ONE LIFE
FOR THE CHILDREN

Maria Montessori was born as the only child of Alessandro and Renilde Montessori on August 31, 1870, in Chiaravalle, Province of Ancona, Italy.

Because of her clear talent for science, she attended a technical school for boys after primary school. After graduating, she fought for a place to study medicine and, in 1896, became the first female doctor in Italy.

At the psychiatric clinic in Rome, she realized that caring for mentally and learning-disabled children was not only a medical issue but also an educational one. She explored ways to support these children through sensory education and to encourage learning and independence using specially designed teaching materials — with great success.

In 1898, she had a son, Mario, from her relationship with the doctor Giuseppe Montesano. As being a single mother would have limited her career, she placed him in foster care at first but stayed in regular contact with him. When he was fifteen, she brought him to live with her permanently. Mario became her close companion and continued her life’s work after her death.

She also studied psychology, education, and philosophy, and looked for a way to apply her knowledge and experience to healthy children. This opportunity came when a housing cooperative renovated homes in a poor neighborhood and needed someone to care for neglected preschool children.

Montessori guided the children in using the sensory materials she had developed and otherwise let them work freely. At that time, Maria Montessori was a pediatrician and professor of anthropology at the University of Rome, and she regularly came to observe the children.

The key moment that led her to fully dedicate herself to education is described in her book “The Secret of Childhood” (p. 119). She observed a child completely absorbed in an activity who, after finishing the work cycle, appeared transformed — happier, freer, and more independent.

In 1909, she gave up her medical practice as a pediatrician and devoted herself fully to training educators and teachers for Montessori children’s houses and schools, which soon began to appear in many countries around the world.

Because of World War II and the totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, and Spain, much of her flourishing work was destroyed. However, in 1949 she immediately resumed her activities in Europe.

A few months before her 82nd birthday, Maria Montessori passed away in Noordwijk aan Zee, Netherlands.