Marya Sklodowska was born on November 7, 1867, in Poland. Marya’s father wanted his five children to go to college, but the family was poor. In fact, Marya worked for six years to make money so her elder sister Bronya could study medicine at the Sorbonne in Paris. When Bronya finished medical school in 1891, 23-year-o1d Marya Sklodowska went to Paris to begin her own studies.