Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?
Quick answer
Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, sharing the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for research on radioactivity. In 1911 she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering polonium and radium, making her the only person ever to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences.
Key facts
- Born
- Maria Skłodowska, November 7, 1867, Warsaw, Poland
- Died
- July 4, 1934, France
- Nobel Prizes
- Physics 1903, Chemistry 1911
- Discovered
- Polonium and radium (1898)
Her two Nobel Prizes
| Year | Prize | Shared with | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | Physics | Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel | Research on radiation |
| 1911 | Chemistry | — (sole winner) | Discovering polonium and radium |
She named polonium after her homeland, Poland, which at the time was divided and ruled by other countries.
Other people with two Nobel Prizes
| Person | Prizes |
|---|---|
| Marie Curie | Physics, Chemistry |
| Linus Pauling | Chemistry, Peace (the only person with two unshared prizes) |
| John Bardeen | Physics twice |
| Frederick Sanger | Chemistry twice |
| Karl Barry Sharpless | Chemistry twice |
Her life in brief
Women couldn’t attend university in Russian-controlled Warsaw, so Maria studied in a secret “Flying University” and worked as a governess to support her sister. In 1891 she moved to Paris to study at the Sorbonne, where she met physicist Pierre Curie. After Pierre died in a street accident in 1906, she took over his professorship, becoming the first female professor at the University of Paris.
During World War I, she developed mobile X-ray units, nicknamed “petites Curies,” to help treat wounded soldiers.
A dangerous discovery
Nobody then understood the dangers of radiation. Curie carried radioactive samples in her pockets, and she died in 1934 of an illness linked to long-term exposure. Her notebooks are still radioactive and kept in lead-lined boxes.
Her family won more Nobels: her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie won the 1935 Chemistry prize. For another pioneering scientist, see who discovered penicillin.
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