Marguerite Catherine Perey 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. In 1962, she was the first woman to be elected to the French Académie des Sciences, an honor denied to her mentor Curie. Perey died of cancer in 1975.
Early life
Perey was born in 1909 in Villemomble, France, just outside Paris where the Curie's 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.
Research and career
Under Marie Curie's guidance at the Radium Institute, Perey learned how to isolate and purify radioactive elements, focusing on the chemical element actinium discovered in Curie's laboratory in 1899 by chemist André-Louis Debierne. Perey spent a decade sifting out actinium from all the other components of uranium ore, which Curie then used in her study of the decay of the element. Marie Curie died of aplastic anemia only five years after Perey began working with her, but Perey and Debierne continued their research on actinium and Perey was promoted to radiochemist.
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Perey received a grant to study at Paris' Sorbonne, but because she didn't have a bachelor's degree, the Sorbonne required her to take courses and obtain the equivalent of a B.S. to fulfill their PhD program requirements before she could earn her doctorate. She graduated from the Sorbonne in 1946 with a Doctorate of Physics. After obtaining her PhD, Perey returned to the Radium Institute as a senior scientist and worked there until 1949.
Perey was made the head of the department of nuclear chemistry at the University of Strasbourg in 1949, where she developed the university's radiochemistry and nuclear chemistry program and continued her work on francium. She founded a laboratory that in 1958 became the Laboratory of Nuclear Chemistry in the Center for Nuclear Research, for which she served as director. She also served as a member of the Atomic Weights Commission from 1950 to 1963.
Because of her work with francium, Perey was nominated five times for a Nobel Prize, but she never received it.
Ironically, Perey hoped that francium would help diagnose cancer, but in fact it itself was carcinogenic, and Perey developed bone cancer which eventually killed her. Perey died on May 13, 1975 age 65. She is credited with championing better safety measures for scientists working with radiation.
Perey's archives with materials dating from 1929 to 1975 were left at the University of Strasbourg. They include laboratory notebooks, course materials from her work as professor of nuclear chemistry, papers from her laboratory directorship, and publications. All documents are currently held at the Archives départementales du Bas-Rhin Departmental archives of the Bas-Rhin.
Publications
- "Sur un élément 87, dérivé de l'actinium," Comptes-rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, 208: 97 1939.
- "Francium: élément 87," Bulletin de la Société chimique de France, 18: 779 1951.
- "On the Descendants of Actinium K: 87Ac223," Journal de Physique et le Radium, 17: 545 1956.
Positions
- 1929–34: Personal assistant preparateur to Marie Curie, Institut du Radium.
- 1934–46: Radiochemist, Institut du Radium.
- 1946–49: Maitre de Recherches, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS, Institut du Radium.
- 1949: Professeur titulaire de la Chaire de Chimie Nucleaire, Universite de Strasbourg.
- 1950–63: Member of the Atomic Weights Commission
Education
- Diplôme d'État de chimiste, École d'enseignement technique féminine, 1929
- Doctorat des Sciences, Sorbonne, 1946
Honors
Perey was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1962, making her the first woman elected to the Institut de France. Although a significant step, her election as a "corresponding member" rather than a full member came with limited privileges.
- The French Academy of Science Wilde Prize 1950
- The French Academy of Science Le Conte Prize 1960
- The City of Paris Science Grand Prize 1960
- Officier of the Légion d'Honneur 1960
- Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris 1960
- Elected correspondante of the Académie des Sciences Paris, 1962. First woman to be elected to the Académie since its founding in 1666.
- Lavoisier Prize of the Académie des Sciences 1964
- Silver Medal of the Société Chimique de France 1964
- Commandeur of the Ordre National du Mérite 1974
Top questions
Who was Marguerite Perey?
Marguerite Perey was a French physicist and a student of Marie Curie. In 1939 she discovered the element francium by purifying samples of lanthanum that contained actinium. She earned a doctorate of physics from the Sorbonne in 1946, and in 1962 she became the first woman elected to the French Académie des Sciences, an honor denied to her mentor Curie.
How did Marguerite Perey discover francium?
In 1935 Perey doubted American claims about beta particles from actinium and theorized that actinium was decaying into another element. She isolated extremely pure actinium and detected a small amount of alpha radiation, which would turn actinium, element 89, into the unseen element 87. The discovery was announced on 9 January 1939, and she named the element francium after her home country.
Why is francium so rare?
Francium is the second rarest element, after astatine, with only about 550 grams existing in the entire Earth's crust at any given time. It was the last element to be discovered in nature, and it joined the other alkali metals in Group 1 of the periodic table.
How did Perey come to work with Marie Curie?
Perey hoped to study medicine, but her father's death left the family in financial difficulties. She earned a chemistry diploma in 1929, and at age 19 she interviewed for a role as personal assistant to Marie Curie at the Radium Institute in Paris and was hired. Under Curie's guidance she learned to isolate and purify radioactive elements, and spent a decade sifting out actinium.
Why was Perey's discovery announced by someone else?
Perey's discovery of element 87 was presented to the Académie des Sciences by Jean Baptiste Perrin because she was only a laboratory assistant with no university degree. The Sorbonne later required her to take courses equivalent to a bachelor's degree before she could pursue her doctorate. She graduated in 1946, and her thesis was about francium.
What did Perey do after earning her doctorate?
Perey returned to the Radium Institute as a senior scientist until 1949, when she became head of the department of nuclear chemistry at the University of Strasbourg. There she developed the radiochemistry and nuclear chemistry program, and founded a laboratory that became the Laboratory of Nuclear Chemistry in 1958. She was nominated five times for a Nobel Prize but never received it.
What honours did Marguerite Perey receive?
Perey was elected a corresponding member of the Académie des Sciences in 1962, the first woman elected since its founding in 1666, though a corresponding member had limited privileges. She received the Leconte Prize and became an Officier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1960, won the Lavoisier Prize in 1964, and became Commandeur of the Ordre National du Mérite in 1974.
