Auction 78 Rare and Important Items
By Kedem
May 25, 2021
8 Ramban St, Jerusalem., Israel
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LOT 112:

Letter Handwritten and Signed by Marie Curie, Discoverer of Radium and Polonium – First Woman to Win a Nobel Prize ...

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Letter Handwritten and Signed by Marie Curie, Discoverer of Radium and Polonium – First Woman to Win a Nobel Prize – Paris, 1920
Autograph letter signed by Marie Curie. Written on an official postcard of the Radium Institute (Institut du Radium) of the Science Faculty of Paris (Faculté des Sciences de Paris). Paris, December 23, 1920. French.
Brief letter – invitation to Marie Curie's laboratory. Signed: "M. Curie".
Marie Curie (1867-1932), a Polish-French physicist, prominent 20th century scientist, winner of two Nobel Prizes and the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize.
Curie was born in Warsaw, then a part of the Russian empire, as Maria Skłodowska. Her father, a teacher of mathematics and physics, lost his position due to his support of Polish independence, and the children were raised in poverty. Unable to enroll in a regular higher education institution because she was a woman, Curie began her academic career in the Flying University – an underground educational enterprise, offering clandestine evening courses. At the age of 24, she was the first female student to be accepted to the Sorbonne, and she relocated to Paris where she resided in an attic near the university to save on travel expenses. Despite the difficulties, and her sparse knowledge of the French language, she finished her studies with distinction and earned a scholarship for chemistry research. This allowed her to begin working in the laboratory of The City of Paris Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution (ESPCI), directed by the physicist Pierre Curie.
Pierre and Marie's collaboration led to one of the most important discoveries in the history of science – radioactivity. They were married in 1895. The following years were some of the most productive and important years of their scientific careers, and it was then that Marie discovered two hitherto unknown chemical elements – polonium (named after Curie's home country – Poland), and radium (named after the Latin word radius – ray of light, for its fluorescence). Despite her husband's standing, Curie was forced to conduct some of her experiments in a shed outside the laboratory, so as not to "distract the men" working in the laboratory.
In 1903, the Nobel Committee for Physics decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics to the Curies for their research on radiation (they had originally intended to award the prize to Pierre alone, yet he refused to accept it unless they included Marie), and Curie became the first woman to be awarded a Nobel prize. Eight years later, in 1911, the Nobel Committee decided to award Curie a second prize in Chemistry, for her discovery of two elements (Curie is one of the only four Nobel laureates awarded two Nobel prizes, and the only person ever awarded a Nobel prize in two different fields).
Curie is also renowned for her contribution in the field of medicine, when she was appointed head of the Red Cross Radiology service and operated mobile X-ray units to help wounded soldiers (dubbed "petites Curies" – little Curies). Her young daughter, Irène, operated the mobile X-ray units, and was awarded a military medal for her assistance in the battlefield. She later continued her parents' research on radioactivity and won a Nobel Prize herself.
Marie Curie died in 1934, presumably from long-term exposure to radiation. Her name and story were commemorated in countless films, books, names of institutes and organizations, and in the name of an element – curium.
14X10.5 cm. Good condition. Inscriptions penciled on verso.

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