REPORT pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
A Postage Stamp Honoring Marie Curie: An Opportunity To Connect Chemistry and History Gabriel Pinto* Grupo de Innovacion Educativa de Didactica de la Química, ETS de Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, 28006 Madrid, Spain ABSTRACT: A postage stamp issued in Spain in honor of Marie Curie, in the context of the International Year of Chemistry, is presented. This stamp represents an opportunity to link chemistry concepts (i.e., radioactivity, properties of polonium and radium) and history of science topics (e.g., discovery of spontaneous radiation, biography of Marie Curie, culture in the Spain of interwar years). KEYWORDS: General Public, History/Philosophy, Communication/Writing, Applications of Chemistry, Enrichment/Review Materials, Women in Chemistry
A
s pointed out by Chenier, the use of specific postage stamps can be an interesting and valuable aid in teaching chemistry.1 A previous letter2 illustrated how a postage stamp, launched in Spain in 2007 in honor of Mendeleev, could serve as an opportunity to link chemistry and art in the classroom, and to introduce and to discuss different concepts in general chemistry, such as the periodic table. On February 7, 2011, the postage stamp shown in Figure 1 was issued by Correos (the postal services authority in Spain),3 in honor of Marie Curie (1867 1934), on the occasion of the celebration of the International Year of Chemistry (IYC). The proposal for this postage stamp was submitted to the Direccion de Filatelia de la Sociedad Estatal de Correos y Telegrafos by the Real Sociedad Espa~nola de Química and the Foro Química y Sociedad and had support from other interested groups and individuals in Spain. This stamp is remarkable because this is only the second time in Spanish history that the word “chemistry” appears in a Spanish postage stamp. Typically, about 100 new stamps per year are issued by Correos. The year 2011 was considered an opportune time to celebrate the contributions of women to science, as it coincides with the 100th anniversary of Marie Curie’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded for her discoveries and studies of two new elements, radium and polonium.
Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, for study of spontaneous radiation. Marie Curie’s research also opened up new areas of medicine. As mentioned before, in 1911, Marie Curie again won the Nobel Prize, this time in chemistry; the International Year of Chemistry 2011 also celebrates this centenary. On the fourth topic, the biography of Marie Curie has been written in many forms for audiences ranging from children4 to lay readers5 to history of science scholars.6 Chemistry International, a news magazine of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recently published a commemorative special issue7 devoted to different aspects of the biography and research of Marie Curie. Her life story is fascinating, from the point of view of science and for her historical context. For example, during World War I, she organized mobile radiology installations, known as petites Curies, which transported X-ray apparatus to the wounded at the battlefront. Curie’s first radiological assistant was her 17-year-old daughter, Irene, who was also awarded later, jointly with her husband, Frederic Joliot, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in 1935.8
’ MARIE CURIE’S CONNECTIONS WITH SPAIN As probably the most famous female scientist to date, Marie Curie has inspired many tributes and recognitions, as well as films, and her portrait has appeared on stamps, coins, and bills worldwide. The portrait used for the stamp issued in Spain (see Figure 1) originates from an unpublished photograph of Marie Curie during her second visit to Spain. She visited Madrid and other cities of Spain on three occasions:9 in 1919 (invited by the First National Congress of Medicine), in 1931 (when she gave a conference about “radioactivity and the evolution of science”);
’ INCORPORATING DISCUSSION OF THIS STAMP IN CHEMISTRY CLASSROOMS This stamp could serve as a simple teaching tool to catalyze discussions with students about topics such as: 1. Radioactivity and its applications 2. Properties of polonium and radium 3. History of science 4. Biography of Marie Curie Regarding the third topic, one starting point could be learning that together with her husband, Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerel, Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Published: April 11, 2011 687
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Figure 1. A commemorative envelope showing the Spanish postage stamp (right) issued on February 7, 2011 in honor of Marie Curie and to celebrate the occasion of the International Year of Chemistry. The postal cancellation mark is visible (top center and right); this envelope also has additional images (shown on the left) unique to the first day of issue. Reproduced with permission. Copyright 2011 Sociedad Estatal de Correos y Telegrafos, S.A.
