New Britain herald., 1921-05-11
MADAME CURIE HERE
 TO RECEIVE RADIUM
Famous French Woman of Screen
 Arrives Today

ooutTamDtOn and CherDourg.
 Madame Marie Curie whose dis covery of radium in 1898 has been called the realization of the dream Of ancient alchemists'' was born in Warsaw. Poland, on Nov. :, 1867 Her father, Professor Sklodowsist, was an instructor in physics and chemistry in the University of Warsaw and for some years before entering upon her professional career as a scientist. she worked in his laboratory. Mime. Curie received the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1903.
 She married in 1896 Pierre Curie, professor of general physics in the university of Paris. who had shared with her the honor of collaboration In giving her great find to the world. Some years later Professor Curie was struck by a wagon in Paris and killed His widow succeeded to his profes- sorship. Madame Curie has two chil- dern, Irene, 20 years old who, like her mother has taken up scientific re- search and another daughter of 15 years.
 Saves Many Lives
 The discovery of radium enriched many persons throughout the world. It has been estimated that its use during the war saved the lives of not less than 50,OoO wounded men. Notwithstanding the fact that Madame Curie has devoted more than half of her 53 years to the study of radio active substances, she is a compara- lively poor woman and lives when at home at the Institut Curie in Paris on the salary of teacher at the Sor- bonne.
 T gave my secret to the world" she declared. Tt was not to enrich anyone. It was for all the people,"
 Many fantastic stories have been told about radium and its mysterious properties. It has been said that an ounce of this metallic chemical element found in pitchblende," is worth more than $3,000,000, to ob- tain which requires the reduction of $500 tons of ore by the most pain stalking and complicated processes.
 Has None of Her Own
 The modest discoverer of radium has never, it is said. refused to re- lease it for the use of humanity world over, as a result of which her small store has become exhausted. The great Polish woman savant's visit to America, primarily for the purpose of Investigating pitchbiende deposits in Colorado. Utah. Pennsylvania and other states gave rise to the move ment on the port of American women to supply Madame Curie with a gram of radium worth s100.000 which shall be ''all her own" This will ena- bie her to continue her. researches along curative lines when she returns to Paris. f.4 s#
 Dr.. Robert Abbe New York surgeon, who worked years ago along i'm, hpr a,.iC In atory. recently declared that no other woman had ever pursued a trail into an unknown jungle and brought to light such an unsupported new factor which had had such a revolutionary influence fin science" He said she did not stumble on radium by chance
 Educated in chemistry and physics. she possessed, he said the dominat- ing will. the zeal in pursuit. the in- defati able working power, the self sacrificing bravery. The same forces which made 1t possible for Peary to reach the North Pole, carried this explorer into an unknown wilderness Every year new chapter has to be written about this wonderful sub- stance"
 Discovery of Radium
 The discovery of radium came about | in this wise: Professor Roentgen, a German scientist. announced his dis covery of the x-Ray in 1895. These l rays possessed the property of emit l ting radiationa of a special character | winch were able to penetrate through ! matter opaque tor ordinary light
 A year later H. Becquerel. French | physicist, observed that certain uran- | fum preparations emitted rays re- semoling those discovered by Roent- l gen. Becquere1 rays became the new l wonder and by delicate tests were l proved to be electrical. Thus began I the search for the new element and l every form of uranium in Iabora- 1 tories was tested
 Mms. Curie at this point diverged | from the search of other chemists | She went to Carlsbad where pitch | blende had been mined for a cen- 1 tury for the extraction of uranium in | making Bohemian grass and beauti- l full dyes. Around the mines she found | 90 tons of refuse. an analysis of which | proved it to be four times as strong | m Becquerel rays as the uranium ! which had been taken from the ore. l Mime. Curie by long and tedious pro- cess of extracting lead, silver. tin, bis | muth and other metallic substances | from the pile of refuse dissolved tho | mass until the residue was 60 times stronger than uranium. pr. Abbe says of this:
 This small remnant slowed in the dark. All but two metals had been eliminated. These were known not to have the slightest radio-activity