Irene joliot curie
Irene joliot-curieIRENE JOLIOT-CURIE
Irene Curie was a brilliant dedicated scientist who accomplished many things throughout her life but was overshadowed by those around her throughout her life. She was overshadowed by Nobel laureate parents Maire and Pierre Curie, by co-laureate and husband Jean Frederick Joliot, by her physicist daughter Helene, who was married to Paul Langevin's grandson, and by biochemist son Pierre Joliot. She was also overshadowed by her non-scientist sister Eve Denise Curie, who wrote the biography of her mother that inspired so many people. Some people say that if it were not for her mother she would not have the opportunities that allowed her to become one of the most brilliant scientists. Although she was overshadowed by many of the people around her, her scientific genius was inherited from her mother and father. As a daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, she was considered by colleagues with less familiar advantages to be the "Crown Princess" of science. Many were taken aback by her imperturbable calm, which they mistook for coldness, and by her direct manner in answering questions, which was misconstrued as haughtiness. She had a powerful personality, simple, direct, and self-reliant. She knew her mind and spoke it, sometimes perhaps with devastating frankness: but her remarks were informed with such regard for scientific truth and with such conspicuous sincerity that they commanded the greatest respect in all circumstances. She was finally recognized for her genius, and not her social graces. Also underestimated by her colleagues was the effect in her life and career of a devoted and brilliant teacher, her mother.
Irene was born on September 12, 1897, the elder of two daughters born to Marie and Pierre Curie. Without anticipating women's lib, but simply not questioning her ability to do so, Maire combined an active career in research with motherhood. To Marie, an important part of motherhood was orchestrating the education of her daughters. From her earliest childhood, it was clear that Irene was very intelligent and had exceptional talent in mathematics. She entered school at six. The school near the Curie home was not considered suitable so Irene began her formal education with the more challenging curriculum offered at the school on the rue(street) Cassini., near the Observatory. At the age of ten, Irene's talents and interest in mathematics were apparent. Since there was not an appropriate school for her in all of Paris, Irene, along with nine other children of prestigious scholars studied in their own school, known as the "Cooperative"(today it would be known as "home schooling" or "alternative education"). Their teachers included Marie Curie, Paul Langevin, and Jean Perrin. Perhaps equally important to Irene's intellectual development were the ongoing conversations that she shared with her mother to say nothing of the math puzzles that concluded the letters she received from her mother when they were separated. Irene finished her high school education at College...
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