RELATIONS OF MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE WITH KRAKOW SCIENTIFIC CIRCLES
Journal Title: Studia Historiae Scientiarum - Year 2013, Vol 12, Issue
Abstract
Marie Skłodowska (1867–1934) spent her childhood and youth in Poland. During and after her studies she lived and worked in France. Many circumstances combined, to give her two homelands. Her discoveries for the benefit of mankind, however, made her a citizen of the whole world. The aim of this paper was to underline relations of Marie Skłodowska -Curie with Poland – especially with the scientific circles in Krakow. Marie was born in Warsaw, the fifth child of the patriotic Skłodowski family. She graduated with honors and received a gold medal from the state gymnasium in Warsaw at the age of 15. She wanted to continue her education, but due to imprudent investments by her father the Skłodowskis experienced financial trouble, so Maria began giving private lessons, and next accepted a better-paid post of a governess in a village far away from home. In Autobiography she wrote: Since my duties with my pupils did not take up all my time, I organized a small class for the children of the village who could not be educated under the Russian government. […] Even this innocent work presented danger, as all initiative of this kind was forbidden by the government and might bring imprisonment or deportation to Siberia. After more than three years’ work as a governess, she came back to Warsaw, gave private lessons and saw to her own education. In the Laboratory of Industry and Agriculture Museum she mastered the fundamentals of chemical analysis and became acquainted with scientific research work. In November 1891, at the age of 24, she left for Paris. On 3 November 1891 she began studies at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the Sorbonne. Despite some gaps in her knowledge, she was able to pass all her examinations and graduate in the first rank as “licenciée en sciences physiques” in 1893, and in the second rank as “licenciée en sciences mathématiques” in 1894. Driven by the sense of duty, which she had learned at home (she was convinced that she should work as a teacher in her homeland), Marie went to Krakow and tried to find a job in the physics laboratories of the Jagiellonian University. Scientists from Krakow worked with the best laboratories in London, Göttingen and Paris. At that time, however, women were not allowed even to study at the Jagiellonian University. In the academic year 1894/1995 only three women (pharmacists) were allowed to attend university lectures. After having visited Krakow Marie realized that there was no suitable position for her at Polish Universities. Professor August Witkowski, who wanted to help her, was not even able to offer her the position of assistant to his Chair of Physics at the Jagiellonian University. “She would have had to be excluded from academic life, without which she would not have had the opportunity to apply her knowledge and skills and satisfy her justifiable ambitions. This is why she decided to choose science and Pierre Curie.” In autumn 1894 Marie came back to Paris, where in 1895 she married Pierre Curie – a French physicist. At the end of 1897 Marie became interested in the research of Henri Becquerel, who had noticed that uranium salts emitted special rays which, as opposed to common light rays, could penetrate through black paper and discharge an electroscope. Instead of an electroscope she used newly elaborated electrometer. Laborious work began: hundreds of measurements, chemical experiments and new results. While examining rays of uranium ores, she observed an interesting phenomenon: the radiation’s intensity was not always proportional to the content of uranium in the ore. After a few months Pierre joined Marie and the Curies managed to separate from pitchblende a substance accompanying bismuth which displayed unique chemical features and was much more active than uranium. In July 1898 they announced the discovery of a new element, which they named POLONIUM in honor of Marie’s homeland. She hoped that naming the new element after her native country would bring world attention to its lost independence. In December 1898, they announced the discovery of another radioactive element – radium. All their work was carried out in extremely poor conditions, with no hope of improvement. (...)
Authors and Affiliations
Alicja RAFALSKA-ŁASOCHA
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