142) Honouring Marie Curie (nee Maria Sklodowska) (07.11.1867-04.07.1934):
A 20
Zloty Banknote issued by Narodowy Bank
Polski (National Bank of Poland) on the 100th Anniversary of her
being awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, in 2011:
In
2011, to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Marie Sklodowska –
Curie being awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the “Narodowy Bank Polski” (or the “National Bank of Poland”) issued a
Collector’s Banknote having a face value of 20 Zlotych.
A brief about Marie Curie (nee Maria
Sklodowska):
She
was born Maria Sklodowska in Warsaw, in the Congress Kingdom of Poland, then a
part of the Russian Empire, on 07.11.1867 to parents who were both
teachers.
She
received her early education in local schools and received some scientific
training from her father. A brilliant student, she could not attend the “men’s-only”
University of Warsaw, instead, she became involved in a student’s revolutionary
organisation, and continued her education in Warsaw’s “Floating University”, a
set of underground informal classes held in secret.
Both
she and her sister Bronislawa (or Bronya) wanted to go abroad to earn an
official degree but they were constrained due to lack of financial resources.
Maria worked as a tutor and a governess to help Bronya finish her schooling,
after which, Bronya returned the favour by working to support Maria’s
education. During her spare time, Maria studied Physics, Chemistry and
Mathematics, her favourite subjects.
In
1891, Maria left Warsaw and went to Krakow, which at that time was under
Austrian Rule and, later, followed her sister to Paris to pursue her studies at
the Sorbonne where she got Licentiateships in Physics and the Mathematical
Sciences. She always sat in the front row at the courses she attended. Too shy
to make new friends, she stayed in the colony populated by Polish nationals
which formed a little island of free Poland in the Latin Quarter of Paris.
She
concentrated vigorously on her studies alone, at great personal cost, as she
had little money to pay for her room, meals, clothes and educational expenses. She
even had to tutor students to earn money for her sustenance and education,
lived off the money that she had saved while working as a governess in Poland
and the small sum of forty roubles a month that her father sent her every month.
With about three francs a day at her disposal, she mostly, survived on
occasional buttered toast and tea. She never admitted that she was cold and
hungry. For her, a feast was having two eggs or a piece of chocolate or some
fruit. As a result, she fell sick often due to her poor diet and fainted on
some occasions due to hunger.
In
1893, she completed her master’s degree in Physics and got another
degree in Mathematics, the following year. At this time, she received a
commission to study different types of steel and their magnetic properties.
In
1894, she met Pierre Curie, Professor in the School of Physics and Chemistry
(the “Ecole superieure de physique et de
chimie industrielles de la Paris” or the “ESPCI”) and they got married in 1895.
For their honeymoon and excursions, both
Pierre and Marie roamed the countryside on bicycles purchased by them with the
money given to them as a wedding present, stopping at non-descript inns and
having frugal meals, because they had very little money. A measure of the
hardships that they underwent can be gauged by the fact that their small flat
was barely furnished with only some books, two chairs and a wooden table and a
small stove and some utensils and plates.
Though
Pierre did not have a large laboratory as Marie wanted, thanks to the Director
of the School of Physics where Pierre taught, he was able to find some space in
a little ground-floor store-room for her to begin her researches. They were
both dedicated scientists and researchers.
Her
early researches, together with her husband were conducted under difficult
conditions. The laboratory arrangements were extremely poor and they both had
to undertake a lot of teaching assignments so as to earn their livelihood.
Pierre & Marie’s Curie's researches and
successes:
In
1896, the discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel, a French
Physicist who discovered that Uranium salts emitted rays, weaker rays than the
X-rays, but resembling X-rays, (which had been discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen
in 1895), in their penetrating power, motivated the Curies in their
brilliant researches and analyses which led to the isolation of Polonium, named
after Marie’s country of birth, and Radium.
She
took Becquerel’s work further, conducting her own experiments on Uranium Rays.
She discovered that the rays remained constant, no matter what the condition or
form of the Uranium was. She theorised that the rays came from the element’s
atomic structure. This novel concept led to the creation of the field of atomic
physics and she herself coined the word radio-activity to describe the
phenomena.
However, as Radium had not been seen by
anyone, its discovery remained in theory only.
The
Curies were determined to prove the existence of Radium and were aware that
Pitchblende, in which both – Polonium and Radium were hidden, was treated at
the Joachimsthal mines in Bohemia to extract uranium salts used in making
glass. It was a costly ore, but the Curies calculated that the extraction of Uranium
would leave Polonium and Radium intact. They obtained a ton of the substance from
the Austrian Government and conducted their experiments in an abandoned shed from
1898 to 1902.
