Marie Curie

Record year1902—1910

summaryThe Curie team established radium's chemical identity through pure radium salts, successive atomic-weight measurements, and periodic placement; in 1910 Marie Curie and Debierne obtained metallic radium and tested that its radioactivity was independent of its compound state.

M rationalePurification, atomic-weight confirmation, periodic placement, and metallic-state verification form an internationally important chain of chemical identity and experimental material, supporting foundational capabilities for radioactivity research.

attribution rationaleAttribution to this person: Pierre Curie (8.00%): early maturation of pure salts was closely connected to the couple's joint research, and the 1905 lecture states that “we” obtained pure salts; the share does not extend to posthumous precision measurement in 1907 or metallic preparation in 1910. Complete attribution budget: Marie Curie (52.00%): Marie particularly undertook prolonged fractional crystallization, preparation of pure salts, atomic-weight measurement, and chemical-identity argument, and jointly completed the work on metallic radium; these were the principal direct actions in the maturation chain. Pierre Curie (8.00%): early maturation of pure salts was closely connected to the couple's joint research, and the 1905 lecture states that “we” obtained pure salts; the share does not extend to posthumous precision measurement in 1907 or metallic preparation in 1910. André-Louis Debierne (18.00%): Debierne and Marie jointly completed preparation of metallic radium in 1910; this share claims only metallic-state verification within the maturation chain, not all work on pure salts and atomic weights. Eugène Demarçay (5.00%): Demarçay's radium spectral lines and their strengthening with enrichment provided continuing verification for purification progress and elemental identity. Unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (10.00%): tonne-scale residue processing, factory pretreatment, material transport, and prolonged laboratory implementation lack a complete roster, so responsibility not absorbable by named authors is retained. Public publication of original research (3.00%): contemporary public delivery of multistage outcomes bears limited institutional responsibility and does not claim the chemical work. Unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (4.00%): retains a remaining budget for gaps in reagent, instrument, operational, and analytical responsibility caused by unread original papers.

overlap boundaryPure salts, atomic weight, and metallic state are treated as one maturation chain; early element identification is not duplicated.

Evidence gapsThe original papers of 1902, 1907, and 1910 and the specific division of labor in metallic preparation still require article-by-article examination.

Record year1897—1898

summaryMarie Curie's quantitative activity measurements advanced observations of anomalous minerals into a method for searching for new elements through successive separations and remeasurement of activity. She and Pierre Curie publicly identified polonium and radium with reservations on the basis of chemical behavior, activity enrichment, and spectroscopic evidence.

M rationaleActivity-guided separation and remeasurement formed a generally applicable method for searching for new elements and delivered qualified identifications of polonium and radium; this assessment concerns the discovery entry point and the method's scope.

attribution rationaleAttribution to this person: Pierre Curie (25.00%): Pierre modified apparatus for measuring weak currents, joined the search after the anomalous-mineral result, and participated in physical measurement, separation procedures, and two joint reports. Complete attribution budget: Marie Curie (35.00%): Marie selected the research question, completed preliminary quantitative measurement, atomic-property and anomalous-mineral judgments, proposed the search hypothesis, and jointly advanced activity-guided separation and the two reports; after C02 is merged, these actions are claimed here only once. Pierre Curie (25.00%): Pierre modified apparatus for measuring weak currents, joined the search after the anomalous-mineral result, and participated in physical measurement, separation procedures, and two joint reports. Gustave Bémont (12.00%): Bémont supplied chemical operations, advice, and assistance, and coauthored the radium report; this is not generic support that can be absorbed by the label “assistant.” Henri Becquerel (8.00%): Becquerel had previously discovered uranium radiation and air ionization and submitted the two reports; prior work and public linkage do not mean jointly completing the new-element search. Eugène Demarçay (5.00%): Demarçay conducted key spectroscopic tests: the polonium candidate lacked a distinctive line, while the radium candidate showed an unknown line increasing with activity, providing positive and negative verification for the qualified identification. Unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (8.00%): restores the remaining budget for complete instrument, specimen, chemical, and material support in the existing shared ledger; it does not transfer Schmidt's credit to the Curies or to unknown persons. Public publication of original research (3.00%): contemporary laboratory work, Academy submissions, and journal publication made the joint experiments public knowledge; it does not claim the scientific inference itself. Unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (4.00%): retains responsibility for experimental division of labor, material handling, and other direct assistance not given in the original reports, avoiding forced consolidation from the author list.

overlap boundaryThe two 1898 reports on polonium and radium are treated as the same research procedure; later pure radium, decay theory, and nuclear technology are excluded.

