France marie curie biography summary

We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person — man or woman — to win the award twice. With her husband Pierre Curie , Marie's efforts led to the discovery of polonium and radium and, after Pierre's death, the further development of X-rays.

The famed scientist died in of aplastic anemia likely caused by exposure to radiation. Her father, Wladyslaw, was a math and physics instructor.

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When she was only 10, Curie lost her mother, Bronislawa, to tuberculosis. As a child, Curie took after her father. She had a bright and curious mind and excelled at school. But despite being a top student in her secondary school, Curie could not attend the male-only University of Warsaw. She instead continued her education in Warsaw's "floating university," a set of underground, informal classes held in secret.

Both Curie and her sister Bronya dreamed of going abroad to earn an official degree, but they lacked the financial resources to pay for more schooling. Undeterred, Curie worked out a deal with her sister: She would work to support Bronya while she was in school, and Bronya would return the favor after she completed her studies.