Madame Curie was born in Warsaw as Maria Skłodowska on November 7, 1867 at 16 Freta Street in Warsaw New Town. She was the youngest of 5 children. Both of her parents were teachers and instilled in their children a sense of the value of learning. Maria’s early years were marked by the death of her sister Zofia (typhus) and, 2 years later, the death of her mother (tuberculosis). These events caused her to give up her Roman Catholic religion and become an agnostic.She was a physicist and chemist of Polish upbringing and, subsequently, French citizenship. She was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, the first and only person honored with Nobel Prizes in 2 different sciences (1903 – Physics, 1911 – Chemistry), the first woman in history to be awarded a Nobel Prize, and the first female professor at the University of Paris. Nevertheless, the French Academy of Sciences refused to abandon its prejudice against women, and she failed by one vote to be elected to membership.