Marie Curie's Brazil visit marks centenary of scientific impact

The centenary of Marie Curie’s visit to Brazil marks a significant milestone in the country’s scientific and medical history. During her six-week stay in 1926, the two-time Nobel Prize winner traveled through Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais, visiting approximately 13 scientific institutions.

A key highlight of her visit was her stop in Belo Horizonte on August 17, 1926, where she and her daughter, Irène, visited the Instituto do Radium. This pioneering oncology center, founded in 1922, was the first in Brazil dedicated to fighting cancer. Curie donated two radium needles to the institute, an act that immediately enabled the start of Curie therapy in the capital and established Belo Horizonte as a hub for tumor treatment.

Beyond her technical contributions, experts note that Curie’s presence helped validate Brazilian scientific institutions during their formative years and provided a significant boost to the visibility of women in science. Currently, the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) is working on a restoration project to transform the historic Instituto do Radium building into a modern oncology hospital.