On June 25, 1678 at thirty-two years old, Elena Lucretia Cornaro Piscopia became the first woman in the world to earn a doctorate in any field from any university. Her doctorate was in Philosophy since the Officials in the Roman Catholic Church did not feel that the University of Padua could grant a doctorate of theology to a woman, even though she was eminently well qualified for the title.

She had not been seeking a degree, had just been enjoying school and learning, but her father insisted that she apply for a degree and her answers at the public examination surpassed anything the panel had been expecting.

In addition to speaking both Latin and Greek fluently, Elena mastered Hebrew, Spanish, French, and Arabic. A student of the sciences as well as of languages, she studied mathematics and astronomy in addition to philosophy and theology. A musician, Elena mastered the harpsichord, the clavichord, the harp, and the violin. She also composed for these instruments and lectured at her alma mater in musical composition, theology, and mathematics.

Elena withdrew from the Venetian noble society she had been born into, instead devoting her life to the Benedictine order and charitable acts. She died at age thirty-eight most likely from tuberculosis.