French radiochemist. Born 19 October 1910 in Villemomble, France, to Anne Jeanne (Ruissel) and Emile Louis Perey, a mill owner. Four siblings. Never married. Educated École d’Enseignement Technique Féminine (Diplôme d’État de Chimiste, 1929); Université de Paris (Sorbonne) (license; D.Sc., 1946). Professional experience: Institut du Radium, Paris, researcher (1929–1949), préparateur (assistant to M.Curie); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Maître de Recherches (1946–1949); University of Strasbourg, professor, director of laboratory (later under the auspices of the CNRS) (1949–?). Honors and memberships: Grand Prix of the City of Paris; Académie des Sciences (Lavoisier Prize, Laureate, corresponding member); Silver Medal, Société Chimique de France; officer, Legion of Honor; National Order of Merit and Order of Academic Palms, commander (academic decoration). Died 13 May 1975, in Paris.
Perey was born near Paris into a Protestant family of Swiss and Alsatian descent. Her father died when she was very young (in 1914), leaving the family in difficult financial circumstances, Perey and her older siblings, Jacques, Jean, Paul, and Madeleine, had no funds for higher education. Perey was trained as a chemical technician, and upon graduation began work under MARIE CURIE at the Institut du Radium. Curie acted as a mentor to the young technician, making Perey her personal assistant and helping her to develop her chemical knowledge and skills.
In 1939 Perey discovered the elusive élement 87, which she named francium after her native country. Eventually she completed studies at the Sorbonne. After receiving her diploma, Perey submitted her work on élement 87 (“L’élement 87: Actinium K”), for which she received a doctorate in physics in 1946. In 1949 she was appointed to a newly created chair of nuclear chemistry at the University of Strasbourg. There she developed a program in radiochemistry and nuclear chemistry, as well as a laboratory (later the Laboratory of Nuclear Chemistry of the Center of Nuclear Researches, Strasbourg-Cronenbourg). Perey received many honors for the discovery of francium, including election to the Academy of Sciences—its first female corresponding member. She died from cancer resulting from exposure to radiation.
In Curie’s laboratory, Perey first worked to purify actinium, a difficult and painstaking process. After several years her source was sufficiently concentrated to give a measurable spark emission spectrum. After Curie’s death in 1934 Perey worked under André Debierne and I.Joliot-Curie, both of whom suggested that she continue purifying actinium. While doing so, Perey found previously unnoticed beta radiation from her actinium, which she concluded came from a new radioelement. Her tests showed that the new substance behaved like an alkali metal. Further study indicated that it was the long sought-after élement number 87, which fit into the periodic table above cesium. This turned out to be the last of the missing elements which exists in nature (those discovered later can only be produced artificially.)
The discovery of francium made Perey famous. Not yet thirty years old and lacking a university degree, she had succeeded in a task that had confounded many experienced researchers. Perey finally obtained her undergraduate degree and doctorate after the war. She continued to investigate francium’s properties and determined that it tended to concentrate in cancerous tissues in laboratory rats.
MM
PRIMARY SOURCES
Perey, Marguerite. With S.Rosenblum and M.Guillot. “Sur l’intensité des groupes de structure fine des spectres magné-tiques a du radioactinium et des descendants.” Comptes rendus 202 (1936):1274–1276.
——. “Sur un élement 87, derive de l’Actinium.” Comptes rendus 208 (1939):97–99.
——. “L’Élément 87” and “Propriétés chimiques de l’élément 87: Actinium K.” Journal de Chimie Physique et de Physico-Chimie Biologique 43 (1946): 152–168, 262–268.
——. With Jean-Pierre Adloff. “Separation chromatographique du Francium.” Comptes rendus 236 (1953); 1163–1165.
——. With A.Chevallier. “Sur la répartition de l'élément 87: francium dans le sarcome experimental du rat.” Comptes rendus société biologie 145 (1951):1208–1211.
