Dr. Maria Montessori (1870–1952) was an Italian physician, teacher, and innovator, acclaimed for her eponymous educational method that builds on the way children naturally learn. She opened the first Montessori school, the Casa dei Bambini, in Rome in 1907, and today there are more than 22,000 throughout the world. Dr. Montessori wrote numerous books on scientific pedagogy, including The Montessori Method, The Secret of Childhood, and The Discovery of the Child.