Curie for Chemistry

“A woman of courage, conviction and yes, contradictions…”    — Julie Des Jardin

Curie image

Madame Curie (1867-1934) won the Nobel Prize twice. She was awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 with her husband and the second in 1911.  Against all the odds, including traveling from Poland to Paris to get education, she earned a PhD in physics, and Professors declared that her dissertation was the greatest single contribution to science ever written.

Curies_lab

Julie Des Jardins, the author “The Passion of Madame Curie” (the Smithsonian 2011 October issue), told a story; when Curie was married in 1895 to Pierre Curie, a physicist, she donned a blue cotton dress that was practical enough to wear in the lab after the ceremony. And, her lab was in a dilapidated shed with broken windows and poor ventilation. Irene, her daughter, was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1935.

As a mother, grandmother, or aunt, we need to guide and encourage our young girls at their very early age to help them grow their intelligence, also to support them to overcome distractions from outside, such as the high desire for the perfection in their appearance for example. Actually, fathers have a greater role to play.

marie-curie

Here are two moving stories posted by Cristina Diana:  

Another woman who stood up to the rough customs of her time

The first woman to receive a Doctorate Degree, pure inspiration

Perhaps, you want to read these stories with your daughter(s) or your granddaughter(s).

Thanks to Frizz for hosting the A-Z Story Challenges! Thank you so much for visiting 🙂

Note: Opalla suggested “Curie for Chemistry” for the C Challenge. Love it! Thank you, Opalla!