Maria Skłodowska – Curie is a Polish national heroine. She was a great scientist who was born in 1867 under Russian rule. From an early age she dreamt of studying science. In Warsaw it was impossible because women could not study so she went to France and joined the Sorbonne University.

During her studies, she met her future husband - the eminent scientist, physicist Pierre Curie, and then began working with him in Henri Becquerel's laboratory. In July 1898, they discovered the first radioactive element and they called it „polonium” in honor of Poland. In 1903, she became the first woman in history to receive a PhD in physics. Maria continued her scientific research and as a result, she and her husband were awarded the Nobel Prize also in 1903. Unfortunately, 3 years later her husband died in a street accident .

In 1908 Maria Skłodowska – Curie received the Nobel Prize for her chemistry work for the second time. She is the only woman to receive this award twice from two different fields – physics and chemistry. For her, the University broke tradition. For the first time ever, it hired a woman as a lecturer and awarded the honorable title of professor.

She founded the Radium Institute in Paris and a few years later a similar one in Warsaw, but it was not opened until 1932. During World War I, she purchased cars from her own funds and equipped them with an X-ray machine. Thanks to her, thousands of soldiers underwent operations and saved their hands and legs.

When Poland regained its independence in 1918, Maria was actively involved in supporting Polish science nationally and internationally. She did so as the President of the Commission for International Cooperation in the League of Nations. Marie Curie-Skłodowska died on 4th July 1934.

To this day she is a model not only for Polish scientists but also for scientists from all over the world. She has been admired by generations of scholars. She never patented her discoveries. She believed it should be for the benefit of all mankind. She is an unequalled model. Few scientists are willing not to personally benefit from their own achievements.