Ultimately,
in 1902, the Curies announced the existence of Radium, when Marie
succeeded in preparing a decigram of pure Radium and in determining its atomic
weight. The properties of Radium were bewildering. Its radiation was two
million times stronger than that of Uranium and the rays could penetrate the
hardest and most opaque matter.
Marie
Curie developed methods for the separation of Radium from radio-active residues
in sufficient quantities to allow for its characterisation and the careful
study of its properties, therapeutic properties in particular. The discoveries,
later, led to the development of X-rays. Under her direction, the World’s first
studies were conducted into the treatment of neoplasms, using radio-active
isotopes.
A Radium
industry was about to be born. Several countries planned to make use of
radioactive ores and some technicians from the USA wrote to Pierre to share the
secret extraction formula with them.
The Curies had two choices – either, to describe the
results of their research without reserve or, to patent the technique of treating
Pitchblende and assure themselves of rights over the manufacture of Radium
throughout the World. Without any hesitation, they chose the former option, as
they reasoned that taking out a patent was against the “scientific spirit” and
would deprive several excellent researchers from more work in this field. Between
poverty and fortune, they chose the former, in the name of “scientific spirit”.
In
1903, the Royal Institution, London, invited Pierre to lecture on Radium,
which was followed by several other prestigious dinners and banquets, as the
whole of London wanted to see the “parents of Radium”. The Royal Society
bestowed on the Curies one of their highest awards – the Davy Medal.
In
the same year (1903), Marie and Pierre were awarded half the Nobel Prize
for Physics, for their study into the spontaneous radiation discovered by
Becquerel, the other half of the prestigious honour going to Becquerel himself.
She became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize
in Physics. It
seems that there was some reluctance amongst the Nobel Committee members to
honour a woman, as thus far it had been only a “men’s only club”, but after a
complaint by Pierre, Marie’s name was included.
They
were invited to Sweden next to accept the Nobel Prize. Research being their
priority and being too busy with their researches, and awards being meaningless
to them, the Curies declined to go to Stockholm to receive the prize in person,
particularly as Pierre disliked public ceremonies, but when told that Nobel
Laureates were required to deliver a lecture, the Curies finally went to
Stockholm in 1905.
The award money of about 7000 gold francs was mostly
spent on buying presents for relatives and friends and the only luxury that
Marie allowed herself was installing a new bathroom and repapering the house
walls. The prize money also allowed the Curies to hire their first lab
assistant.
Also,
in 1903, Marie succeeded Pierre as the Head of the Physics Laboratory at
the Sorbonne and gained a Doctor of Science degree.
In
1905, Pierre was elected to France’s Academy of Sciences.
On
19.04.1906, tragedy struck the family, when Pierre took leave of the
Professors in the Faculty of Science and went out into a downpour. He absent-mindedly
stepped from behind a cab into the path of a heavy wagon. Although he tried to
hang onto the chest of the horse which suddenly reared, Pierre slipped on the
wet pavement and was dragged several yards, with the rear wheel going over him
and he was killed.
Following
the passing away of Pierre under these tragic circumstances, despite of her
grief, Marie took his place as Professor of General Physics in the Faculty of
Sciences, the first time a woman was appointed to this position. Although the
whole College was curious to find out as to how she would begin her first
lecture and whether she would talk about the tragedy, stoically, she began her
lecture at the same place Pierre had left off when he was alive earning
everyone’s admiration.
In
1911, she received a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry in
recognition of her work in radioactivity. She was selected for her discovery of
Radium and Polonium. While she received
the prize, in her acceptance speech, she claimed the honour jointly with her
late husband who had been an equal partner in her scientific pursuits. She was,
thus, the only woman to win the Nobel Prize in two fields and the only person
to win in multiple sciences.
Around
this time she joined several famous scientist to attend the first Solvay
Congress in Physics where many ground-breaking discoveries in various fields
and pioneering research was discussed among the August gathering including
Albert Einstein and Max Planck. She was a member of the “Conseil du Physique Solvay” from 1911 till the time of her
passing away in 1934.
The
Sorbonne and the Pasteur Institute jointly founded the Curie Institute of
Radium comprising of two parts: a laboratory for biological Research and the
study of Cancer treatment directed by an eminent physician.
In
1914, she was also appointed Director of the Curie Laboratory in the
Radium Institute of the University of Paris which was founded that year. Always
having inadequate lab facilities, Marie now headed the Radium Institute (Institut du radium), and had a
full-fledged radioactivity laboratory to continue her researches in.
