RT by @zofijamazej: Albert Einstein and Marie Sklodowska Curie reminiscing by a lake in 1929. Back in 1906, Curie had lost her husband Pierre when he was killed by a horse-drawn cart while crossing a busy street in Paris. She mourned his death for a few years before finding comfort in Pierre's protégé, Paul Langevin, a married physics professor who was separated from his wife because she was physically abusive.

When Langevin's wife discovered that Curie was involved with her husband, she hired someone to break into their apartment and steal their love letters, which she promptly leaked to the press. Curie's name was dragged through the mud, and soon an angry mob gathered in front of her home. Curie and her daughter went into hiding and stayed with a family friend. Langevin entered into a duel with one of the tabloid editors to defend Curie's honor, but no shot was fired.

Meanwhile, Einstein wrote the following letter to Curie to offer his support and voice his solidarity:

"Highly esteemed Mrs. Curie,

Do not laugh at me for writing you without having anything sensible to say. But I am so enraged by the base manner in which the public is presently daring to concern itself with you that I absolutely must give vent to this feeling. However, I am convinced that you consistently despise this rabble, whether it obsequiously lavishes respect on you or whether it attempts to satiate its lust for sensationalism! I am impelled to tell you how much I have come to admire your intellect, your drive, and your honesty, and that I consider myself lucky to have made your personal acquaintance in Brussels. Anyone who does not number among these reptiles is certainly happy, now as before, that we have such personages among us as you, and Langevin too, real people with whom one feels privileged to be in contact. If the rabble continues to occupy itself with you, then simply don't read that h…

🐦🔗: https://nitter.cz/historyinmemes/status/1702187910001545264#m

[2023-09-14 05:09 UTC]