Marie Curie is widely regarded as a talented scientist whose work changed the world. She is best known for her discovery of radium and polonium and for her work on radioactivity. Curie experienced times of adversity during her career due to bias against women in her field, but she faced her challenges and overcame them. Marie Curie broke through the barriers imposed on women in her time to become one of the world's most famous scientists and used her knowledge to benefit humanity. Marie Curie was still young when she began to break down barriers. She was born as Marya Salomee Sklodowska on November 7, 1867 in Russian-controlled Poland. From a young age, Sklodowska demonstrated a great memory and exceptional intelligence (Yannuzzi 12). Her father encouraged her to view everything as a learning experience. This motivated her to focus on her education and make the most of it. (Huso 2). In Poland, few establishments, including the University of Warsaw, welcome women. She so desperately wanted to continue her education that she attended Floating University or Flying University, an illegal underground school that admitted girls. It was at Flying University that she developed an interest in science and mathematics (Yannuzzi 23). Although she continued her studies in Paris, she paved the way for women by succeeding in a male-dominated academic field. When Sklodowska enrolled in classes at the University of Paris, she used the French equivalent of her name, Marie. At the Sorbonne, women were a minority, with only 23 women out of two thousand students (Yannuzzi 37-38). With perseverance and little money, she earned her master's degree in physics and was first in her class. Sklodo... middle of paper ... she was a woman in the early 20th century. Marie Curie clearly expresses her position on the issue when she proclaims: “First principle: never let yourself be defeated by people or events” (Huso 3). Works Cited Bagley, Mary. “Marie Curie: Facts and Biography.” Science Live. TechMedia Network, August 14, 2013. Internet. March 30, 2014.Des Jardins, Julie. “The Passion of Madame Curie.” Smithsonianmag.com. Smithsonian, October 2011.Web. March 23, 2014. Huso, Deborah. “Profiles in size: Marie Curie”. SUCCESS. Np, and Web. March 23, 2014. “Ms. Curie is dead; martyrdom of science. » The New York Times. The New York Times, July 5, 1934. Internet. March 27, 2014. Redniss, Lauren. Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, a story of love and fallout. New York: !t,2011. Print.Yannuzzi, Della A. New elements: The story of Marie Curie. Greensboro, NC: Morgan ReynoldsPub., 2006. Print.