HerstoryBound Educators: Marie Curie

I’m celebrating Women’s History Month with new bounds, or everyday cosplays, every week in March. This week’s theme is Educators.

Marie Curie

In 1903, Marie Curie was the first woman to receive a doctorate in France and three years later she became the first woman professor at the Sorbonne. She took over her husband’s position after his death.

Also in 1903, Marie Curie became the first woman to be granted a Nobel Prize, sharing the award in physics with her husband, Pierre, and their coworker Henri Becquerel. In 1911, she became the first person to earn a second Nobel Prize, this time in chemistry. She remains the only woman to have earned the award in two fields and the only person to have been awarded for multiple sciences. Curie’s daughter, Irène, followed in her mother’s footsteps, earning a doctorate in physics and sharing a Nobel Prize in chemistry with her husband, Frédéric Joliot, in 1935.

Institut Curie was born out of the determination of one woman, Marie Curie, and one important cause: the fight against cancer.

Institut Curie

Curie’s legacy extends far beyond physics and chemistry. During World War I, she developed mobile radiology vehicles called “Petit Curies” and directed their installation in the war effort along with her then 17 year old daughter. During and after the war, Curie trained other young women to take up the cause. She is a feminist icon and there are tributes to her research and her accomplishments throughout France, Poland, and the world.

About My Look

I chose to emulate Curie’s simple style, a high necked dress with exaggerated sleeves typical of Edwardian fashion. She dressed conservatively, most often in black, and very seldom wore a lab coat.

In a normal year, I would be able to take photos in a working chemistry lab. While still under strict pandemic guidelines, I had to settle for turning my candle making tools into a makeshift chem set.

The dress was purchased secondhand, one of my exciting thrift shop finds. The shoes were also purchased secondhand. The necklace was purchased on Etsy. It is inspired by the radium Curie sometimes carried with her, and glows in the dark.