Marie Curie

By Jone Johnson Lewis, About.com Guide

In 1910, Marie Curie isolated radium and defined a new standard for measuring radioactive emissions which was named the "curie" for Marie and her husband. The French Academy of Sciences voted, by one vote, to turn down her admission as a member, amidst criticism of her for being foreign-born and an atheist.

The following year, she was awarded a second Nobel Prize, now in chemistry (the first was in physics).