eve curie labouisse (1904 - 2007)

Monday marked the passing of Eve Curie Labouisse, the youngest daughter of Nobel Prize-winning physicists Marie and Pierre Curie. A resident of New York City, Curie Labouisse had an impressive career as a writer and journalist, and apparently also had considerable talent as a pianist. While her older sister Irene followed in their parents' footsteps and became a scientist, Eve spent her early adult life attending to her widowed mother in Paris, supporting her at home and often traveling with her abroad. After Marie Curie's death in 1934, Eve wrote what is still considered the preeminent biography of her mother, Madame Curie, which won her a National Book Award.

After WWII began, the intrepid Curie became a war correspondant after previously having been an officer of the women's division of the French army. She later published a second successful book chronicling her experiences on the fronts of WWII. She also became co-publisher of a Parisian newspaper, and would go on to serve as the Special Advisor to the Secretary General of NATO. In 1954, Curie married Henry Richardson Labouisse, who spent 15 years as the executive director of UNICEF. Curie, too, served the organization for a short time, as the executive director in Greece. You might remember carrying a trick-or-treat UNICEF box around during Halloween as a kid; the organization still distributes the boxes as a way to raise money to help needy kids, so before you make the rounds this coming week, make sure you get one for yourself!

Anyway, here's to the recently departed Eve Curie Labouisse; the world will miss such a talented and giving lady. ∞