Marie Curie: My Role Model - By Felicia
Everyone should have a role model in life: someone to look up to, respect, and aspire to be like. It could be anyone. Their good qualities would make you want to be like them. For me, this person is Maria Sklodowska, better known as Marie Curie, a renowned physicist, chemist and a pioneer in the study of radiation. Today I’ll tell you all about her and why she is my role model.
In 1883, at the age of 15, Maria finished her secondary education and registered at the Sorbonne in France, where she changed her name to Marie. In 1894, she met a French physicist, Pierre Curie, in France. She returned to Poland but, one year later, she returned to France to marry Pierre Curie on July 26, 1895. Together, they made some astounding scientific discoveries. For one, they discovered radium. While examining a uranium-rich ore called pitchblende, Marie Curie discovered that when the uranium was removed, the pitchblende still emitted rays. So, this meant that there was another element that emitted rays in there: radium. In March 1898, Marie Curie documented her findings in a paper. Later on, Marie Curie discovered another element in the pitchblende, which she named polonium, after Poland. In 1906, Pierre Curie died in a tragic accident when he stepped into the street at the same time as a horse-drawn wagon. Marie Curie subsequently filled his faculty position of professor of general physics in the faculty of sciences at the Sorbonne and was the first woman to serve in that role. In 1911, Marie was awarded a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements polonium and radium.
Personally, I love science, especially chemistry and biology, so Marie Curie is for me a real role model. In fact, she managed to make her place in the scientific world, which, at that time, was very masculine. She received two Nobel Prizes for her discoveries, which are in fact very important and have changed many things in the world. Moreover, she is an example because of her determination, her courage, in her research and in her life. Her acts have allowed the improvement of women's place in society, particularly in the sciences.
Interested in Marie Curie and her scientific discoveries? Visit this article to learn more!