April 30, 2021 ▸ History, People, Science, Technology

Episode 575: Marie Curie: Of Science and Sexism

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On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we look at one of the greatest scientists to ever live, Marie Curie. She battled with crazy sexism, anti-Semitism, and an endless bout of cancer and tumors due to her radioactive research. But through it all, she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to ever win two, and a hero in World War One. She discovered radiation and in fact came up with that very term. She was a powerful woman who changed the entire world with her intellect and persistence.

She was born to a prominent family of educators in Warsaw, but her family was poor due to political allegiance against the Russians. She taught herself science and physics on lab equipment her father snuck home, and she had to learn in the “Floating University” that was an underground gangster school for women and political dissidents not allowed to study. And somehow, through all of that, she bested most of the scientific minds in Europe, became world famous, and started the Radium Institute, which churned out four more Nobel Prizes. How did she die? Cancer from radiation of course, but it was a hell of a ride to get there.

 

Visit Our Sources:

https://www.biography.com/scientist/marie-curie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1911/marie-curie/facts/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/madame-curies-passion-74183598/

https://www.biography.com/news/marie-curie-biography-facts