204 - Marie CURIE (1867–1934), Polish physicist and chemist, naturalized French citizen, winner of the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Marie CURIE (1867–1934), Polish physicist and chemist, naturalized French citizen, winner of the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Typewritten letter signed “Marie Curie.” No place, no date [Probably New York, May 12, 1921]. 1 p., in-4. Beautiful and rare letterhead reading “Marie Curie Radium Fund 3 Macdougal Street New York,” flanked on either side by the list of the Executive Committee of Women and the list of the Committee of Scientists. In English. AN EXCEPTIONAL DOCUMENT FOR THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND AMERICAN WOMEN. It contains an official statement by Marie Curie upon her arrival in America during her very first trip: I have for years wished to visit America, but my laboratory work and my children have made this impossible until now. I am happy to bring my daughters to see your great country with me. They share MY GRATITUDE TO THE AMERICAN WOMEN FOR THEIR INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND MY WORK. Will you please convey my thanks to the American people? M. Curie. Translation: For years, I have wanted to visit America, but my laboratory work and my children have prevented me from doing so until now. I am happy to take my daughters to discover your beautiful country with me. They share my gratitude toward American women for their interest in science and my work. Could you, please, convey my thanks to the American people [ ]. To raise funds for the purchase of radium, Marie Curie toured the United States, accompanied by the American journalist Marie Meloney, who had founded the Marie Curie Radium Fund. The trip began in early May 1921, when Curie and her two daughters, Irène and Eve, boarded the ocean liner Olympic in Cherbourg. After a week at sea, they arrived in New York on May 11, 1921. Marie Curie’s tour of the United States lasted six and a half weeks, from May 11 to June 28. There, she visited Harvard, Yale, and Columbia, as well as women’s colleges such as Smith College and Bryn Mawr. She gave lectures, toured research laboratories, and met with scientists and donors. Marie Curie was invited to the White House on May 20, 1921, and received from the President of the United States one gram of radium (which she needed to continue her research and which was so expensive that she could not afford to buy it) funded by American women.