Joliot-Curie was born in Paris on March 19, 1900 with the surname Joliot. When he married Irène Curie in 1926, he added his wife 's name to his own. Since Irène's parents, Marie Curie and Pierre Curie, had no sons, this decision on Frédéric's part prevented a famous scientific name from dying out.

In 1923, Joliot-Curie received an engineering degree from the School of Physics and Chemistry in Paris. He spent a few months working at a steel company before accepting a position as assistant to Marie Curie at the Radium Institute in Paris. It was there that he met his future wife, Irène. After they were married, they continued to do research together on radioactivity, just as Irène's parents had done for nearly ten years. The Joliot-Curie alliance lasted for more than 30 years.

The Joliot-Curies came very close to...