Marie Curie (Living History Museum)

Title: Marie Curie

Author: Greg Linder

Pages: 24

Genre: Biography

AND

Title: Something out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium

Author: Carla Killough McClafferty

Pages: 134

Genre: Biography

I am currently reading two biographies about Marie Curie. Both of them tell me about her early life and the way to her success. In the first book, which I already finished in class, the author focuses more on her life when she was in the process of discovering radium and polonium, and some about her personal life. He tells us about her achievements and the winning of the Nobel Prizes. After all, she was the first person to ever receive 2 Nobel Prizes during their fame. She was also the first female to teach at the French University - Sorbonne. She acquired that profession, after the death or her husband, Pierre Curie. 

For working with radium, she had machines that conducted x-rays, and she took those with her to different cities, to help injured soldiers. She later died of leukemia, contracted from the long-term exposure to radiation. 

The other book, I haven't read as much yet, but the first couple pages focus on her early life. When little Maria Sklodowska was still attending school, Poland didn't exist. It was wiped off the maps, and was equally split between Prussia, Austria and Russia, later the Soviet Union. Kids were supposed to be taught in Russian, but instead, teachers taught secretly in Polish. Maria was a very skilled student, and had a very strong memory. Her family went through hard times. Her father lost his job as a high school teacher, her mother was severely sick, and so was her sister. Maria in search of a better life, moved to France after entering adultery, changed her name to Marie and married Pierre after graduating with a masters in mathematics and science at the Sorbonne in Paris. 

I am looking forward to reading more about her life, and how she succeeded so much. The books are very organized, by going from her earliest records up until her death and after effects, such as her daughter continuing studies with radiation. The writing isn't difficult at all. The first book is very short and has many illustrations and is written for younger levels than 8th grade, but the second book is longer and has more in depth information. The most unique thing I found out about my great human, is that she held notebooks with all her research, and they are now kept in lead cases due to their high radioactive levels at the Curie Museum in Paris, France. It has been more than 100 years since they were locked up, and still are very radioactive. Also, an element later discovered by Glenn T. Seaborg in 1944 at the University of Berkeley, was named after Marie and her husband Pierre Curie.