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MARIE & PIERRE CURIE, 1896
Samples in hand, physicists Marie and Pierre Curie are seen hard at work in 1896 – the same year that Henri Becquerel discovered his mystery ‘uranium rays’, for which Marie would later invent the term ‘radioactivity’. Inspired by his work, the Curies immersed themselves in the puzzle, leading to the 1898 discoveries of polonium and radium.