Light….through darkness…

Light through the darkness…….is a tribute to perhaps the most priced daughter in the entire eternity who rose from dust to reach stars through her will and determination and support from her beloved father. A relation which I found very serene and inspiring. So a tribute in my words

November 7, 1867, this was the day my today`s subject was born IN Warsaw (NEW WORLD POLLAND). A DAUGHTER who proved herself to the world not only once but twice. Among 5 siblings, she rose to the epitome of fame despite a roller coaster of struggles and criticism.
Mr. Wladslaw Sklodowska, was a mathematics teacher and physics instructor. This was perhaps the first inspiration of this DAUGHTER towards what she achieved in her life.
She lost her mother when she was mere 10 years of age, but that did not deter her from achieving her destiny for which she was perhaps born. Mr. Sklodowska on the other hand fulfilled all the requirements of being a father and mother of his 5 children, for which the biggest support was his DAUGHTER who took even care of her siblings despite being the youngest of all.
MARIA SKLODOWOSKA. This name was of no meaning to the world at the moment, like a uncut diamond burning in the fires deep within the earth to be discovered and rise to the glory.

So, about Maria, as a child she took after her father. She had a curious and brilliant mind which made her he most brilliant student in her school. But despite being a top student in her secondary school, she had a biggest hurdle in her way, “TO GET ADMISSION IN WARSAW MALE ONLY UNIVERSITY”, but that didn’t discourage her and she continued her studies in Warsaws “FLOATING UNIVERSITY,” a set of underground, informal classes held at secret.
Both Maria and her sister BRONYA had a common dream to pursue higher education abroad and earn an official degree, but lacked financial aid to continue. Undeterred, Maria worked a deal with her sister. She would work to support Bronya while she was in school and in return the favor after she completes her studies. So for about half a decade Maria worked as a tutor and governess. She used her spare time to study, perfecting her knowledge about Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.
With these efforts Maria finally acquired some finances and courage to enroll herself in the Sorbonne University in PARIS. She submerged herself into the studies and meagerly survived on buttered bread and tea most of her time, which took a toll on her health as well, but she went on.
At an age of 26, Maria completed her master’s degree in Physics in 1893, and another master’s degree in Mathematics in the year 1894.
Stepping into another phase of her life, she married a fellow scholar in Sorbonne University on July 26th 1895. The two were often referred as the “SCIENTIFIC DYNAMIC DUO”
Maria received a commission to perform a study on different types of steel and their magnetic properties and needed a lab to perform her research.
Maria and her husband were passionate about their fields of work and soon became devoted to each other. Although her husband was working on his own projects, an astonishing discovery made by Marie made her husband leave his own projects and join Maria to pursue her research.

Not to extend the suspense here, I would now reveal the name of this amazing “DAUGHTER MARIA” and her husband by the name she was known to the scientific world. She was MARIE CURIE and PIERRE CURIE. This was how Maria became MARRIE CURIE.
Life seemed to take a beautiful curve in her life with a loving husband and 2 daughters from their marriage, but it was not long lived. Pierre was killed in a fatal accident which left MARIE grief stricken and devastated, YET her iron will didn’t let her give up.

In the prime phase of her professional career, Marie Curie discovered radioactivity, along with radioactive elements POLONIUM and RADIUM
She also worked closely with French physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen who found X-Rays and took his work a few steps ahead and mastered the art of X-RAY
Her biggest achievement was when she discovered RADIUM present in pitchblende in year 1902.
Then came another devastation in the form of WORLD WAR 1 IN THE YEAR 1914, Instead of getting into the race of developing warfare machines and weapons of mass destruction, despite an expert in radioactive material, Marie devoted her time and immense efforts to generate the portable X-RAY machines which could be carried to the war fields for the help of humanity. These machines were thus called “LITTLE CURIES”.

CONCLUSION:
Marie Curie achieved her prime salvation in 1903 for her exemplary work in PHYSICS, when she became the first woman to be awarded with the prestigious ALFRED NOBEL PRIZE, shortly called NOBEL PRIZE. But that was not the end, she earned her second NOBEL laureate in 1911 for CHEMISTRY and became the first MAN OR WOMAN to receive this prestigious award twice.
She joined the other famous scientists like ALBERT EINSTEIN and MAX PLANCH to attend the first SOLVAY GONRESS.
Curie made many breakthroughs in her lifetime. Posthumously she was awarded honors and one such including bearing her and her husband’s name for educational institutions like PIERRE AND MARIE CURIE UNIVERSITY.
MARIE CURIE left for her ultimate journey to heavens abode on 4th of July 1934 due to aplastic anemia caused by the prolonged exposure to radiations. She was known to carry test tubes of RADIUM in her pockets of her lab coat to avoid misuse.
She was interred in the PANTHEON in PARIS as her final resting place. Even after her demise she was the first woman in the history to have received the honor of being laid to rest in peace at this historical place.

Through this journey, an immense relation is highlighted which can be a guideline for many fathers to nurture their daughters with the best possible care and opportunities for them to soar to the optimum heights and become legends.
This is my tribute to another FATHER & DAUGHTER relationship.