Evidence gapsThe original French reports of 1898, the chemical division of labor, and the history of independent adoption still require further checking.

Record yearFrom 1911

summaryMarie Curie prepared a pure radium-chloride reference material; Otto Hönigschmid prepared comparison and distribution standards, and sample comparison, international custody, transnational certification, and United States national-laboratory calibration formed a bounded international radium-metrology chain.

M rationaleThe reference material, independent comparison and distribution, international custody, transnational certification, and actual national-laboratory calibration together constitute an internationally important metrological method and platform.

attribution rationaleAttribution to this person: Marie Curie (22.00%): prepared 21.99 milligrams of pure radium chloride reference material and participated in certification of a United States secondary standard; the share does not expand to the whole international system or add credit merely on the strength of an institutional name. Complete budget: Marie Curie (22.00%): prepared 21.99 milligrams of pure radium chloride reference material and participated in certification of a United States secondary standard; the share does not expand to the whole international system or add credit merely on the strength of an institutional name; Otto Hönigschmid (20.00%): explicitly prepared comparison and distribution standards, the direct key action that turned a single reference material into a transferable metrology chain; Stefan Meyer (7.00%): participated in certification of United States Standard No. 6 and receives limited responsibility for transnational certification; Ernest Rutherford (5.00%): Rutherford participated in certification of a United States secondary standard and receives only the certification action, not his other radioactivity research; International Bureau of Weights and Measures reference-material custody (12.00%): BIPM undertook institutional custody of the international reference material and a verifiable interface; United States National Bureau of Standards calibration service (10.00%): in 1914, NBS actually used the standard to calibrate submitted preparations, completing delivery of national metrology service; Curie Institute radium-content measurement service (8.00%): institute staff provided radium-content measurement service, and that institutional labor is not assigned entirely to Marie Curie's personal contribution; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (12.00%): other participants in the commission, four-sample comparison laboratories, and distribution chain are not fully named, retaining shared institutional and experimental responsibility; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (4.00%): the original certificate and complete custody chain have not been read, leaving a residual account for unknown direct operations.

overlap boundaryCounts only the reference material, comparison, custody, certification, and calibration; it does not count radium purification again or combine later nuclear metrology, medical demand, or therapeutic outcomes.

Evidence gapsThe original certificate, committee records, comparison-experiment details, custody chain, and the time range of the institute's measurement service remain to be read and checked.

Record year1914—1918

summaryDuring the First World War, Marie Curie helped raise vehicles and equipment, organized conversions, and worked on site; together with Irène Curie, military doctors, operators, and hospital systems, she delivered mobile and fixed X-ray services and operational training.

M rationaleVehicles, facilities, field operations, and training formed a service system across multiple hospitals and professionals, a delivered capability beyond a single device or one demonstration.

attribution rationaleCredit for this person: Marie Curie (34.00%): existing materials clearly support Marie's raising of vehicles and equipment, organization of conversions, participation in field service, and promotion of training; the share covers only her direct organizational and implementation responsibility within the service system. Full attribution budget: Marie Curie (34.00%): existing materials clearly support Marie's raising of vehicles and equipment, organization of conversions, participation in field service, and promotion of training; the share covers only her direct organizational and implementation responsibility within the service system; Irène Curie (12.00%): institutional history explicitly records Irène's field work and assistance with training in 1916; her later research achievements are not credited to this item; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (20.00%): military doctors, operators, and other instructors directly enabled vehicles, fixed facilities, and training to operate, but available materials do not provide a complete roster or division of labor; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (16.00%): vehicles, X-ray equipment, conversions, and funding were constituent inputs to the service system; vendors, donors, and procurement roles have not been established one by one; French military, hospitals, and fixed-facility delivery system (14.00%): military management, hospital reception, and fixed-facility operation and maintenance bore cross-site delivery responsibility and cannot be exclusively claimed by an individual organizer; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (4.00%): the remaining account is reserved for transportation, maintenance, power supply, materials, and field collaboration not yet established.

overlap boundaryMobile vehicles, fixed stations, equipment, operations, and training are treated as one service capability; diagnostic accuracy, cures, or survival are not presumed.

