Marie Curie unknowingly died due to her own discovery

Poland-born scientist Marie Curie, known for her discovery of radium and polonium, died on July 4, 1934, due to continued exposure to radiation. Unaware of ill-effects of radiation, Marie liked to keep radium by her bed as it shone in darkness. Marie and her husband Pierre Curie won the Physics Nobel in 1903 before her solo Chemistry Nobel in 1911.