Italian physicist Laura Bassi (1711-1778) was the first woman to become a physics professor at a European university. Though Bassi did not publish much of her work, she continued to conduct experiments and teach until her death. Alberto Elena wrote in Isis, "she was a figure of the greatest importance in the intellectually flourishing Bologna of the eighteenth century."

Bassi was born in Bologna, Italy, on November 29, 1711. She was the only child in the Bassi family who survived to maturity. Her father, who was from Modena, was a lawyer of non-noble origins. Bassi showed an intellectual prowess early in her life. Beginning at the age five, she was instructed in Latin, French, and mathematics by Father Lorenzo Stegani, her cousin. She learned quickly, mastering both languages. When Bassi was 13, she began to be tutored by the family doctor and local scholar, Gaetano Tacconi. For the next seven years...