Editing Marie Curie (section)

=== Life in Paris ===
In late 1891, she left Poland for France.<ref name="Estreicher1938b" /> In Paris, Maria (or Marie, as she would be known in France) briefly found shelter with her sister and brother-in-law before renting a [[garret]] closer to the university, in the [[Latin Quarter]], and proceeding with her studies of physics, chemistry, and mathematics at the [[University of Paris]], where she enrolled in late 1891.<ref name="Reid1974d" /><ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" /> She subsisted on her meagre resources, keeping herself warm during cold winters by wearing all the clothes she had. She focused so hard on her studies that she sometimes forgot to eat.<ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" /> Skłodowska studied during the day and tutored evenings, barely earning her keep. In 1893, she was awarded a degree in physics and began work in an industrial laboratory of [[Gabriel Lippmann]]. Meanwhile, she continued studying at the University of Paris and with the aid of a fellowship she was able to earn a second degree in 1894.<ref name="Estreicher1938a" /><ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" />{{efn|Sources vary concerning the field of her second degree. [[Tadeusz Estreicher]], in the 1938 ''[[Polish Biographical Dictionary]]'' entry, writes that, while many sources state she earned a degree in mathematics, this is incorrect, and that her second degree was in chemistry.<ref name="Estreicher1938a" />}}

Skłodowska had begun her scientific career in Paris with an investigation of the magnetic properties of various steels, commissioned by the [[Society for the Encouragement of National Industry]].<ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" /> That same year, [[Pierre Curie]] entered her life: it was their mutual interest in [[natural sciences]] that drew them together.<ref name="Williams1986b p331" /> Pierre Curie was an instructor at [[The City of Paris Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution]] (ESPCI Paris).<ref name="Estreicher1938a" /> They were introduced by Polish physicist [[Józef Wierusz-Kowalski]], who had learned that she was looking for a larger laboratory space, something that Wierusz-Kowalski thought Pierre could access.<ref name="Estreicher1938a" /><ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" /> Though Curie did not have a large laboratory, he was able to find some space for Skłodowska where she was able to begin work.<ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" />
[[File:Pierre Curie et Marie Sklodowska Curie 1895.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|[[Pierre Curie]] and Marie Skłodowska-Curie, 1895]]
Their mutual passion for science brought them increasingly closer, and they began to develop feelings for one another.<ref name="Estreicher1938a" /><ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" /> Eventually, Pierre proposed marriage, but at first Skłodowska did not accept as she was still planning to go back to her native country. Curie, however, declared that he was ready to move with her to Poland, even if it meant being reduced to teaching French.<ref name="Estreicher1938a" /> Meanwhile, for the 1894 summer break, Skłodowska returned to Warsaw, where she visited her family.<ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" /> She was still labouring under the illusion that she would be able to work in her chosen field in Poland, but she was denied a place at [[Kraków University]] because of [[sexism in academia]].<ref name="Wierzewski2008" /> A letter from Pierre convinced her to return to Paris to pursue a PhD.<ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" /> At Skłodowska's insistence, Curie had written up his research on [[magnetism]] and received his own doctorate in March 1895; he was also promoted to professor at the School.<ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" /> A contemporary quip would call Skłodowska "Pierre's biggest discovery".<ref name="Wierzewski2008" />

On 26 July 1895, they were married in [[Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine|Sceaux]];<ref>{{cite web |url=http://janinetissot.fdaf.org/jt_curie_marie.htm |title=Marie Curie |author=les Actus DN |access-date=24 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102102143/http://janinetissot.fdaf.org/jt_curie_marie.htm |archive-date=2 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> neither wanted a religious service.<ref name="Estreicher1938a" /><ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" /> Curie's dark blue outfit, worn instead of a bridal gown, would serve her for many years as a laboratory outfit.<ref name="Marie Curie – Student in Paris" /> They shared two pastimes: long bicycle trips and journeys abroad, which brought them even closer. In Pierre, Marie had found a new love, a partner, and a scientific collaborator on whom she could depend.<ref name="Wierzewski2008" />