“Nothing in Life is to be Feared, it is only to be Understood.
Madame Marie Curie
Hello Everyone and welcome to the last #Wellness Wednesday of March. It’s also the last week of Women’s History Month. With that in mind, I want to devote this piece to one of my heroines – one of the great ladies of the medical and scientific world – Madame Marie Curie.
Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1867 as Maria Sklodowska, Marie was the youngest of five children born to French parents – both of whom were teachers. Greatly influenced by her mathematician and physicist father, Wladyslaw, Marie threw herself into her studies at a very young age. But, life was extremely difficult for women in the 1800s – and even more difficult for women who wanted to engage in the world in a meaningful way and receive an education that was solely reserved for their male counterparts.
In fact, both Marie and her sister Bronya dreamed of attending University and receiving advanced degrees. But, with no money in the family Marie and Bronya had to take turns. Marie worked as a tutor and governess to send her sister to school – and then Bronya worked to support Marie and send her to school. But even so, the European Universities were still off limits to Marie. And, she ended up enrolling in Warsaw’s “Floating University” which was composed of informal, underground classes held in secret.
With the odds stacked against her, Marie nevertheless managed to study her beloved physics, chemistry and math and finally made her way into the highly respected Sorbonne in Paris. Surviving on tea and bread, she received her Master’s Degree in Physics in 1893 and her second degree in mathematics the following year. But, while her academic dreams were coming true, her lack of proper nutrition would come back to haunt her in her later days.
Now, remember this was a world designed to promote males – and women were expected to be married and have children. They were not expected to be educated and certainly not expected to have a place in the closed male-dominated world of science and medicine.
Yet, Marie would not be discouraged or dismayed. After receiving her second degree, Marie was awarded a commission to study steel and its magnetic properties. And, it was during this time that she met and married fellow scientist, Pierre Curie and began working with French physicist Henri Becquerel.
Becquerel, of course, was the first scientist to study uranium. And, Marie worked with him for many years as she continued to conduct her own experiments. Indeed, it was this extra experimentation that led Marie to theorize the element’s atomic structure – a revolutionary idea that created the field of atomic physics. It was at this time that Madame also coined the term radioactivity and went on to discover the radioactive elements polonium and radium.
Now, even if you’re not interested in physics or science – the glass ceilings that Marie Curie shattered for women during her lifetime were astounding. First, she made history in 1903 when she became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. Second, she became the first female professor at the Sorbonne in Paris. Third, she became the first scientist to win a second Nobel Prize when she was honored for her discoveries of radium and polonium.
And, she didn’t stop there. During World War I Marie devoted her time and energy to helping the cause. It was she who brought portable x-ray machines into the battle field to help diagnose injuries. In fact, because of Marie and her efforts these devices earned the nickname of “Little Curies.” Furthermore, after the war Marie used her name and celebrity to advance scientific research and establish a radium research institute in Warsaw.
Yet, as much as she did for the welfare and wellness of others, Marie Curie’s dedication worked against her own interests. She sacrificed her own health and nutrition as a student. Then, in her quest to advance her scientific studies, Madame was always working in her laboratory and was known to carry test tubes of radium around in the pockets of her lab coat. Ultimately, she died in France of aplastic anemia, which can be the result of a compromised immune system and, of course, prolonged exposure to radiation.
She was and remains, without doubt, the most famous female scientist in history. She fought against overwhelming odds all her life. She fought for the rights of women everywhere. And, she fought to advance women in a world open only to the few anointed males of wealth and privilege.
In death Marie continues to amass honors. Several educational medical centers and research institutions around the world bear her name. And, she was the first – and remains the only – woman to be laid to rest in the Pantheon in Paris.
She was a woman who spent her life striving to make the world a better place for others. She faced the unknown on a daily basis, unraveled the mysteries of the scientific world around us and shifted the female paradigm in the world to a new level of awareness and appreciation.
We all thank you Madame. We thank you for your courage, your dedication and your resolve to never give up. You, Madame Marie Curie, are the perfect person to be honored in Women’s History Month and we salute you!
Thanks for joining me everyone! I hope you enjoyed learning about the incredible accomplishments of this amazing woman as much as I enjoyed writing about them. Until next time stay in GOOD HEALTH and . . .
TAKE THE COURSE AND TAKE CHARGE!
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