Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909-2012)

Levi-Montalcini and her twin sister Paola were born on 22 April 1909 in Turin, Italy, to her father, Adamo Levi, an electrical engineer and mathematician, and mother, Adele Montalcini. In her autobiography she describes her family atmosphere as wonderful, loving, and with reciprocal devotion. Her father was a very traditional man and his daughters were not allowed to pursue a professional career, which would have interfered with their future roles as wife and mother. At the age of twenty, with the feeling she could not fit into her prescribed traditional female role, Levi-Montalcini asked her father?s permission to pursue a professional career. She filled in her required high school courses and enrolled at the University of Turin [6] Medical School.