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Marie Curie (France)

The Stamp

This 60 centimes stamp was issued from 1967 in France; 100 years after her birth.

The Doctor

Marie Skłodowska Curie (1867 - 1934) was born in Warsaw, Poland and, even though she became a French citizen, she retained her Polish name as well as adding her French husband’s. With her husband Pierre, she developed the theory of radioactivity.

She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the only person to win one twice and the first female Professor in Paris.

She died of aplastic anaemia following her exposure to radioactive substances.

The Urology Connection

An understanding of radioactivity was vital to the further use of X-rays, but also in the therapeutic application of radioactivity, for example, in the treatment of cancer. During World War I, Marie Curie devised mobile X-ray units and drove them to the front with her 17-year-old daughter to help the wounded: they became known as “petites Curies”.

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