Maria Montessori becomes one of the first women to obtain a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Rome. Represents Italy at the International Women's Congress in Berlin; delivers address on rights of working women, including equal pay for equal work. Studies the writings of French doctors Itard and Séguin, who worked with disabled children.

In the United States, the first Montessori school opened in 1911 in Scarborough, New York, and others followed in rapid succession. Prominent figures, including Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, lent their support. In 1916, more than 100 Montessori schools were operating in 22 states.