Evidence gapsVehicles, facilities, staffing scale, course documents, operating records, and actual divisions of labor require independent checking against wartime archives.

Record yearAround 1900 (original paper awaiting verification)

summaryThe Curies identified that solids temporarily acquire radioactivity in an environment of active air and lose it according to characteristic laws. This outcome records the phenomenon and description of temporary deposition and decay.

M rationaleThis result revealed a new phenomenon that can be reproducibly manipulated and measured, constituting important experimental knowledge in radiation physics and chemistry.

attribution rationaleAttribution to this person: Pierre Curie (30.00%): together with Marie, he discovered that solids are temporarily radioactive in active air and described their decay; he does not claim Rutherford's emanation hypothesis or decay theory. Complete attribution budget: Marie Curie (30.00%): the 1905 lecture explicitly attributes the discovery of induced radioactivity to the joint work of Marie and Pierre; current material does not support further division of the internal experimental actions beyond the marital relationship. Pierre Curie (30.00%): together with Marie, he discovered that solids are temporarily radioactive in active air and described their decay; he does not claim Rutherford's emanation hypothesis or decay theory. Public publication of original research (4.00%): contemporary public delivery bears limited institutional responsibility. Unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (36.00%): before the original papers and time chain are checked, Rutherford is not pre-characterized; the released share returns to the pool of unresolved direct actions and is not transferred to the Curies.

overlap boundaryOnly the induced phenomenon is counted; atomic decay theory, later materials research, and medical uses are not included.

Evidence gapsThe original papers, division of labor, and the temporal and causal relation to Rutherford's emanation research remain unresolved.

Record year1898

summaryUsing ionization and photographic effects of thorium compounds, Marie Curie independently confirmed that spontaneous radiation was not unique to uranium. Together with Gerhard Carl Schmidt's parallel discovery, this result defined the outcome of thorium radiation.

M rationaleMultiple thorium compounds and different tests provide checkable support, constituting a bounded and definite increment of specialized experimental knowledge.

attribution rationaleCredit for this person: Marie Curie (40.00%): conducted ionization, absorption, and photographic tests of thorium compounds in the original report. Full attribution budget: Marie Curie (40.00%): conducted ionization, absorption, and photographic tests of thorium compounds in the original report; Gerhard Carl Schmidt (40.00%): an independent German discovery explicitly stated in a 1905 lecture; the internal chronology has not been examined in detail, and independent discoverers are treated symmetrically in this point estimate; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (12.00%): instruments, prior work on uranium radiation, samples, and inputs into Schmidt's experiments have not been fully apportioned; a complete share is not guessed because the original text names only some sample suppliers; public publication of the original research (3.00%): public release of research and delivery of experimental facilities; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (5.00%): remaining experimental actions not established.

overlap boundaryOnly independent confirmation of thorium's spontaneous radiation is counted; methods for searching for polonium and radium are not duplicated, and the same discovery is not copied for two discoverers.

Evidence gapsSchmidt's original paper and the exact chronology relative to Curie's experiments have not been directly examined.

Record yearBefore 1911 (lecture retrospective)

summaryMarie Curie and Debierne concentrated subsequent polonium samples into experimental material suitable for spectral observation and comparison of radioactive particles and helium amounts, forming a post-discovery chain of polonium characterization and measurement.

