August 14, 1958 – Death of Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie, Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the synthesis of new radioactive elements

Jean Frédéric Joliot (1900-1958) was a French physicist-chemist and university professor who, in 1925, was appointed personal assistant to Marie Curie at the Institut Curie in Paris, earning a doctorate in science.

In 1926 he married Irène Curie, daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, with whom he adopted the surname Joliot-Curie. Together with his wife, he began his research in the field of nuclear physics, searching for the structure of the atom, particularly the structure and projection of the nucleus, which was essential for his subsequent discovery of the neutron and artificially induced radioactivity, creating new radioisotopes. In 1935, both scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on the synthesis of new radioactive elements.

During his stay at the College of France (1937-1956) he worked on chain reactions and the requirements for the successful construction of a nuclear reactor that used controlled nuclear fission to generate power through the use of uranium and heavy water.

In 1945, he was appointed director of the Center National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scientific Research, CNRS), becoming the first French Government Commissioner for Atomic Energy. In 1948, he supervised the construction of the first French atomic reactor.

In 1947, he was awarded the Hughes Medal by the Royal Society for his contributions to nuclear physics, particularly the discovery of artificial radioactivity and the emission of neutrons in the fission process.

In May 1953 he had his first attack of hepatitis and in 1955 he suffered a severe relapse. After the death of Irène Curie in 1956, he decided to finish his wife's project to build nuclear physics laboratories at the University of Orsay, where researchers could work without the tethers of the laboratories in Paris. In September 1956 he accepted the chair that Irène had vacated, although she retained her chair at the College de France. Shortly before she died, she was able to attend the beginning of the research activities in the new laboratories.

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