Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi

Pelosi was born on March 26, 1940. Her father, Thomas J. D’Alesandro, became a House Representative the year before she was born. He remained in office until 1947, after which he became the 39^th Mayor of Baltimore. The first Italian American to hold that post. His parents immigrated to the United States. Her mother Annunciata M. Lombardi immigrated from Compobasso, Campania, Italy. Pelosi’s father claimed mainly northern Italian roots, and of course his wife was a southern Italian. Pelosi was one of six children—the last and only girl. Since her father was the mayor during her late childhood and teenage years many affectionately called her—the Mayor’s Daughter.

Pelosi came from a religious Roman Catholic family. She attended catholic high school and followed that with Trinity Woman’s College in Washington, D.C., from which she graduated in 1962 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. Her initial experience at college was one of cultural shock. Since she lived, played, and attended school in Little Italy going to college away from the family and community took an adjustment. After college she worked as a congressional intern for a for a Maryland senator. Since her father was involved in politics the children were active in his campaign activities. Pelosi, when she was twelve years old attended the 1952 Democratic National Convention.   Consequently, politics were a natural to her.

After graduation, she married Paul Pelosi a Georgetown, graduate from San Francisco on September 7, 1963. After marriage they settle in New York, where he worked as a banker. By 1969, and after having five children they moved to San Francisco. There Nancy was active in politics as a supporter. She had no expressed intentions on running for any offices and eventually became the Chair of the California Democratic Party from 1981 until 1983. An incumbent, Phillip Burton, in the U. S. House of Representatives died (1983) and his wife, Sala Galante Burton, ran for his seat and won, however, after winning the second term she died two months after the election. Before her death, she recommended that Pelosi compete in the upcoming special election. She did and won not only won the special election, but the following 1988 regular election and continued to do so till this day. She has consistently garnered up to 80% of the votes. 

In October of 2001 the House elected her as minority whip. Her job was to ensure that democratic members would vote with specific pieces of legislation that the party supported and Republicans who may swing their way. She became the first woman to hold this post.  The following year she won another post as Minority Speaker of the House. The first woman to hold that post too. On January 3, 2019 on the opening day of the 116^th United States Congress, Pelosi received 220 votes to become, a first woman once again to hold the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Dean of the House, Don Young swore her in along with the rest that took the oath of office.  The Speaker is second in the United States presidential line of succession, after the Vice President and ahead of the President pro tempore of the Senate.

 Pelosi, has been a very active individual seeking many forms of legislation. Many have recognized her for her endeavors and accomplishments. Some honors she received are: The Knight Grand Cross of the Order Merit of the Italian Republic, The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun from Japan and in 2006, in Barbara Walters’ list of Most Fascinating Person of the Year, Pelosi was one. In the list of Forbes world’s most powerful women of 2014 she was ranked 26^th.

 RITA LEVI-MONTALCINI

 

Rita was born on the twenty-second of April, 1909, in Turin, Italy. She was one of four children, three girls and a boy, she being a twin of one of the girls. Her mother was Adele Montalcini. The family was wealthy and of Sephardic Jewish faith. The family was Victorian in their values, and her father Adamo Levi, an electrical engineer, believed women should not attend higher education as it would interfere in their role as future mothers. The family, as a whole engaged in intellectual pursuits; thus, it didn’t take much effort for the daughters to change his mind.

She studied medicine at the University of Turin and in 1936, she graduated from medical school with a summa cum laude degree in medicine and surgery.  After which she enrolled in a three year specialization program in neurology and psychiatry. She did research on the effects peripheral tissues have on nerve cell growth. But, because of her Jewish ancestry, Mussolini’s “Manifesto per la Defesa della Razza,” (Manifest for the defense of the Race), caused her to lose her job. When things became worse in Turin, the family escaped to the country side, and had to follow that with going to Florence where the family remained in hiding during the German occupation of Italy (1943-45). By 1944, the Americans cleared Florence of the Nazis and she was able to surface and became actively involved in nursing and caring for refugees suffering with infectious diseases. When the war ended in 1945, she was able to resume her research at Turin.

In 1947, she accepted an invitation to a post at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri by zoologist Viktor Hamburger. Here she was to repeat the research performed before the war in the study of the growth of nerve tissue in chick embryos.

In 1948, they discovered that a variety of mouse tumors spurred nerve growth when implanted into chick embryos. The two traced the effect to a substance in the tumor that they named nerve-growth factor NGF. Levi-Montalcini further showed that the tumor caused similar cell growth in a nerve-tissue cultures kept alive in the laboratory. Stanley Cohen, another interested scientist, joined her at Washington University, and he was able to isolate the nerve-growth factor from the tumor.

Levi-Montalcini planned to remain only twelve months, but the excellent results of their work impressed her to continue. In 1956, the University offered her the position as an associate professor and two years later that of full professorship. In 1962, she developed a research unit in Rome. She remained active both here and abroad. She also held the position of Director of the Institute of Cell Biology of the Italian National Council of Research in Rome.

NGF was the first of many cell-growth factors found in the bodies of animals. In 1986, Dr. Levi-Montalcini received due recognition when she, along with her colleague, Dr. Stanley Cohen, earned the Nobel Prize in medicine for the discoveries of NGF and of EGF, epidermal growth factor, which is used in the treatment of severe burns.

She published an autobiographical work, In Praise of Imperfection, in 1988. At the following internet address she provides a short interesting autobiographical sketch telling of her parents, sisters, and brother and war experiences. Levi-Montalcini held dual citizenship of Italy and of the United States. She passed away on the thirtieth of December 2012, at the age of 102.

http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1986/levi-montalcini-autobio.html