Who was Enrico Fermi? Enrico Fermi was an outstanding Italian physicist who made numerous discoveries and inventions in nuclear energy and quantum theory. He was born on September 29, 1901, in Rome, Italy. He was the third child of Alberto Fermi and Ida de Gattis. His father was a division head in the Ministry of Railways (Ferrovie). His mother was an elementary school teacher. From a young age, Enrico Fermi demonstrated exceptional aptitude in physics. His early interest in the subject was a coping mechanism for the loss of his brother Giulio during surgery. Fermi’s command of mathematics allowed him to delve into advanced physics, such as the treatise on mechanics by Simeon-Denis Poisson, a French physicist, and the general physics textbook by Orest Chwolson, a Russian physicist.