A radioactive metallic element belonging to group 2 (formerly IIA) of the periodic table; a.n. 88; r.a.m. 226.0254; r.d. ~5; m.p. 700°C; b.p. 1140°C. It occurs in uranium ores (e.g. pitchblende). The most stable isotope is radium-226 (half-life 1602 years), which decays to radon. It is used as a radioactive source in research and, to some extent, in radiotherapy. The element was isolated from pitchblende in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie.
https://www.webelements.com/radium/ Information from the WebElements site