M rationaleSpecified sample handling, candidate spectral lines, and experimental measurements constitute a bounded specialized experimental chain beyond early element identification.

attribution rationaleAttribution to this person: Marie Curie (40.00%): the stated actions of joint concentration and spectral characterization; the entire particle-counting work described passively below is not assigned to Marie as sole implementer. Complete budget: Marie Curie (40.00%): the stated actions of joint concentration and spectral characterization; the entire particle-counting work described passively below is not assigned to Marie as sole implementer; André-Louis Debierne (35.00%): joint sample preparation, and verification that polonium produces helium, which the lecture explicitly attributes to Debierne; he is not treated merely as an assistant; Ernest Rutherford (8.00%): the lecture explicitly says particle counting used Rutherford's electrical method, and this share covers only that specific methodological premise; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (14.00%): unresolved inputs from factory processing, samples, spectra, and recording apparatus; publication of the original research (3.00%): public delivery of experimental knowledge.

overlap boundaryKeeps this separate from the 1898 identification and the maturation of radium's chemical identity; it does not combine transmutation theory or the discovery of helium.

Evidence gapsThe joint experimental paper, author actions, spectral-line attribution, and division of particle-counting work remain to be verified.

Record yearAround 1900 (original paper awaiting verification)

summaryThe Curies verified through electrical and field-deflection-related experiments that beta rays from radioactive substances carry negative charge, limiting the conclusion to the experimental range then comparable with electrons and cathode rays.

M rationaleThis is a specialized experimental judgment that continues to hold in radiation physics and established the negative electrical nature of beta radiation.

attribution rationaleAttribution to this person: Pierre Curie (28.00%): completed the negative-charge verification jointly with Marie; the share is limited to this experimental judgment and does not claim all radiation classification. Complete budget: Marie Curie (28.00%): a 1905 lecture explicitly says that Marie and Pierre jointly verified that beta rays carry negative charge; as the specific internal actions are not separately clear, a symmetrical estimate of central responsibility is used; Pierre Curie (28.00%): completed the negative-charge verification jointly with Marie, with the share limited to this experimental judgment and not all radiation classification; Ernest Rutherford (8.00%): Rutherford's classification of alpha/beta rays and research on their field behavior provide explicit background for this item, not joint completion of the Curies' negative-charge verification; Henri Becquerel (4.00%): Becquerel's discovery of uranium radiation and subsequent ray research form prior work and receive only the limited input connected to this experimental question; Joseph John Thomson (4.00%): the electron/cathode-ray framework is explicit theoretical and experimental prior work for explaining beta rays' negative charge and does not receive credit for radioactive-ray verification; publication of the original research (4.00%): limited institutional responsibility for public delivery of the original experiment, and journal identity does not replace experimental contribution; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (24.00%): the original paper and division of work have not been read, retaining unassigned direct inputs from apparatus, experimental assistance, and contemporary ray research rather than filling the budget with names from a review.

overlap boundaryCounts only the joint verification of beta rays and keeps it separate from secondary X-ray experiments and the discovery of the electron.

Evidence gapsThe original paper, apparatus, quantitative conclusion, and relation to contemporary work have not yet been directly read and checked.

Record yearAround 1921 (formal governance date to be verified)

summaryMarie Curie explicitly identified research-resource needs, participated in international radium fundraising, and, with Marie Meloney, committees, donors, and colleagues, organized funds and resources that gave research, training, and measurement institutions operational capacity.

M rationaleInternational resource mobilization and institutional capacity building were implemented, and the institution actually carried research, training, and measurement services, giving it sustained professional structural significance.

attribution rationaleCredit for this person: Marie Curie (25.00%): Marie identified laboratory needs, participated in seeking resources and international visits, and organized fund and institutional resources with colleagues; she is credited only for identifiable actions. Full attribution budget: Marie Curie (25.00%): Marie identified laboratory needs, participated in seeking resources and international visits, and organized fund and institutional resources with colleagues; she is credited only for identifiable actions; Marie Meloney (22.00%): institutional history explicitly attributes organizational responsibility for the United States radium fundraising campaign to Meloney, which cannot be absorbed by Marie's public visibility; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (22.00%): committees and donors actually supplied organizational networks and funds, but their membership and shares have not been resolved item by item; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (12.00%): colleagues and foundation organizers jointly formed governance and resource vehicles, while available materials do not provide complete charters and names; institute administration and staff (12.00%): administration and staff turned raised resources into actual capacity for research, training, and measurement; only institution-building is counted, not later achievements; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (7.00%): records of finance, law, procurement, and international coordination are not closed, so the remaining account is retained.

overlap boundaryOnly definition of needs, fundraising interfaces, and resource organization are counted; the institute's later papers, treatments, personnel achievements, and measurement services are not combined.

