Marie Curie was born in Poland. What is Marie Curie famous for? She is one of the most famous scientists in our history. She discovered polonium and radium and was awarded the Nobel prize in 1903, alongside Henri Becquerel, for her work in radioactivity. She went on to win another Nobel prize in 1911 in chemistry for discovering these elements.

How has Marie Curie’s discoveries helped us today? She showed us how to treat tumours with radiation and helped create one of the machines that changed the world – the x-ray.