November 7

Science Giants: Marie Curie

On this day in 1867, Marie Curie, a pioneer in the study of radioactivity, was born. During the 1890s, Curie researched and laboriously measured the radiation in pitchblende, an ore containing uranium.

In 1903 she became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize when she and her husband were honored for their discovery of radioactive elements. She earned an unprecedented second Nobel Prize in 1911 for her work on radium and radium compounds.