Maria Montessori

(1870 - 1952)

In 1896 Maria Montessori became the first woman to graduate from the University of Rome’s medical school; she developed her interest in education while working with intellectually disabled children. Running a preschool in 1907 in a slum of Rome, Montessori was soon propelled by the success of her unconventional methods to tour the world for the next forty years lecturing on the child’s natural capabilities.