Curie, Pierre (1859-1906)
French physicist
Pierre Curie was a physicist who became famous for his collaboration with his wife Marie Curie in the study of radioactivity. Before joining his wife in her research, Pierre Curie was already widely known and respected in the world of physics. He discovered (with his brother Jacques) the phenomenon of piezoelectricity—in which a crystal can become electrically polarized—and invented the quartz balance. His papers on crystal symmetry and his findings on the relation between magnetism and temperature also earned praise in the scientific community.
Pierre Curie was born in Paris, the son of Sophie-Claire Depouilly, daughter of a formerly prominent manufacturer, and Eugène Curie, a free-thinking physician who was also a physician's son. Dr. Curie supported the family with his modest medical practice while pursuing his love for the natural sciences on the side. He was also an idealist and an ardent republican who set up a hospital for the wounded during the Commune of 1871. Pierre was a dreamer whose style of learning was not well adapted to formal schooling. He received his
pre-university education entirely at home, taught first by his mother and then by his father as well as his older brother, Jacques.
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