Marie Curie was born in Poland in 1867. People were astounded by her ability to recall events from her childhood. She began reading when she was four years old.

Her father was a college professor of science. Marie was particularly taken with the instruments he kept in a glass cabinet. She aspired to be a scientist, but she knew it would be difficult. Marie became a babysitter at the age of 18 after her family suffered a financial setback. She contributed money to her sister's education in Paris. Marie's sister later assisted her with schoolwork.

Girls could not attend college in Poland at the time. Marie travelled to Paris in 1891 to attend the Sorbonne. She didn't have any money, so she lived on bread, butter, and tea. Her clothes were ancient and from Warsaw.

She studied in the library until 10 p.m. every day, then went back to her cold room and read until 2 or 3 a.m.

After four years at the Sorbonne, Marie married the famed physicist Pierre Curie. Physicists are scientists who research the physical world, such as what objects are made of and why they work the way they do.

The Curies began looking for new things together. Uranium rock was heated before being crushed up. It was treated with acids and other chemicals. After four years and tons of rock, the hard effort paid off. Finally, they had a tenth of a gram of pure radium. They had discovered the first lethal ingredient!

In 1903, Marie, Pierre, and Henry Becquerel, a physicist, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering radium and investigating radiation. Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in physics. She later received a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

During World War I, Marie worked as an X-ray technician. She believed they could aid in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. She never tried to earn money from her discoveries since she wanted to serve others.

Marie Curie, the First Woman in Physics to Win the Nobel Prize