Maria Artini (1894 – 2 August 1951) was an Italian engineer, the first female university graduate in electrical engineering in Italy and the second female graduate of the Milan Polytechnic.

Early life and education

Artini was born in

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, in 1894. She was the daughter of Ettore Artini, who was a director of the Civic Museum of Natural History in Milan and professor of mineralogy at the

Polytechnic University of Milan The Polytechnic University of Milan () is the largest technical university in Italy, with about 42,000 students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and higher education courses in engineering, architecture and design. Founded in 186 ...

where Maria enrolled In 1912. In 1918, she graduated in electrical engineering with a grade of 90/100 becoming the first female electrical engineer in Italy, and only the second woman to graduate from the Polytechnic (after Gaetana Calvi did so in 1913 ).

Career

One year after graduation, Artini began a job at Edison, a Milan-based energy company. There she was promoted to managerial roles and helped to design and construct the country's first very high-voltage (130 kV) power line, in the

Brugherio Brugherio (; in lmo, Brughee ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan. It was established December 9, 1866 unifying the suppressed municipalities of Ba ...

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

region. According to Edison, "from 1936 to 1946 she organized and directed Edison's statistics office, later returning s an executiveto deal with very high voltage he new 200 kWpower lines." In an effort to help other women in technical fields, in 1948 Artini suggested the formation of an association of female professionals and even organized a series of meetings with her Milanese and Turin colleagues. Although she died before it could be realized, the AIDIA (Italian Association of Women Engineers and Architects) was born on January 26, 1957, founded by engineer

Emma Strada Emma Strada (Turin, 18 November 1884 – Turin, 26 September 1970) an Italian civil engineer, was the first woman to obtain a civil engineering degree from the Polytechnic of Turin. She later became the first president of the Italian Association ...

(its first president), Anna E. Armor,

Adele Racheli Adele Racheli (14 July 1897 – 3 January 1992) was an Italian engineer and co-founder of a successful patent protection office in Milan in 1925 to protect the intellectual property of Italian professionals. The firm still thrives. Biography Bo ...

and the architect Vittoria Ilardi. According to Altomare, the association continues today and "boasts a path studded with successes, awards and honors." Artini is still credited for her "brilliant idea" of forming the association.

Personal life

Artini married Leonardo Maggi who is known to have been a benefactor of Milan's Institute of the Blind. The Institute's museum houses a photograph of Artini in its collection. Maria Artini died on 2 August 1951, at the age of 57.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Artini, Maria 1894 births 1951 deaths Italian electrical engineers Italian women engineers Engineers from Milan Polytechnic University of Milan alumni 20th-century Italian engineers 20th-century women engineers 20th-century Italian women