The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01
WOMAN SCIENTIST is
OF RETIRING NATURE

admirers departed and the scheme fell
through, as doubtless the new one will.
AS for the feminist agitation, what
ever Nine. Curie feels toward it, she
has over and over again refused to take
any part in it, or, indeed, in any public
movement.
Two Sections
Her daily life is divided into two Sec
tions-the hours she spends at the Sor-
borne and in scientific research and the
hours She spends with her two little girls,
to whom she is devoted. 1t is impossible
to break through the barriers by which
she guards the privacy of her life. Her
house on the Avenue Kellerman is sur
rounded by high wall, and only few
chosen friends are l/ivileged to come be-
You'd The outer gate.
Ever since the sudden and terrible death
of her husband, Nine. Curie has shut her.
self off from. the world except where her
work at the Sorbonne Is concerned. Were
it not for that no doubt she would never
go beyond the gate of her garden. Init
mate friends who know and love her
say that she has never recovered and
never will recover from the shock of that
dreadful day when M. Curies body was
thought back to her shortly after he had
left the house. She has, of course, taken
up his scientific work with her own, but
the Joy has gone out of life for her.
An added grief recently has been the
death of her late husbands father, who
lived with her in the Avenue Kellerman
house. Old NJ. Curie was 81 years of age,
but his intellect was very keen and his
daughtor-in-l law was devoted to him, as
were his two grandchildren.
Nine. Cures love of research is an
inheritance. The passion for science came
to her when she was a tiny child. Her
nursery Was a laboratory and instead of
dolls she played with test tubes, retorts
and cricibies. while her father, M. Skiold
ovsld, professor of physics at a college
in yarsova, was working at experiments.
AS she grew older she became useful to
the professor
Constituted "Washer''
She learned the various places in the
labo1 atory for every instrument and
something of their meaning and use. She
constituted herself washer" always
cleaning the apparatus after experiments
were over. Quietly the little girl would
don Il large apron and busy herself rinsing
and securing TASKS. beakers, mortars,
burettss and pipettes. These were her
toys and she handled them reverently
Then the little household at Varsova
bi oke Up. The professor had no money
to leave his two daughters and they had
TO stIuSgie WITH the world themselves.
The older sister went to Austria, where
sha has become famous doctor of medi-
cine. and Nine. Curie made her way to
Paris, where for several years she en-
dCrci the most grinding poverty and the
greatest hardships. 1t was lack of money,
OF course, which necessitated her pursu-
ing her studies in the municipal working
class technical school. and It was in the
laboratory there that her wonderful cap
abilities attracted the attention of Pro-
fessor Clrie. Their marriage was very
perfect one. Together they worked at
science Together they cared for their
two little girls Together they received
the Nobe, science award. and Paris has
never forgotten how M. Curie refused the
Cross OF the Legion of Honor because a
similar decoration was not offered to his
wife.
An Ideal Couple
This local couple were never separated
in thought or idea, nor We're they ever
apart from one another for single day.
They were friends and comrades as well
as man and wife, and in France they will
go down to posterlty not only as two OF