Polish-born French physicist (1867-1934), she and her husband Pierre discovered two new elements, polonium and radium, in 1898. In 1911 she won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. She died of leukemia brought about by her work with radioactive material. Important ALS in French, signed “M. Curie,” penned on both sides of a 5.5 x 4 Faculte des Sciences de Paris note card, March 9, 1922. Letter to a lady patron of the Institute (possibly the American Princess of Polignac, born Winaretta Singer). In full (translated): “I apologize for being so late to answer your kind letter. I will certainly have the greatest pleasure to see you again and show you the new buildings at the Radium Institute that you have not yet seen. You would also be able to watch the extraction of the emanation, that is currently being done in my Laboratory for the needs of human therapy, that constitutes in my opinion one of the most beautiful experiments in physics. Please accept, Dear Madam, the expression of my best feelings.” Some light rubbing and pencil remnants to bottom of reverse and some light central vertical creases, otherwise fine condition.
Madame Curie focused on medical uses for radium as a cancer treatment after discovering prolonged radium exposure caused chemical burns on skin. She learned radium was uranium decay, so she continued isolating the elements. When separating radium in one experiment, she discovered an empty glass vial that turned luminous in the dark, making her experiment visually "beautiful." The residue produced by the radon gas decay was captured in the glass; water was added, then the mixture poured and sealed in glass ampules and applicators to treat anything from skin diseases to cancerous growths. An extraordinary letter by one of history’s greatest physicists in the infancy of radiology research for medical treatment. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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