Born November 7, 1867, Warsaw, Congress Kingdom of Poland, Russian Empire—died July 4, 1934

Marie Curie was a groundbreaking female scientist who persisted through gender barriers to achieve mathematics and science degrees. 

Curie was the first female Nobel Prize winner. She was awarded a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 for her study of spontaneous radiation. In 1911 she received a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, in recognition of her work in radioactivity.