Marie Curie (1867-1934)
Marie Curie is world renowned for her valuable research on radioactivity. She was also the first woman ever to win a Nobel Prize. It was the work of Marie and her husband, Pierre that paved the way for many great advances in physics and cancer treatment
Both Marie and Pierre were teachers come scientists. They identified the radioactivity of uranium ore and discovered the two radioactive elements radium and polonium. For this discovery, the couple won the 1903 Nobel Prize For Physics.
Pierre died in 1906, due to a car accident. Marie continued her research and managed to isolated radium and study its chemical properties. For her achievement, she received the 1911 Nobel Prize For Chemistry.
During the First World War, Marie Curie invented the use of X-Rays in surgery, X-Ray vans and also trained female attendants to help facilitate the help of the injured during the war. Marie died of Leukemia in 1934, which was attributed to the over exposure to radioactive substances. Today, Marie and Pierre's ashes lie in the the great monument, the Panthéon in Paris.
