Maria Montessori

Profession: Educator

Nationality:

Biography: Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator, best known for founding the Montessori philosophy of education which gave rise to a method still common today. Her method stressed the importance of practical and independent play in child development.

Montessori was one of the first women in Italy to attend medical school, namely the Sapienza University of Rome, from which she graduated with honors in 1896. Subsequently Montessori found herself working with children that had developmental delays, and this work gave rise to her lifelong interest.

The methods which Montessori developed for developmentally-impaired children, which had successfully brought many of them to a level appropriate to 'normal' children, were then adapted for the mainstream. This was the beginning of the Montessori method as a major educational movement.

Born: August 31, 1870
Birthplace: Chiaravalle, Marche, Italy
Star Sign: Virgo

Died: May 6, 1952 (aged 81)
Cause of Death: Cerebral hemorrhage