Marie Sklodowska Curie, Polish-born French physicist and chemist

“I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale. We should not allow it to be believed that all scientific progress can be reduced to mechanisms, machines, gearings, even though such machinery also has its beauty. Neither do I believe that the spirit of adventure runs any risk of disappearing in our world.” (from “Madame Curie: A Biography” by Eve Curie Labouisse, 1937, translated by Vincent Sheean)

Nov. 7, 1867-July 4, 1934