Marie Curie

"We must believe that we are gifted for something."

Marie Curie 

Polish physicist Marie Curie made history in 1903 as the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, in physics, and then again in 1911 as the only woman to ever (thus far) win a second Nobel, in chemistry. She earned these honors for her groundbreaking work in discovering two new elements: radium and polonium. Though she received much acclaim for her research, Curie also suffered many hardships in her life, including the death of her beloved husband and research partner, Pierre Curie, as well as long-term physical ailments from her work with radioactive materials. Through it all, Curie remained hopeful and optimistic. In her 1937 biography, she wrote, “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”