Editor's Note: Neurobiologist Rita Levi-Montalcini, a Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine in 1986, died December 30 at the age of 103. This story was originally published in the January 1993 issue of Scientific American.

As a feminist in a family with Victorian mores and as a Jew and free-thinker in Mussolini’s Italy, Rita Levi-Montalcini has encountered various forms of oppression many times in her life. Yet the neurobiologist, whose tenacity and preciseness are immediately apparent in her light, steel-blue eyes and elegant black-and-white attire, embraces the forces that shaped her. “If I had not been discriminated against or had not suffered persecution, I would never have received the Nobel Prize,” she declares.

4 Comments

1. 1. Dr. Bhavana Weidmann 03:52 PM 12/30/12

   What a remarkable journey! Thank you for so beautifully covering the challenging and inspiring journey of such a fantastic scientist and a true pioneer!

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2. 2. sjfone 05:18 PM 12/30/12

   Levi-Montalcini, a life well lived, a life well served, characterized by her statement while listening to the Bach cantata.

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3. 3. celeste1896 05:22 PM 12/30/12

   Thanks so much for making this available. What an inspiring life.

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4. 4. judithweingarten 10:44 AM 12/31/12

   A tribute to her on her 102nd birthday: http://judithweingarten.blogspot.it/2011/04/i-am-not-my-body-i-am-my-mind.html

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