Marie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries
The year was 1871 The little girl didn’t un derstand that her parents both experienced teachers followed the mindset of the times Although they valued education they be lieved that encouraging learning and mental development in very young children was not wise While they were proud of their daugh ter’s abilities they didn’t want her acting older than her age When she yearned to play with her father’s scientific instruments kept in a glass case they told her to play with her blocks or her doll When she reached for one of the many books in the house they instructed her to sing a song or go into the garden However the child was curious and inter ested in everything around her She was like a sponge constantly soaking up knowledge and new ideas She simply could not stop learning In fact she would grow up to be recognized as one of the most brilliant and famous women of all time Marie Curie Manya and Her Family MARIA SALOMEA Skłodowska was born on November 7 1867 on Freta Street in War saw Poland Nicknamed Manya by her family she was the youngest of five children born to Marie Curie’s birthplace in Warsaw Poland now the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum Polish Chemical Society 2
Bronisława and Vładisłav Skłodowski She had three sisters and a brother and they too had affectionate pet names or diminutives commonly used in Poland by family members and close friends The oldest child Sophia was known as Zosia Bronisława named for her mother was nicknamed Bronya and Helena was referred to as Hela Manya’s only brother Joseph was called Jozio All the Skłodowski children were quite intelligent Their home was full of laughter good books and poetry Yet of all her siblings Manya seemed to pos sess the most remarkable and unusual atten tion span and concentration skills Manya’s mother Bronisława had been born into a family of former minor-nobility land owners Although Bronisława’s parents Felix and Maria Boguski were once consid ered to be upper class they had lost most of their land over the years due to invasions by other countries Left without land or wealth they managed the properties of others Despite having little money the Bogus kis still found a way to send Bronisława and her sisters to a private girls school in War saw called the Freta Street School where she received a very good education In time Bronisława would become a teacher there and eventually the headmistress The position pro vided a home for her family to live in and she In Slavic languages such as Polish ski is the masculine suffix and ska is the feminine suffix Freta Street Warsaw Poland Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum Polish Chemical Society kept the job for several years even after she was married and had children Bronisława was a skilled pianist with a lovely singing voice Indeed she was a very beautiful accomplished and graceful woman She was also a pious and devout Catholic and an atten tive mother and Manya loved her dearly 3
Manya’s father Vładisłav was also from a family of Polish minor nobility One of his ancestors had owned several hundred acres of land and lived a very comfortable life as a well-to-do farmer as did many of his descen dants Unfortunately this was not the case for Vładisłav’s father Joseph So with a de sire to improve his circumstances and honor the family name Vładisłav chose to focus on study and academics He became the director of a boys school in Lublin and is credited as being the first intellectual in the Skłodowski family Like his father Vładisłav attended the Uni versity of Petersburg in Russia and excelled in scientific studies He returned to Warsaw where he became a professor of mathematics and physics and married Bronisława in 1860 Everyone agreed that it was a very suitable marriage And given their intelligence and fierce loyalty to their Polish roots their chil dren would be not only well educated but also taught to honor their heritage y above The Skłodowski siblings Left to right Sophia Zosia Helena Hela Maria Manya Joseph Jozio and Bronisława Bronya Musée Curie coll ACJC left Bronisława Skłodowska Marie Curie’s mother right Vładisłav Skłodowski Marie Curie’s father Musée Curie coll ACJC 4
Russia-Controlled Poland WHY WAS it so important to Manya’s parents to teach their children the history and culture of their own country Surely they would be taught these things in school right Actually Poland had once been one of the most powerful countries in Europe but in 1772 Russia Prussia now Germany and Austria had seized control of most of the land and divided it among themselves The name Poland was completely removed from the map The French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte tried to help the Poles form a small Polish state in the early 1800s but he was de feated by the Russians and the land reverted right back to Russian czar Alexander I whose troops now occupied the country The czar de cided the time had come to crack down even harder on the Poles and the Russification of Poland began New laws required that Poles learn the Rus sian language and customs Poles were no lon ger allowed to celebrate their own religions culture and history or teach these to their children The Russians wanted to completely strip them of their Polish identities and erase any traces of their former lives Anyone who dared to do things the old way or was caught speaking Polish was punished severely The Poles were also the targets of discrimination and all the best jobs went to Russians and those who supported the czar The loyal Polish people were furious Two times they rebelled and tried to overthrow their oppressors in 1830 and again in 1863 But their efforts failed and anyone who took part in the rebellions suffered the conse quences Families lost land and some Poles were sent away put in prison or worse Man ya’s paternal grandfather Joseph Skłodowski had taken part in the 1830 uprising and was captured Although he was finally released he never got his land back and a hatred for the Russians was passed down in his family through the generations Life Changes M ANYA’S FATHER Vładisłav had had his own problems with the Russians In 1868 he made some school officials where he worked very angry probably because of his Polish loy alty and the regular discrimination against the Poles and was fired from his job He was soon able to find another teaching position in a War saw boys school which provided an apartment for the family Bronisława resigned from her job as headmistress of the Freta Street School and the Skłodowskis moved into their new quarters not long after Manya was born Bronisława was talented and hardworking and now as a full-time homemaker she put 5
