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science_memes·Science Memesbyfossilesque

One photograph. Two daughters. Three Nobel Prizes.

In this quiet moment captured in the early 1900s, Marie Curie sits with her daughters, Irène and Ève. It's a tender scene—a mother with her children. But behind this gentle photograph lies a story of brilliance that would echo across generations. Marie had already made history. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and later became the only person ever to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences. But her greatest legacy might not have been her discoveries. It might have been what she passed down. Irène, the elder daughter, grew up in her mother's laboratory. She watched Marie measure, test, question, and discover. She saw what passion and precision could unlock. That example took root deeply. Years later, Irène and her husband Frédéric Joliot-Curie discovered artificial radioactivity—a breakthrough that transformed our understanding of atomic physics. In 1935, they won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Their work became the foundation for nuclear medicine and energy, carrying forward the scientific torch Marie had lit. Ève, the younger daughter, chose something completely different. Gifted in music and language, she became a concert pianist, then a writer and journalist. After Marie died in 1934, Ève wrote "Madame Curie"—a biography that introduced millions worldwide to her mother's quiet strength and revolutionary discoveries. During World War II, while her sister worked in laboratories, Ève traveled as a war correspondent, documenting humanity's darkest and finest hours. Later, she devoted herself to humanitarian work with UNICEF, advocating for children across the globe.

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feddit.org

The caption makes you think each of the daughters got a nobel price LEAVE SOME FOR THE REST OF US MARIE

140

Her father in law lived with them after his wife died shortly after her first daughter was born. He acted as babysitter when Marie was working. They also hired a servant to take care of most housework and cooking.

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One of them did, though! Irene Joliot-Curie got the 1935 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

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kbin.earth

I wonder if either offspring had radiation-related illnesses?

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The one who was a chemist did, but probably because of her own exposure. The other one lived to 102

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That's kind of sad, Marie died in 1934, and her daughter got a Nobel prize in 1935. I'm sure she would have been extremely proud to see her daughter also get a Nobel prize.

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One photograph. Two daughters. Three Nobel Prizes. | Spyke