Evidence gapsCharters, finances, formal governance roles, and records of converting resources into new capacity remain to be verified.

Record year1910

summaryOn the basis of her recent Sorbonne course on radioactivity, Marie Curie published as sole author the two-volume Treatise on Radioactivity, systematically organizing ions and electrons, experiment and measurement, radioactive substances, emanation, induced radioactivity, transmutation theory, and radiation properties.

M rationaleThe two-volume work was actually published and explicitly derived from a course already taught, producing a sustainably reusable systematic text beyond a one-time lecture or unimplemented teaching intent.

attribution rationaleAttribution to this person: Pierre Curie (5.00%): Pierre died in 1906 and receives no direct share for the 1910 course or writing; only his joint early research synthesized in the work is retained as limited knowledge prior work. Complete budget: Marie Curie (52.00%): the title page and introduction explicitly identify Marie as author and say the work arose from her Sorbonne course; the share is limited to course organization, synthesis, and book production; Pierre Curie (5.00%): Pierre died in 1906 and receives no direct share for the 1910 course or writing, retaining only his joint early research synthesized in the work as limited knowledge prior work; Ernest Rutherford (6.00%): content such as transmutation theory has explicit Rutherford knowledge prior work, and this share does not recast his theory as an original result of Marie's book; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (17.00%): the two volumes synthesize broad physics and chemistry research, and as a chapter-by-chapter source map is not complete, other researchers' knowledge inputs are retained; Sorbonne course organization and delivery (8.00%): the Sorbonne course provided an actually occurring teaching setting and organizational vehicle, without substituting the school's prestige for authorial labor; Gauthier-Villars publishing house (8.00%): the publisher undertook editing, printing, and public delivery of the two-volume text; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (4.00%): specific editors, proofreaders, illustrators, and printers are unnamed, retaining a limited residual account.

overlap boundaryCounts only course-based organization and book delivery; the original research restated in the book, other researchers' theories, and Pierre's early teaching are not combined.

Evidence gapsCourse dates, student range, sales, editions, translations, reviews, adoption history, and a chapter-by-chapter attribution map are still absent.

Record yearAround 1916

summaryThe experimental service chain in which Marie Curie worked actually supplied hospitals with radium emanation or radon preparations. This achievement describes only a traceable preparation and supply service.

M rationaleThis was an actually occurring professional material-service chain. Although complete records of reception scope, quantities, and duration are absent, its limited delivery capability can still be confirmed.

attribution rationaleCredit for this person: Marie Curie (35.00%): existing recollections and institutional history connect the 1916 hospital emanation supply to Marie's wartime work; the share is limited to organizing and participating in supply and does not mean that she personally completed all preparation and distribution. Full attribution budget: Marie Curie (35.00%): existing recollections and institutional history connect the 1916 hospital emanation supply to Marie's wartime work; the share is limited to organizing and participating in supply and does not mean that she personally completed all preparation and distribution; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (12.00%): institutional history explicitly says the supply used prior Dublin technology, but the specific people, papers, and transfer path have not been checked, so responsibility for prior work is retained only as a role pool; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (22.00%): preparation, collection, packaging, dose handling, and protection required direct laboratory labor, and no complete personnel record exists; receiving hospitals and clinical-end handling system (15.00%): receiving hospitals were responsible for ordering, reception, and clinical-end handling; this share does not imply therapeutic efficacy; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (10.00%): transport, containers, and handoff are direct constituent actions of material service, and records do not yet name them; unnamed direct research, implementation, or support inputs (6.00%): the remaining account is retained for other direct inputs absent from supply logs.

overlap boundaryPreparation and supply are separate from diagnostic X-ray service; material supply does not presume therapeutic effects, harms, or net health outcomes.

Evidence gapsSupply logs, hospital lists, dates, quantities, frequencies, technical transfer, and the complete personnel chain are still missing.