Marie Salomea Skłodowska was born in Warsaw, Poland, on 7 November 1867. She was the fifth and youngest child of the well-known teachers Bronisława and Władysław Skłodowski. Her father lectured in maths and physics both subjects Marie went on to pursue herself. The elder siblings of Marie were Zofia, Józef, Bronisława and Helena. In May 1878, when Marie was only ten years old, her mother died of tuberculosis. Less than three years earlier, Marie's oldest sibling, Zofia, had died of typhus.