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Is there any reason why it should be common knowledge where Marie Curie was born? Is it common knowledge in Poland where, for example, Alexander Graham Bell was

Is there any reason why it should be common knowledge where Marie Curie was born? Is it common knowledge in Poland where, for example, Alexander Graham Bell was born? Objectively it's hardly the most interesting or significant fact about her, is it? As for Enigma, as others have also stated, it's virtually impossible to have heard of it without hearing about the Polish involvement, to the point where it almost seems like the British role is being denigrated. Here's a story from 2012, for example, on a previous occasion where Poland was repeating the story that's "hardly never mentioned": http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215003/Secrets-Enigma-code-cracked-Polish-Brits-MPs-claim.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215003/Secrets-Enig... But now [4 years ago], the Polish Government has launched a campaign to highlight the important - and overlooked - role played by its nation in solving the Enigma code. No wonder people were checking the date on this submission. And a brief Google on BBC site alone produces these headlines and stories: 2014 Poland's overlooked Enigma codebreakers http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28167071 2011 Bletchley Park remembers Polish code breakers bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-14141406 2009 How Poles cracked Nazi Enigma secret http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8158782.stm 2000 UK gives Enigma machine to Poles http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/930873.stm

gambiting 11y ago
I'm not sure I'm conveying my point here clearly. I feel almost upset that the Polish part of her surname is omitted pretty much everywhere but Poland, since that is something that to herself was of great value, for reasons brought up by other commenters. Not adding it feels like it almost insults what she believed in, and strips her legacy to bare scientific achievements. I don't know how else to describe it, maybe if Alexander Graham Bell had another surname, say French or German, and people everywhere were using that instead, without ever mentioning Bell? Would that be an understandable example then?
- clock_tower 11y ago
  My guess is that it's because "Curie" is a lot easier for an English-speaker to type and pronounce than "Skłodowska". I don't even have one of those characters on my keyboard -- I had to copy-paste from above.
  - hartpuff 11y ago
    Not only that but people unfamiliar with Polish names would not necessarily assume Sklodowska is Polish anyway.
- hartpuff 11y ago
  It sounds like she is known or remembered in Poland for her science and for her nationalism then. Outside of Poland, her Polish nationalism is obviously going to be less important/relevant than her contribution to science. >I don't know how else to describe it, maybe if Alexander Graham Bell had another surname, say French or German, and people everywhere were using that instead, without ever mentioning Bell? Would that be an understandable example then? I think I would understand more if she had never used the name Marie Curie, or even rejected it at any point in her life (did she?) and was simply called that by other people. If she herself used and was happy with the name "Marie Curie" though, and AFAIK she was, I don't see what the issue is with her being known by that name.

gambiting 11y ago

I'm not sure I'm conveying my point here clearly. I feel almost upset that the Polish part of her surname is omitted pretty much everywhere but Poland, since that is something that to herself was of great value, for reasons brought up by other commenters. Not adding it feels like it almost insults what she believed in, and strips her legacy to bare scientific achievements. I don't know how else to describe it, maybe if Alexander Graham Bell had another surname, say French or German, and people everywhere were using that instead, without ever mentioning Bell? Would that be an understandable example then?

clock_tower 11y ago
My guess is that it's because "Curie" is a lot easier for an English-speaker to type and pronounce than "Skłodowska". I don't even have one of those characters on my keyboard -- I had to copy-paste from above.
- hartpuff 11y ago
  Not only that but people unfamiliar with Polish names would not necessarily assume Sklodowska is Polish anyway.
hartpuff 11y ago
It sounds like she is known or remembered in Poland for her science and for her nationalism then. Outside of Poland, her Polish nationalism is obviously going to be less important/relevant than her contribution to science. >I don't know how else to describe it, maybe if Alexander Graham Bell had another surname, say French or German, and people everywhere were using that instead, without ever mentioning Bell? Would that be an understandable example then? I think I would understand more if she had never used the name Marie Curie, or even rejected it at any point in her life (did she?) and was simply called that by other people. If she herself used and was happy with the name "Marie Curie" though, and AFAIK she was, I don't see what the issue is with her being known by that name.