Against
the advice of her family, Marie made a gift of the Radium worth more than a
million gold francs which she and Pierre had prepared with their own hands to
the laboratory in which she continued to work till the end of her life.
In
1920, for the 25th Anniversary of the discovery of Radium,
the French Government established a stipend for her, the only other recipient
being Louis Pasteur.
In
1921, she toured the USA to raise funds for research on Radium. Mrs.
William Brown Meloney after interviewing Marie created a “Marie Curie Radium
Fund” and raised money to buy Radium, publicising the main purpose of her trip.
The women of America collected 100,000 dollars to buy a gram of Radium, in
recognition of her service to science, which was presented to Marie by President
Warren Harding of the USA, on their behalf. She was the toast of America, with
medals, honorary titles and degrees being showered upon her. Crowds milled
around to get a glimpse of her, notwithstanding her mortal fear of crowds and
publicity.
The French Government seeing her International
popularity & recognition belatedly offered her a Legion of Honour award
which she refused.
In
1922, she became a Fellow of the French Academy of Medicine and
travelled to several countries giving lectures, including in Belgium, Brazil,
Spain and Czechoslovakia.
Also,
in August 1922, she became a member of the newly created International
Commission for Intellectual Cooperation of the League of Nations.
Later,
in 1929, during her second American tour, she canvassed hard to establish
a radioactivity laboratory in her native city, Warsaw. She stayed as the
personal guest of President Hoover at the White House who presented her with a
gift of $50000 donated by the American Friends of Science to purchase Radium
for use in the Laboratory in Warsaw.
Despite all these honours, all that she was always
concerned about was whether she could live without her laboratory and the young
scientists working there.
In
1932, she founded the Radium Institute in Warsaw which became one of the
leading radioactivity research laboratories in the World, with her sister
Bronya as its first Director. The Radium Institute produced four Nobel Prize
winners including her daughter Irene Joliot-Curie and her son-in-law, Frederic
Joliot-Curie.
As
both Pierre and Marie were unaware of the deleterious effects of radiation
exposure attendant on their continued unprotected work with radioactive
substances, they had no idea as to the price they would pay for the effect of
their research upon their health.
Her
long years of working with radio-active materials took a toll on her health.
She carried test-tubes of Radium around in the pockets of her lab-coat and
stored them in her desk drawer little realising that prolonged exposure to
radiation was extremely harmful to her health. She was also exposed to X-rays
from unshielded equipment while serving as a radiologist in field hospitals
during World War I.
On
04.07.1934, she passed away in Savoy France of aplastic anaemia resulting from
years of exposure to radiation. She was interred at the cemetery in Sceaux
alongside her husband Pierre, without any fanfare in a simple ceremony attended
only by her family and colleagues.
In
1995, both Pierre’s and her remains were interred in the Pantheon in
Paris, the eternal resting place of many of France’s greatest minds. She was
the first and only woman to be laid to rest there. She remains the most famous
woman scientist of all time and several posthumous awards were bestowed upon
her.
She
was held in high esteem and admiration by scientists throughout the World.
Several awards and honours were bestowed upon her. She received numerous
honorary science, medicine and law degrees and honorary memberships of learned
societies throughout the World.
Though
she became a French citizen, she took pride in her Polish identity and taught
her daughters the Polish language and took them on visits to Poland and
contributed funds and participated in awareness programmes for Poland to be a
free country. The first chemical element that she discovered in 1898, she named
Polonium after her native country, as she thought this would create more
awareness about the political situation in Poland.
Throughout
her life, she actively promoted the use of Radium to alleviate suffering during
World War I, assisted by her daughter Irene. She championed the use of portable
X-ray machines in the field, and the medical vehicles transporting them were
nicknamed “petites Curies” (meaning “Little
Curies”). She, thus, established the first military field radiological centres.
Her legacy:
Marie’s
work moved way beyond the established concepts in Physics and Chemistry during
her lifetime and enthused generations of Scientists to look beyond the
established thinking.
To
achieve her scientific ambition she had to overcome barriers placed in her path
in the “men dominated” scientific and educational Institutes both in Poland
& France.
She
intentionally refrained from patenting the Radium isolation process so that the
scientific community could do research unhindered. To her, monetary gifts and
awards were meaningless, and she insisted that Awards and monetary honours won
by her should be given to the scientific institutes she was affiliated to. In
fact, she and Pierre often refused to accept awards and medals.
As
the most famous woman scientist of all time till date she is an icon in the
scientific world.
