The centenary of the discovery of radium]

Henri Becquerel presented the discovery of radium by Pierre and Marie Curie at the Paris Académie des Sciences on 26th December 1898. One century later, radium has been abandoned, mainly for the reason of radiation safety concerns. It is, however, likely that modern techniques of brachytherapy are the successors of those designed for radium sources, and that radium has cured thousands and thousands patients all over the word for about 80 years. The history of discovery and medical use of radium is summarised.