Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Montessori, Maria

MONTESSORI, MARIA, an Italian doctor and educator; born in 1870, she received the degree of doctor of medicine when she was twenty-four years old, being the first woman in Italy to secure that degree. By her work as a doctor among feeble-minded children she became interested in the subject of their education. Her success in this field turned her attention to the education of normal children. In 1907 the House of Childhood was founded under her direction, and since that time others have followed.