History and People

John Adams, the first vice president of the United States, second president and illustrious Founding Father, was one of the great political thinkers in history.

After American independence was achieved, and the federal Articles of Confederation showed their weaknesses, Adams became a supporter of a new federal charter, or constitution, for the United States. In 1787 he wrote and had published a collection of essays in support of revamping the federal government. Entitled A Defence of the Constitutions of the United States of America, the book argued in support of a strong chief executive, a sovereign and superior bicameral legislature, and a system of checks and balances to control any possible dangerous concentration of power.

Adams’ book brought up examples of historical attempts at democracies and republics, including those of Greece, Rome, England and Poland. He devoted two chapters to Poland, using its example as a nation threatened by its neighbors with little freedom for the common man due to its weak central government. He showed himself to be well educated as to the current situation in that country and in its history.

Read more: John Adams and Poland's Affairs

Marie was already young wife and mother, now it was a time to find a subject for doctorial thesis. She would become the first woman in Europe with PhD in Physics! Read the previous part: Maria and Pierre Curie: First Meeting, Love and Marriage .

The discovery of strange X-ray radiation by Rentgen, the radiation that showed bare bone in human hand became the most novel scientific curiosity. Henri Bequerel found that salts of uranium were also a source of this strange radiation. They made a mark on photographic paper without any access to the external light. So Marie naturally decided to follow up and investigate it. Pierre and Jacques Curie invented the electrometer (see the photo on the right) based on piezoelectric quartz that could detect very small amount of electricity. It was known that this strange radiation caused changes in the electric field, so Curies electrometer was a very suitable device to experiment with these strange and penetrating rays.

Read more: Discovery of Polonium and Radium

Read about Maria's studies in Paris

Maria received a grant from the Society for the Encouragement of National Industry to study magnetic properties of various steels. She began her research in prof. Lippmann's laboratory. She was in a search for better and less cumbersome equipment for a limited space she had to deal with to conduct her experiments.

Luckily, Joseph Kowalski, Polish professor from Fribourg University, was visiting Paris with his wife. Maria knew them from the time when she was a governess in Szczuki. They met again in Paris, Maria confined her problems, he thought that Pierre Curie may find a help. The next day Maria met Pierre Curie; they immediately developed an attraction. Pierre could not believe that he met a woman who is on equal intellectual level than he is. He used to believe that "women of genius are rare". Pierre was also curious about Maria's foreign roots, her patriotism and culture. Maria listened to his advices and his expertise in crystallography, magnetism and piezoleelectricity with interest. During this first conversation Pierre asked Marie whether she would remain in France. She replied with persistence in her voice that of course she would go back to Poland since this is her duty for an occupied countryland.

Pierre Curie came from a very interesting family of Alsatian origin (boarder region between France and Germany). His father and grandfather were medical doctors by profession but liberal intellectuals and scientists by choice. Pierre and Jacques, his older brother, were very smart, very curious and contributed to several scientific breakthroughs. Pierre was home-schooled, since he was brilliant, but unable to learn in school surroundings. Pierre had sworn never to get married; he devoted his life to science completely.

Pierre Curie with his parents: Eugene and Sophieand brother Jacques - on the photograph above.

Read more: Maria and Pierre Curie: First Meeting, Love and Marriage

Many persons of Polish descent have distinguished themselves in U.S. military service, from the famed Kościuszko and Pułaski to General Krzyżanowski in the Civil War to Col. Francis Gabreski and Lt. Col. Matt Urbanowicz in World War II. But one man's heroism in World War I and beyond has largely been overlooked.

For more than two centuries the U.S. Marine Corps has promoted itself as the most elite of the service branches, always looking for "a few good men" to develop into proud, tough defenders of the nation's freedom. And very few of those men achieve the status of legend in the Marines. One of those was Marine Gunner Michael Wodarczyk.

Read more: Marine Gunner Michael Wodarczyk - The Polish Warhorse