Marie Curie is one of the most important scientists in human history. She’s one of just a handful of people to win two Nobel Prizes, and she won them in two different scientific disciplines, no less. She pioneered the research of radiation. She discovered two elements. And she was on the receiving end of a lot of crap as a result, and got comfort about it from none other than Albert Einstein.
Recently a huge number of Einstein’s letters were posted online courtesy of Digital Einstein, and people quickly found his letter to Curie about trolls:
If you’re wondering what Einstein is referring to, specifically, 1911 was a crappy year for Curie professionally and personally, or at least crappier than usual. She was rejected as a member of the French Academy of Sciences, due to being a woman and an atheist, something the French right wing was overjoyed about. And if that weren’t enough, an affair she had with a man estranged from his wife came out in the press and Curie got hammered for that, as well, despite the fact her husband was five years dead.
So, yeah, she could have used a little moral support at the time, even if she did cap off the year with her second Nobel Prize win. Sadly, we have no proof she told the French Academy of Science to suck it, but we’re sure Einstein would have backed her play 100%.