The Curies: Radium and Revolution

Marie and Pierre Curie's partnership exemplified Belle Époque science's collaborative spirit while challenging its gender assumptions. Their discovery of polonium and radium opened physics' new frontiers. Their shared 1903 Nobel Prize—Marie the first woman so honored—recognized work that would transform science and warfare.

Marie's struggles revealed persistent sexism. The University of Paris refused her a laboratory, forcing work in inadequate facilities. The Academy of Sciences rejected her membership—she had prizes but not recognition from France's scientific establishment. Press coverage focused on her appearance, domestic life, and husband's achievements rather than her science.

Pierre's death in 1906—trampled by a horse cart—might have ended Marie's career. Instead, she became the Sorbonne's first female professor, taking over Pierre's position. Her inaugural lecture drew crowds curious about the widow more than the scientist. She began exactly where Pierre's last lecture ended, asserting continuity through science rather than sentiment.

The radium craze that followed their discoveries showed science's commercialization. Radium-infused products flooded markets: toothpaste, face cream, chocolate, water. Radium spas promised healing; radium paint made watch dials glow. The radiation poisoning that killed workers remained unrecognized. Progress had invisible costs.

Marie's later affair with physicist Paul Langevin created scandal exploited by xenophobic, anti-Semitic press. Despite being Catholic, she was attacked as a "foreign Jewish home-wrecker." Einstein defended her: "If the mob continues to occupy itself with you, then simply don't read that hogwash." She persevered, winning a second Nobel Prize in 1911.