Marie Curie

Main Characters:

Marie Curie; her husband, Pierre; her sister, Bronya; her father, Vladislav;

Professor Lippman and Professor Bouty

Overall Theme:

Marie Curie lived in a family that appreciated education. She became famous for her research in radioactivity and was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize.

Summary:

 As a young girl, Marie learns things quickly and her family knows she is very bright.  Her country, Poland, is ruled by Russia and everyone has to learn Russian in order to attend the university,   Marie watches her sister, Bronya, struggle to learn Russian, but for Marie learning the language is easy.

The time has come for Bronya to go to the university.  Marie accompanies her father and sister to the University of Warsaw.  It is there they learn that all universities in Poland have been closed to women.

After Marie graduates at the top of her class, she attends a secret university held in a local museum.  Marie comes up with a plan that will allow both she and her sister to attend school at the Sorbonne in Paris.  Marie works as a governess so she can support Bronya as she goes to school to become a doctor.

 After working for five years it is Marie’s turn to go to Paris to study at the Sorbonne University.  She is a top student and earns a masters degree in physics in just two years.  The next year Marie earns a masters degree in mathematics.

While in Paris, Marie meets and marries Pierre Curie.  When Pierre is approached by Professor Lippman and Professor Bouty about becoming a professor at Sorbonne, he declines and says Marie is the best choice for the position.

Pierre tells the professors of Marie’s many accomplishments, including the discovery of radium. He tells how she demonstrated her love for science and mankind by giving away the secret of radium instead of selling it and becoming wealthy.  Pierre tells how Marie is the first woman to receive her doctorate and the Nobel Prize.

Because there has never been a woman professor at the Sorbonne, Professor Lippman and Professor Bouty will only allow Marie to work as a chief assistant to Pierre.  Marie is thrilled to work with her husband at the university.  Two years later, Pierre Curie is killed in an accident with a horse drawn wagon. With a new year about to begin at the Sorbonne, Professor Lippman and Professor Bouty ask Marie to join the school as a Professor of Physics.  At first, Marie declines but then remembers a promise she made to Pierre - if one of us dies, the other must go on.  Marie accepts the job and becomes the first woman professor at the Sorbonne.

Background:

Marie Curie was a woman of firsts. She was the first woman in Europe to be awarded the degree Doctor of Science. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize and was the first woman to become a professor at the Sorbonne University.

Although Marie was awarded the highest honors in the world, she was unchanged by them. As a scientist, Marie was dedicated to finding answers. She spent years working with uranium and discovered a new element, radium.

Through devotion to science, Marie Curie became the most famous woman of physics..