How Did Marie Curie Contribute To The Modern World

In the early 1900’s, the discovery of a luminescent material, radium, arrived on the scene to the delight of a fascinated and eager public. At first, it seemed to be a miracle remedy, not just harmless but even beneficial. However, when a multitude of watch dial painters were exposed to this substance on an extremely consistent basis, the negative effects began bubbling to the surface. These “Radium Girls” were unknowingly consuming a potentially lethal substance and would be the first victims of radium poisoning and radioactivity. Not many people knew about the dangers of radioactive substances or radium poisoning and many others had made judgements that were clouded by the perfection of the glowing sensation. In spite of this, the horrific afflictions that the Radium Girls endured helped shift the public perspective of radium from “wonder drug” to “pitiless poison” and started the country on a path to regulating the handling of radioactive

"Women, like men, should try to do the impossible, and when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.” Amelia Earhart. Women have made remarkable impacts on history. Throughout most of history, women have had fewer legal rights and career opportunities than men. Their ideal job was to be mothers or housewives. However, there were numerous amounts of women who have stood up for themselves and made a change. When in the face of discrimination, they held their heads high and persevered, showing the world that males are not always authoritative. Joan of Arc was one of these heroic females who made a major impact throughout history.

Marie Daly is a famous biochemist who had to overcome dual hurdles of racial and gender bias to peruse her lifelong love of chemistry. Marie had to undergo judgment from her being a woman and trying to become a scientist, which was a male dominated occupation and also had to endure racism because she was an African American. Marie made many scientific discoveries that we are lucky to have today.

Many women have had an impact on science over the years and their accomplishments tend to be underappreciated by the public eye. Often times, there are important people that have made a significant impact on the world that we have today that do not receive the credit and attention that they deserve for their accomplishments. Recognizing and acknowledging people that have made an impact on society now and in the past, is an important part of learning about history and the accomplishments of the past.

From surgery to radium exposure to such extremes as radiation therapy, as doctors’ knowledge of the varying types of cancer, and the expansion of medical research regarding cancer has changed, so has the preferred method of treatment. Doctors and researchers dedicated to studying cancer have led to a greater understanding of cancer development; consequently the development of treatments and cures that are more effective, less harmful, have fewer side effects, and in some cases serve to prevent the spread of cancer.

During a time when women weren't known to have power, one woman stood out to me because she made such a huge impact on society. Dorothea Dix was an author, advocate, and reformer and she was known for her efforts to change how the mentally ill and prisoners were treated. She helped create institutions across the United States and Europe that would help change how people analyzed the mentally ill and prisoners. The reason for the creation of the institutes, was because she did research study, and found evidence that showed prisoners were neglected. That was not the only things Dorothea Dix had a desire to change. She also didn’t agree with the saying "people with mental disabilities cannot be cured or healed," but in fact her as individual proved that wrong. Growing up Dorothea had health issues that affected her working career and from her experience she formed a desire to help make a difference in others' lives. I view Dorothea Dix as a role model simply because I can relate to her when it comes to her view on the mentally ill. My brother underwent brain surgery which left him as being known as a person with mental disabilities.In today's society people are treated much different and less likely to be judged all thanks to Dorothea Dix. It amazes me how Dorothea Dix back in the 1860's still has an effect on today's society and how we view and treat the mentally ill. She not only brought awareness to the mentally ill and prisoner's but she also served in the Civil War as

As hard as is it is today for women to succeed in the sciences, one must give kudos to those that came before us. These are the women that paved the way for today's generation of women scientists. One such woman is Rosalind Elsie Franklin, a chemist who had a great impact on the modern day field of genetics.

Although there have been several influential people in the world, the person that stood out to me most is Susan B. Anthony. Born in 1820, she was raised in a politically active family and was inspired to fight for women's rights while taking part in the Temperance Movement. Her work helped shape the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote. Susan b. Anthony’s strong belief in women's rights and how she takes initiative into turning her beliefs into a reality is extremely courageous and should be recognised by more people.

There are three women who definitely accomplished much in their lives, and had a huge impact on their societies. They are Joan of Arc, Helen Keller and Malala Yousafzai. Joan of Arc was a young French girl from the 1400’s who claimed to have a vision from God which led her to lead the French to victory in a war with the English. Helen Keller became deaf and blind when she was very young, and with the help of a gifted teacher went on to a very accomplished life. During our present day, in Pakistan a teenaged girl named Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban because she was an advocate of education for girls; she miraculously recovered from her injuries and went on to become a world renowned advocate for education and human rights.

In the early 1900’s radium was “the latest miracle substance” (Hersher & Blum, 2014). Salesmen promised that it extended lifespans, increased sex drive, made women more beautiful, and had many other fantastic effects. The world was infatuated with radium and displayed this by putting it in slews of items including face cream, bread, chocolate, suppositories, toy sets for children, drinking water (as shown in figure 1), toothpaste, watch faces, and many more products. (List from scribal.com, 2007) It was used often in pharmaceuticals and described by advertisers as “nature’s way to health.” “Doctors used it to treat everything from colds to cancer.” (Hersher & Blum, 2014) However, the “magical” substance that was radium turned out to

Many people think men are the ones to handle strong things like being a surgeon or diagnosing disease. According to 100 Most Important Women in the 20th century book, there is a struggle of women doctors/ nurses succeeding to become what they first intended to be. Virginia Apgar is one woman that went through this struggle. Clara Baton is another woman that is very inspiring and the founder of Red Cross. A more recent inspiring women doctor is Dr. Ronda Bondar. Not a lot of people recognize the historic women accomplishments and impacts as much as men’s accomplishments. All of these women made an impact some way, and not everyone takes the time to appreciate what females have done.

“If society will not admit of woman's free development, then society must be remodeled.” Elizabeth showed many people that you don't have to be a man to accomplish things. Elizabeth Blackwell impacted the citizens of the United Stated because she became the first woman to become a doctor, she also wrote many books about women's rights, Elizabeth made a school in 1874 for women to become doctors and pursue their studies just like her.

The story of radium girls has to begin with the discovery of radium in 1898 by

Marie curie made history in 1903 when she became the first woman to get a Nobel Prize in physics. With their prize winning the Curie’s got an international reputation for their scientific efforts. With the prize money they continued their research and went even further. The next year in 1904, they had their second daughter Eve. In 1906 Marie suffered a tremendous loss; when Pierre accidentally

Marie Curie... She is best known for her discovery of radium and polonium and her work with radioactivity. She encountered times of adversity in her career just because she was a woman, but she met her challenges and overcame them. Marie Curie exceeded the barriers put on women in her time to become one of the world’s most famous scientists and used her knowledge to the benefit of humanity.