Marie Curie – Mid Life

Mid life: The Curies worked together investigating radioactivity, building on the work of the German physicist Roentgen and the French physicist Becquerel.

In July 1898, the Curies announced the discovery of a new chemical element, polonium.

At the end of the year, they announced the discovery of another, radium. The Curies, along with Becquerel, were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903.

Pierre’s life was cut short in 1906 when he was knocked down and killed by a carriage. Marie took over his teaching post, becoming the first woman to teach at the Sorbonne, and devoted herself to continuing the work that they had begun together.

She received a second Nobel Prize, for Chemistry, in 1911.