1903, and following the tragic death of Pierre Curie in 1906, she took his place as Professor of General Physics in the Faculty of Sciences, the first time a woman had held this position. She was also appointed Director of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute of the University of Paris, founded in 1914.


Who is Pierre Curie?

Pierre Curie was born in Paris on May 15, 1859. He was educated at home by his father, Eugène Curie who was a general medical practitioner. 

By age 18 Pierre could've started to work on his doctorate degree but did not because of a lack of funding. So instead he started to work in a laboratory. Pierre received his Licenciateships in Physics in 1878 and still continued to be a demonstrator in a laboratory till 1892 when he was promoted to be head of all work done in the Physics & Industrial Chemical Schools. He later became the Professor in the Faculty of Sciences in 1900 and in 1904 became the Titular Professor.


He passed away during a street accident with his carriage while crossing the Rue Dauphine in Paris on April 19, 1906.


Interesting Facts:
  • He was awarded the Davy Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1903 with his wife
  • Pierre & Marie were awarded the Noble Prize for Physics in 1903 
  • In 1880, Pierre & his brother, Jacques determined that electric potential was generated when crystal were compressed (piezoelectricity)
  • Pierre & his wife, Marie worked together to isolate polonium and radium. They both started to use the term "radioactivity" 
  • He investigated the radiation admissions of radioactive substances 
  • A "Curie unit" of radioactivity is named after him (3.7 x 1010 decays per second)


Who is Marie Curie?

Marie Curie (Maria Sklodowska) was born in Warsaw, Poland on November 7, 1867. She was educated in local schools and began to receive scientific training from her father, Wladyslaw Sklodowski.

In 1891, she further pursued her career in sciences in Paris where she received the Licenciateships in Physics and the Mathematical Sciences. She met her future husband, Pierre Curie in 1894 and they were wed one year later. There strong unrest for magnetism brought them together. She earned her masters in Physics in 1894. Marie gained her Doctor of Science degree in 1903. After her husband, Pierre Curie's death in 1906, she took over his positions as Professor of General Physics in the Faculty of Sciences. This was the first time a woman held a position like this. Later on she became the Director of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute at the University of Paris. In 1911, Marie became a member of the Conseil du Physique Solvay till her death in 1934. 

Henri Becquerel's work with radioactivity is what inspired Curie's research. This led to the isolation of polonium (named after Poland) and radium.  

Henri Becquerel 
She passed away in Passey, France on July 4, 1934 due to aplastic anemia which is a blood disease that is due to overexposure to radiation. 

Marie & her husband, Pierre 
Interesting Facts:
  • Marie was the first person who won two Nobel Prizes. She was awarded the Noble Prize (along with her husband) for Physics in 1903 & the Noble Prize for Chemistry for her discovery of radium and polonium in 1911
  • Both Pierre & her received the Davy Medal of the Royal Society in 1903
  • Marie decided to work in with radioactivity because of a French physicist named Henri Becquerel's discovery of radioactivity 
  • In 1910 she isolated the pure radium metal 
  • She started the radium institute in Warsaw in 1932