ABSTRACT
Early Life Enrico Fermi was born September 29, 1901, in Rome, Italy, to Alberto Fermi, an administrator in the Italian railroad system, and Ida de Gattis, an elementary schoolteacher. Enrico learned to read and write at an early age, probably instructed by his older brother and sister. At six years of age, Enrico entered public school and soon displayed a talent for mathematics. By the age of ten, the young boy, by this time exhibiting a remarkable memory, entered a school that emphasized Latin, Greek, French, history, mathematics, natural history, and physics, courses that would prepare him for entrance into the university. Enrico led his class in scholarship and, in his spare time, studied science and built electrical motors and toys.
