The Personal Diary of Marie Curie
Marie Curie’s contributions to science are common knowledge. Indeed, the Polish-born physicist and chemist is arguably the most famous female scientist of all time, thanks largely to her pioneering research into radioactivity. Incredibly, she remains the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different sciences, and this isn’t the only way in which she made history. Curie also remains the only woman to win a Nobel Prize, plus she also smashed the glass ceiling by becoming the first female professor at the prestigious University of Paris.
Curie’s notebooks – which remain highly radioactive – give a fascinating insight into her scientific method. They also provide a step-by-step guide to the breakthroughs she made, both alone and in collaboration with her husband Pierre. However, Curie was not just an amazing scientist. She was also a complex person, too. She overcame serious obstacles, leaving her native Poland for a new life in France. It was here she made a happy life for herself with Pierre, with their happy union producing two children. It’s this part of her life that Curie’s diaries illustrate. Reading them give a glimpse into the woman behind the scientific breakthroughs.
It was only after Pierre died in a tragic accident in 1906 that Marie started writing a diary. While her notebooks were largely reserved for her work, the pages of her diary were mostly dedicated to her personal life. And they often make for tragic reading. Above all, they show how close she was to Pierre, how theirs was far more than just a research partnership. Indeed, many of the diary entries are addressed to “My Pierre”, as she shares her daily experiences and thoughts with her deceased partner. On one occasion, Curie noted: “It seems to me that my mind gets clumsier every day. Before, I flung myself into scientific or other divagations; today I barely touch on subjects and do not allow myself to be absorbed by them any more.”
As the diaries reveal, Curie’s interest in science waned in the years following Pierre’s death. Within a few years, however, she was back at work. She even enjoyed a short relationship with the physicist Paul Langevin, an affair which caused a scandal, one largely driven by anti-Semitism. However, she did never marry again and she died in 1934, possibly as a result of her exposure to radiation back in the 1890s. Her notebooks from the time of her pioneering research, remain kept in a lead box and are likely to still be radioactive for hundreds of more years. However, their contents can be read in numerous published collections as well as online, with her diaries showing a more intimate side to the scientific genius.