Andreas Rett (January 2, 1924 – April 25, 1997) was an Austrian neurologist and author. Rett received many awards, including the Grand Medal for Special Earnings from the Republic of Austria.
Andreas Rett went to school in Innsbruck and began his medical study at the university of that town. His studies were interrupted by the war, when he served in the German Navy, and continued at Innsbruck in 1945. After qualifying in 1949 he trained in paediatrics, and in 1955 he was appointed head of the facility for mentally retarded children at a home for the aged in Lainz. In 1963 he built up a factory, in which neurologically sick youngsters could work. His belief was that disabled children also do have authorizations as well as physical, physical and intellectual requirements. His academic career began in 1967, when he was appointed as lecturer in neurology and paediatrics at the University of Vienna, in 1973 being promoted to the rank of associate professor. In 1966 he published the first description of Rett syndrome. [1]. From 1967 he was also head of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research in Brain Disordered Children. He has published more than 250 articles.