Marie Curie is famous, but we only remember two or three of her achievements & discoveries. We remember even less about who she was, not as a historical figure, but as a person. How did she spend her free time? What was her occupation? What happened to her near her end? Marie isn’t just a historical figure, but she was a real person like anyone; she left a lasting impact on the world around her. Marie Curie had many jobs. Marie Curie was a governess for a short amount of time to fund her sister Bronya’s education, before getting her own education. “Leaving her home to follow her passion for science,” as author Saundra Mitchell put it (2016, pg. 37). After education, she became a teacher, and then realized her potential as a physicist, so she became one. While she was a physicist, however, she left her job temporarily to help out in World War II, creating radiation treatments for the soldiers. These radiation treatments included cancer treatments and wound sterilization (Mitchell, 2016, pg. 38). One thing many don’t know about Marie was that she was depressed throughout her life.
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After Marie Curie’s mother (Bronisława) and oldest sister (Zosia) died while Marie was young, she began suffering from a mental illness during her childhood, which caused her to “leave school due to a ‘nervous disorder’” (Barcella, 2016, pg. 20). Although it was described as a nervous disorder, the illness was likely to be the depression she was diagnosed with later in life (Barcella, 2016, pg. 20) (World of Physics, 2006, par. 2). In spite of the depression she suffered from, she was persistent and very determined, according to a document on Marie Curie by World of Health (2007, par. 8). World of Health also mentions that the determination was one of the only things strong enough to keep her family together when Marie Curie eventually married Pierre Curie (2007, par. 8). The source of food Marie had for the better part of her education was mainly buttered bread and some tea. Marie was living in Paris during her education. Living there was quite expensive, and although her family at home was working to fund her education, she was, according to a 2006 document from World of Physics, “Too proud to ask for additional assistance” (par. 4). Because of this, she had a tight budget and had mostly tea and bread in terms of food, with the occasional nut or fruit. Marie Curie didn’t have much money, but still managed to make it as far as she did in life. Marie Curie’s health was failing near the end of her life, even as her daughter Irene Curie was defending her doctoral thesis on alpha rays emitted from polonium. This eventually killed her. Although it is the general consensus that it was aplastic anemia, there is still some disagreement about how exactly Marie died, but most sources agree that the cause of death was a blood disorder, and that the disorder was caused by Marie carrying radium in her pockets (prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation). The end of her life, however, was not the end of her legacy. Although Marie is mainly remembered for her impact in science, she also had an effect outside of those fields. She invented the concept of
After Marie Curie’s mother (Bronisława) and oldest sister (Zosia) died while Marie was young, she began suffering from a mental illness during her childhood, which caused her to “leave school due to a ‘nervous disorder’” (Barcella, 2016, pg. 20). Although it was described as a nervous disorder, the illness was likely to be the depression she was diagnosed with later in life (Barcella, 2016, pg. 20) (World of Physics, 2006, par. 2). In spite of the depression she suffered from, she was persistent and very determined, according to a document on Marie Curie by World of Health (2007, par. 8). World of Health also mentions that the determination was one of the only things strong enough to keep her family together when Marie Curie eventually married Pierre Curie (2007, par. 8). The source of food Marie had for the better part of her education was mainly buttered bread and some tea. Marie was living in Paris during her education. Living there was quite expensive, and although her family at home was working to fund her education, she was, according to a 2006 document from World of Physics, “Too proud to ask for additional assistance” (par. 4). Because of this, she had a tight budget and had mostly tea and bread in terms of food, with the occasional nut or fruit. Marie Curie didn’t have much money, but still managed to make it as far as she did in life. Marie Curie’s health was failing near the end of her life, even as her daughter Irene Curie was defending her doctoral thesis on alpha rays emitted from polonium. This eventually killed her. Although it is the general consensus that it was aplastic anemia, there is still some disagreement about how exactly Marie died, but most sources agree that the cause of death was a blood disorder, and that the disorder was caused by Marie carrying radium in her pockets (prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation). The end of her life, however, was not the end of her legacy. Although Marie is mainly remembered for her impact in science, she also had an effect outside of those fields. She invented the concept of