Maria Montessori and 10 famous graduates from her schools

Television cooking personality Julia Child prepares a French delicacy in her cooking studio on Nov. 24, 1970. In honor of Child's 100th birthday, Lynne Kiesling writes a nice post combining cooking, entrepreneurship theory, and Austrian economics. (AP File)

4. Julia Child

In her book "Julia Child and Company," Ms. Child says that Montessori learning taught her to love working with her hands.

"[Maria] Montessori wanted kids to develop 'a friendly relationship to error,' – to understand that mistakes are a normal part of learning, and that to learn, you must be willing to make mistakes, and then to move forward," writes John Long, head of a Montessori school in Houston, who wrote about Child's connection to Montessori education.

That's certainly the schtick behind the famous Saturday Night Live sketch, where Child (played by Dan Aykroyd) ruins just about every part of the meal, yet rolls right along. Child always was graceful under stress.