Which foundation did Marie Curie and Claudius Regaud establish in 1920?

Marie Curie and Claudius Regaud established Foundation Curie in 1920.

The foundation was created to support the Institut du Radium in Paris and expand its medical mission. Curie directed the institute’s Curie laboratory, focused chiefly on physics and chemistry, while Regaud directed the Pasteur laboratory, which investigated the biological and medical effects of radioactivity.

Foundation Curie helped finance cancer treatment and research into radiotherapy. Its first hospital opened in 1922, where Regaud and his colleagues developed treatments combining surgery with radiation. This made the institution an early model for specialized cancer centers.

A common mix-up is to call Foundation Curie the original name of today’s entire institute. The Institut du Radium and Foundation Curie remained distinct organizations until they merged in 1970, creating the modern Institut Curie. The foundation’s name therefore refers specifically to the 1920 medical and research organization, not to the earlier 1909 laboratory alone.