« Madame»

By 1930, Marie Curie had already proven her scientific competences to the entire world, having been awarded two Nobel Prizes. Although her husband has been dead for 20 years, in accordance with tradition, she is still called ‘Madame Pierre Curie’.

On page 2 from "lnvitation au septième Conseil de physique Solvay : Épreuves", Irène Joliot-Curie and Lise Meitner are mentioned without the title ‘Madame’.

The term ‘Madame’ does not necessarily indicate a marital status but singularizes the women with regard to their male colleagues. Moreover, marital status conditions the public life of women and women scientists are no exception. Generally speaking, women scientists adopt their husband’s family name if they get married in the course of their scientific career. With a few rare exceptions at the time, as in the case of the Joliot-Curie couple: Frédéric Joliot-Curie took on his wife’s name, and Irène Joliot-Curie took on her husband’s name.