William James Sidis, The Child Prodigy Who Was One Of The Smartest People In The World
Sidis ArchivesWilliam James Sidis could reportedly read the newspaper by the time he was 18 months old.
William James Sidis is also considered one of the smartest people in history — though he wasn’t a fan of the attention it brought him.
His intellectual abilities were apparent from a very young age. By the time he was two, he could reportedly read English, and by the age of six, he was proficient in multiple languages, including Latin, Greek, French, Russian, German, Hebrew, Turkish, and Armenian. Even among prodigies, he was estimated to have a staggeringly high IQ — allegedly between 250 and 300.
His parents, both of whom were also highly educated, nurtured his rapid intellectual development as well, and at just 11 years old, Sidis was admitted to Harvard University. There, he continued to impress. Once, he even gave a lecture on four-dimensional bodies to the Harvard Mathematical Club, with many saying he demonstrated a deep understanding of complex concepts.
Unfortunately, the public attention his accolades brought took a toll on him. After he graduated from Harvard, he taught briefly at Rice University, but he left soon after due to conflicts with faculty and dissatisfaction with the academic environment.
He took on a series of low-profile jobs while maintaining a keen interest in obscure intellectual pursuits. He also wrote extensively on subjects that interested him, such as cosmology, Native American history, and public transportation systems.
In 1919, he was arrested during a socialist demonstration, which reignited public interest in him and sparked further speculation about his mental health and overall well-being. Sidis then lived largely out of the public eye until his death from a cerebral hemorrhage at age 46.
Many believe his potential was squandered, in large part due to the public attention and scrutiny he faced from a young age. Unfortunately, we’ll never know what Sidis may have gone on to accomplish as one of the smartest people in the world.
