Frédéric Joliot-Curie

Recommended by Paul Langevin to Marie Curie at the Radium Institute in 1925, Joliot married Irène Curie in 1926. In January 1934, by bombarding aluminum foil with alpha particles from polonium, they created radioactive phosphorus, proving that radioactive isotopes could be created artificially.

In 1939, Joliot and his team proved that nuclear fission of uranium releases secondary neutrons, patenting nuclear energy production. During World War II, as a leader of the National Front resistance, he smuggled heavy water stocks to Britain. In 1948, as High Commissioner for Atomic Energy, he oversaw France's first atomic pile, Zoe.