In
2009, a poll carried out by the “New Scientist”, she was voted the “most
inspirational woman in science”.
The
year 2011, was declared by both Poland and France as the “Year of Marie
Curie”, while the United Nations Organisation declared 2011 as the “International
Year of Chemistry” in her honour.
Three radioactive minerals are named after the
Curies: “Curite”, “Sklodowskite” and “Cuproskolodowskite”.
Several
Institutes across the World bear her name (the two Curie Institutes – the
“Maria-Sklodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology” in Warsaw, the “Institut Curie” in Paris, the “Maria
Curie-Sklodowska University” in Lublin and the “Pierre and Marie Curie
University” in Paris), two museums (the “Maria Sklodowska-Curie Museum” in
Warsaw and her Paris Laboratory is preserved as the “Musee Curie”), several works of art (a statue of Marie Curie in the
Radium Institute at Warsaw, a stained glass panel of her, the “Maria Sklodowska-Curie’ medallion in the
University of Buffalo Polish Room etc.), numerous biographies including one by
her daughter Eve Curie titled “Madame Curie” (1938), “Obsessive Genius: The
Inner world of Marie Curie” (2005), “Radioactive Marie and Pierre Curie, a Tale
of Love and Fallout” (2011), a Film (“Madame Curie” based on her life in 1943,
“Les Palmes de M. Shutz”, (1997) etc.
Her
work is recorded in numerous papers in scientific journals, chiefly “Recherches sur les Substances Radioactives”
(1904), “L’Isotopie et les Elements
Isotopes” and “Traite de
Radioactivite” (1910). Her last book “Radioactivity” was published
posthumously in 1935.
Marie
Curie Fellowships have been set up by the European Commission which are in the
nature of European Research Grants available to researchers regardless of their
nationality or field of research. In addition, to generous research funding,
scientists have an opportunity to gain experience abroad and in the private
sector, and to complete their training with competences or disciplines useful
in their careers.
One wonders, if Pierre had not passed away in the
tragic accident in 1906, what other “scientific gifts”, this First Couple of
Scientific Research would have left the World for posterity.
Her
fascination for pursuit of scientific knowledge was imbibed by her daughter
Irene Joliot Curie, who went on to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935
along with her husband Frederic Joliot, for their work on synthesis of new
radioactive elements. This was the only instance, when two generations of a
husband and wife team of Scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize for their
contribution to scientific research and discovery, a no mean feat by itself.
Commemorating Marie Sklodowska-Curie:
Her
portrait has appeared on several bills, stamps and coins around the world. In
the 1980s she was placed on 20000 Zloty Banknotes as well as the last French
500-Franc Banknote before it was replaced by the Euro in 2000.
In
2011, on the centenary of Marie winning the second Nobel Prize (1911), an
allegorical mural was painted on the facade of her Warsaw birthplace,
portraying her as holding a test tube from which emanate the elements Polonium
and Radium which she discovered as an adult.
The Front of the 20 Zlotych Banknote depicts the portrait of Marie Sklodowska–Curie and mentions
her name as “Maria Sklodowska – Curie” & her life years “1867-1934”. In the
background is an image of the building of Sorbonne in Paris which is mentioned
in Polish as “Sorbona w Paryzu”. The
Note is dated “WARSZAWA, 20 KWIETNIA 2011
r” (meaning “20th April 2011”). The Banknote was released for
Collectors on 25th November 2011.
The
denomination of the Banknote is mentioned in numerals as “20” and in Polish as
“DWADZIESCIA ZLOTYCH”.
The
Back of the 20 Zlotych Banknote shows the Nobel Prize Medal which is awarded to all the Nobel
Prize winners. There is a quotation from Marie Sklodowska–Curie’s speech on Radium
which reads in Polish as “Rad wykrylam,
lecz nie stworzylam, wiec nie nalezy do mnie, a jest wlasnoscia calej ludskosci”
(meaning “I have detected the Radium, but not created it; the glory does not
belong to me, but it is the property of the whole mankind”).
This is in keeping with the Curies' philosophy of sharing their findings with the World for all to benefit, without seeking any personal fortunes from their discoveries.
In the background,
there is a picture of the Radium Institute in Warsaw.
The
designer is Agnieszka Prochnaik. The steel engraving matrix has been done by
Przemyslaw Krajewski. This Banknote was printed by the Polish Security Printing
Works (PSPW) in a limited edition of 60000 pieces only. The size of the
Banknote is 138 x 69 mm. The colour of this Banknote is brown and green.
This
Banknote was issued by Polish Security Printing Works (PWPW S.A.).
No comments:
Post a Comment