Pierre Curie

Pierre Curie (15 May 1859 – 19 April 1906) was a French physicist, a pioneer in crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity and radioactivity. In 1903, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife, Marie Curie, and Henri Becquerel, "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel".

Early life

Pierre Curie was born on 15 May 1859 in Paris, France. He was the son of Dr. Eugène Curie and Sophie-Claire Depouilly Curie. He received his early education at home before entering the Faculty of Sciences at the Sorbonne. He gained his Licence ès Sciences in 1878.

Career

In 1880, Pierre and his older brother Jacques demonstrated that an electric potential was generated when crystals were compressed, i.e., piezoelectricity. To aid this work they invented the piezoelectric quartz electrometer. The following year they demonstrated the reverse effect: that crystals could be made to deform when subject to an electric field.

In 1895, Pierre Curie married Marie Skłodowska, better known as Marie Curie. Their daughter, Irène Joliot-Curie, was also a physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize, and their other daughter, Ève Curie, was a writer and pianist.

Death

Pierre Curie died in a street accident in Paris on 19 April 1906. He slipped and fell under a heavy horse-drawn cart and his skull was fractured.

Legacy

Pierre Curie's work is considered a foundation for much of modern science. His work in radioactivity, magnetism, and crystallography has had far-reaching implications in fields as diverse as electronics, medicine, and environmental science.

See also

• Curie (disambiguation)
• Curie's law
• Curie point
• Curie–Weiss law

External links

• Biography at Nobelprize.org

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