Joliot-Curie, Frederic and Irene
Joliot-Curie, Frederic (1900-1958) and his wife, Irene (1897-1956), French nuclear physicists. They shared the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 for producing the first artificial radioactive elements. Both were born in Paris, and were trained as scientists. In 1925 Frederic Joliot became an assistant to Marie Curie at the Radium Institute, Paris. He married her daughter and assistant, Irene, in 1926, adding his wife's last name to his.
The Joliot-Curies served on the French Atomic Energy Commission (1946-51), but lost their posts because of their Communist affiliations. Both died of diseases caused by lifelong exposure to radioactivity.