and in 1933, as chairperson of a meeting about the future of culture for the Permanent Committee on Arts and Letters of the Committee on Intellectual Cooperation (precursor of UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) of The League of Nations (the intergovernmental organization founded in 1919 as a result of the Paris Peace Conference and the precursor to the United Nations). The last two activities Marie Curie undertook in Spain were celebrated in the Residencia de Estudiantes10 (literally the “Students’ Residence”). From its creation in 1910 until 1936, when its activities were interrupted by the Civil War, this prestigious institution was the foremost cultural center in Spain, and the scene of some of the most lively and fruitful scientific and artistic exchanges in Europe in the interwar years. Filmmaker Luis Bu~ nuel, poets such as Juan Ramon Jimenez (Nobel Prize in Literature, 1956) and Federico García Lorca, the painter Salvador Dalí, and scientists such as Severo Ochoa (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1959) were some of the famous Spaniards who lived in or visited the Residencia. In addition to Marie Curie, the economist John M. Keynes, architects such as Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, the composer and conductor Igor Stravinsky, the philosopher Henri Bergson, the writer Paul Valery, the sculptor Alexander Calder, and the physicist Albert Einstein, are a few examples of visiting luminaries of the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid.
about local, national, and international IYC events. Perhaps your students would participate in the Global Stamp Competition,12 or simply enjoy seeing a gallery of stamps from around the world celebrating IYC.13 A recent news article describes and displays the stamps related to IYC that are available to date.14 Share the commemoration and celebration with your students: inspire them with stories of real-life scientists and engage your students’ enthusiasm to study chemistry.
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected].
’ ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author gratefully recognizes support provided by the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid under Project IE 10053535 and also thanks the reviewers and editors for helpful suggestions. ’ REFERENCES (1) Chenier, P. C. J. Chem. Educ. 1986, 63, 498–500. (2) Pinto, G. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 1919. (3) Correos, Febrero 2011. http://www.correos.es/comun/filatelia/0400-filatelia.asp (accessed Apr 2011) http://correos.es/comun/ filatelia/2011/0450_11-seleccionaSello.asp?idSello=2022011&idiom=ENG&idiomaWebActual=ES (English language version of the page, accessed Apr 2011). (4) (a) MacLeod, E. Marie Curie: A Brilliant Life; Kids Can Press: Toronto, Canada, 2004. (b) McClafferty, C. K. Something out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium; Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York, 2006. (5) Redniss, L. Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie—A Tale of Love and Fallout; HarperCollins: New York, 2010. (6) Goldsmith, B. Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie; W. W. Norton & Company: New York, 2004. (7) IUPAC’s Chemistry International Publication of Marie Skzodowska Curie: A Special Issue Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Her
’ CONCLUDING REMARKS A postage stamp issued by postal authorities commemorating an individual conveys a message of official acknowledgment of that person’s contribution and importance. In this instance, Spain is officially proclaiming and bestowing value and honor on Marie Curie and celebrating her, especially during this International Year of Chemistry. UNESCO and IUPAC developed an IYC Web site11 for connecting teachers, students, and practitioners of chemistry, as well as the public, with resources and information 688
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Nobel Prize in Chemistry. http://www.iupac.org/publications/ci/ 2011/real_pages/Jan11CI/index.html (accessed Apr 2011). (8) American Institute of Physics Center for the History of Physics. Marie Curie and the Science of Radioactivity. http://www.aip.org/ history/curie/ (accessed Apr 2011). (9) Sanchez Ron, J. M. Marie Curie y Su Tiempo; Drakontos Bolsillo: Barcelona, Spain, 2009. (10) The Residencia de Estudiantes Home Page. http://www. residencia.csic.es/en/pres/presenta.htm (accessed Apr 2011). (11) IYC Home Page. http://www.chemistry2011.org/ (accessed Apr 2011). (12) IYC Web Page on the Activity, Stamps Anyone? A Global Stamp Competition. http://www.chemistry2011.org/participate/featured-ideas/stamps-anyone/ (accessed Apr 2011). (13) IYC Web Page, Postage Stamp Central. http://www. chemistry2011.org/participate/activities/show?id=533 (accessed Apr 2011); scroll down to see Spain’s stamp. (14) Wang, L. Commemorative Chemistry Stamps. Chem. Eng. News. 2011, 89 (11), 64. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/newscripts/89/ 8911newscripts.html (accessed Apr 2011).
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