Natta was born in Imperia, Italy, on February 26, 1903. At the age of twelve, he became interested in chemistry. Natta graduated from high school in 1919 and began to study mathematics at the University of Genoa, but transferred to the Polytechnic Institute of Milan to study chemical engineering. He received his doctorate in 1924 at the age of twenty and began his science career.

Natta rose through the ranks at the Polytechnic Institute as an instructor and was named professor of chemistry in 1927. He researched the structure of inorganic compounds and industrial catalysts with X-rays. In 1932, Natta learned of electron diffraction analysis from Hermann Staudinger (1881-1965) at the University of Freiburg and began to use both X-rays and electron diffraction to investigate the structure of polymers. Over the next six years, Natta served as professor at the University of Rome, and as professor and director at the Institute of General Chemistry...