Marie Curie's Inspiring Life

1021 Words3 Pages

Marie Curie is known for her works with radiation, but her life is inspiring and should be remembered. The beginning of her life set her up to be illustrious, her work in the scientific field was revolutionary, and her works left a lasting effect which opened up gateways to other discoveries, both in and out of the scientific field. She overcame the woman stereotype of that time, and helped pave the way for other scientists.
The woman we know as Marie Curie “was born Maria Salomea Sklodowska on 7 November 1867 in central Warsaw Poland,” (Griffith 1). Starting at a young age, Marie Curie showed that she had the aptitude to do marvelous things. Marie Curie was not left to her own devices to pass school, “Both her parents were teachers (her mother died when Maria was 10) she was highly motivated and well educated,” (Griffith 1). Wladyslaw Sklodowski, her father, did not stop her from learning because she left school, “She received a general education in local schools and some scientific training from her father,” (“Marie Curie - Biographical” 1). Curie was motivated by her parents, and “at the age of 16 she won a gold medal on completion of her secondary education,” (Zwolinski 2). Most women did not finish secondary school back then, so this was a big accomplishment. Before Marie Curie went to college, her father’s bad investments caused her to go into work.
Marie Curie, due to her father’s loss of money, “had to take work as a teacher and, at the same time, took part clandestinely in the nationalist ‘free university,’” (Zwolinski 2). Curie would read to Polish woman to help educate them. Not only did she do it covertly, but it did not earn her any money, she did it to give the women a chance. She then became a governess at 18, “wh...

... middle of paper ...

...,’” (Zwolinski 4).

Works Cited

Griffith, Bill. "Elements of Inspiration." Elements of Inspiration. Royal Society of Chemistry, Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. .
Langevin-Joliet, Hélène. "Chemistry International -- Newsmagazine for IUPAC." Chemistry International -- Newsmagazine for IUPAC. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, 5 Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. .
"Marie Curie - Biographical." Marie Curie - Biographical. Nobel Prize, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. .
Zwolinski, Zbigniew. "Maria Sklodowska-Curie1867-1934." Science in Poland. Humaniora, 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. .

Open Document