Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori is perhaps one of the most famous people in education. She worked in the psychiatric ward at the University of Rome. She believed that mental deficiency was and educational problem, not a medical one, and that anyone could be taught. She can be credited as a pioneer for special education, as well as founding the Montessori method that many schools follow today. In 1907, she founded Casa die Bambini, or The Children's House.