Year awarded: 1903
Year of discovery: 1896
Antoine Henri Becquerel 1852 – 1908
Pierre Curie 1859 -1906
Marie Curie 1867 -1934
Becquerel came from a prominent family of scientists. He held several professorships in his life and it was by a pure accident that he discovered radiation. He had some uranium salts that had been placed next to photographic plates that caused a mysterious reaction on the plates. This of course turned out to be radiation.
Pierre Currie was also a French physicist. Like most of these guys, terrifically smart. Got his BsC at 16. Besides his work on radiation he did a lot of research on magnetism and discovered piezoelectricity. In fact he used a piezoelectric device to discover two radioactive elements radium and polonium along with his wife Marie.
He believed that there might be some link between magnetism and the paranormal. Interestingly enough Pierre and Marie’s daughter and son-in-law also received Nobel prizes in physics. Unfortunately Pierre met an unfortunate and untimely end when he fell under the wheels of a horse drawn cart in the streets of Paris. He was only 46. This whilst tragic, may have spared him from dying from radiation induced illnesses.
Not only was Marie Curie the first woman to be awarded a Nobel prize, she was the first person to win two Nobel prizes, and the only person to win a Nobel prize in two different fields… It was Madame Curie who actually coined the term radioactivity. Beyond this she was eminently successful in the fields of science and humanities and received many honors and accolades throughout the remainder of her years. Apparently Marie Curie was one also of the first Polish mountaineers. She helped established new routes in the Tatras and was one of the first women to wear pants while climbing the mountains.
She died at the age of 66 from Aplastic Anemia as a result of years of radiation exposure.
Impact of the discovery:
The impact of the discovery of radioactivity (ionizing radiation) is far reaching and ranges from benign and life saving, to sinister and diabolical. Medicine, radiocarbon dating, early luminous watches, warfare, and as an assassins poison.