Irène Joliot-Curie

Awards & Honours

Awards Won

Honours

Records

Irène Joliot-Curie's greatest accolade is the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which she won at age 38 alongside her husband. She remains one of the few women to win a science Nobel, and the only daughter of a Nobel laureate to win one herself. Her appointment as undersecretary of state was a historic first for women in French government. Her legacy is honored in science museums and educational programs worldwide.

AwardsIrène Joliot-Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935, shared with her husband Frédéric, for the discovery of artificial radioactivity. She also received the Barnard Gold Medal for Meritorious Service to Science in 1940, jointly with Frédéric, from Columbia University.

Honours & Distinctions

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Nobel Foundation·1935

Awarded for the synthesis of new radioactive elements (artificial radioactivity)

Barnard Gold Medal

Columbia University·1940

Awarded jointly with Frédéric Joliot-Curie for meritorious service to science

Records & Feats

Second married couple to win a Nobel Prize

Historic First·1935

Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie were the second married couple to share a Nobel Prize, after her parents Pierre and Marie Curie.

Only mother-daughter pair to win Nobel Prizes

Historic First·1935

Irène and her mother Marie Curie are the only mother-daughter duo to both win Nobel Prizes.

Only father-daughter pair to win Nobel Prizes

Historic First·1935

Irène and her father Pierre Curie are the only father-daughter duo to both win Nobel Prizes.