Marie Curie is widely recognized as one of the most important scientific figures of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her pioneering investigations into radioactivity resulted in the discovery of radium and polonium, achievements that earned her the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics, which she shared with Pierre Curie. In 1911, she was awarded a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, in recognition of her continued contributions to the field.
Curie’s influence extended well beyond the laboratory. During World War I, the knowledge and technologies associated with her research were adapted for military medical use, helping doctors improve the diagnosis and treatment of wounded soldiers near the front lines.
Marie Curie was looking to join the war effort
When the fighting broke out in 1914, Marie Curie was residing in Paris with her daughter, Irène. While wanting to continue her research, she found she only had one gram of radium at her disposal. Knowing it wouldn’t be enough and that she wouldn’t have access to more until after the war, she transported it to Bordeaux – which had been named the temporary capital of France – and locked it in a safety deposit box.
As the founding director of France’s Red Cross Radiology Service, Curie set up a laboratory at the Radium Institute. It was around this time that she found herself wanting to be of more use to the war effort. She noticed military doctors on the front were in need of X-ray technology to better help treat soldiers who’d been injured in combat.
While the technology had been around since 1895 when it was discovered by Nobel laureate Wilhelm Röntgen, it was still largely limited to use in city hospitals. Aware of this, Curie decided she would come up with a way to make it mobile.
Mobile units are developed
Although Marie Curie had taught courses on X-rays at the Sorbonne, she initially lacked extensive hands-on experience with the technology. Determined to master its practical use, she pursued further instruction to learn both the operation of X-ray equipment and the accurate interpretation of radiographic images. She also learned to drive and acquired basic mechanical skills so she could personally assist with the deployment and maintenance of mobile medical units.
Curie went on to design portable radiology stations that combined an X-ray machine, a hospital bed, a photographic darkroom, and a generator powered by the vehicle’s engine through a dynamo system. To make the project possible, she secured financial support and vehicles from private donors, persuaded French manufacturers to contribute X-ray equipment, and worked with mechanics and workshops to convert the vehicles for medical service.
After establishing the units, Curie turned her attention to preparing personnel to operate them. Together with her daughter, Irène Joliot-Curie, she trained 20 women at the Radium Institute in the use of the equipment. By the conclusion of the First World War, approximately 150 women had received instruction, enabling them to staff the mobile radiology units and help physicians diagnose injuries among soldiers near the front lines.
Deploying the mobile units to the Western Front
Despite their obvious usefulness, Marie Curie had to sell the French Army on the mobile units. In October 1914, she, Irène and a military doctor traveled to the Marne, where troops were waging a battle against the Germans. The engagement wound up being a major Allied win, preventing the German invasion of Paris.
After this, 20 mobile units were sent to the frontlines. As word spread, they began to be nicknamed the Petites Curies – or “Little Curies.” Curie also set up 200 stationary X-ray units at more permanent military posts to ensure aid was evenly distributed across France. When the war came to an end in November 1918, over one million French soldiers had benefitted from the presence of the Petites Curies on the front.
Many of the women who’d run the fleet suffered burns, due to overexposure to radiation. While Curie was aware of some of the associated health risks, she’d had no time to perfect proper safety practices. She worried about this later in life, and it led her to write a book on X-rays and wartime radiography, drawing heavily on her experiences during the war.
Marie Curie’s later life
Marie Curie’s post-war life saw her continue her research. She traveled across the world to raise funds and eventually joined the League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, alongside the likes of Albert Einstein and Henri Bergson.
Curie garnered more recognition during this time. She was awarded the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics by the University of Edinburgh in 1931, and served on the International Atomic Weights Committee until her death.
Irène eventually won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry herself, alongside Curie’s son, Frédéric.
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Curie passed away in 1934, at the age of 66, from aplastic anemia, a condition caused by the body’s inability to produce enough red blood cells. While many attributed it to her contact with radium, Curie quickly countered, saying she’d taken the necessary precautions to ensure she handled the radioisotope safely. She instead attributed her illness to the overexposure she’d received working with the Petites Curies during the First World War.