Were you ever curious about who in the world is the woman that represents our school? Looking at her seems like she is an ordinary woman that lived in the late 1800s, or the 1900s. However, she’s a historic icon is the namesake of our MS.158 school community, and our learning too. Dive deeper to learn more about this icon!
Marie Curie was an unexpected history creator since back in the 1800-1900’s, women were discriminated against and thought that they were “weaker” than males. Marie Curie broke that stigma and got a masters degree in physics. Not only did she get one degree, she got another masters degree the following year for mathematics! Also, she was the first woman to receive a doctor of science degree in France, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first woman to lecture at the Sorbonne, and finally, the first person to win two Nobel Prizes.
Besides the fact Marie Curie won these amazing awards, she is really well known for discovering two interesting elements of the periodic table. Those two elements are Polonium and Radium. Polonium is an alpha emitter, meaning that although it is highly radioactive, it cannot fully penetrate human skin or a sheet of paper. Radium is a radioactive chemical element, the heaviest of the alkaline-earth metals of the periodic table. These two elements are still studied to this day, and one, “radium” , is known to be pretty deadly.
Unfortunately, on July 4th 1934, our history creator passed. This was due to the excessive radioactive exposure she has while researching and experimenting with her new discovery. She had a condition named “aplastic pernicious anemia” which is a rare but sad disease. What happens when you have this disease is that your bone marrow doesn't make enough red and white blood cells, and platelets. This condition can make you feel tired, raise your risk of infections, and make you bruise or bleed more easily. Her death is a memorable one, and represents the boldness, determination of her research.
In conclusion, Marie Curie’s great achievement still lives on and remains in our hearts as Marie Curie students.