Origins & Early Life

Marguerite Catherine Perey (19 October 1909 – 13 May 1975) was a French physicist and a student of Marie Curie. In 1939, Perey discovered the element francium by purifying samples of lanthanum that contained actinium. She graduated from the Sorbonne in 1946 with a Doctorate of Physics; her thesis was about her recently discovered element 87. In 1962, she was the first woman to be elected to the French Académie des Sciences, an honor denied to her mentor Curie.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Perey was born in 1909 in Villemomble, France, just outside Paris, where the Curies' Radium Institute was located. Although she hoped to study medicine, the death of her father left the family in financial difficulties. Perey earned a chemistry diploma from Paris' Technical School of Women's Education in 1929; while not a "degree", it did qualify her to work as a chemistry technician. In 1929 at the age of 19, Perey interviewed for a role as a personal assistant (technician) to Marie Curie at Curie's Radium Institute in Paris, France, and was hired. Marie Curie took on a mentoring role to Perey, taking her on as her personal assistant.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Under Marie Curie's guidance at the Radium Institute, Perey...

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