List of child prodigies

This is a list of people who in childhood (at or before the age of twelve) showed abilities in a specific field comparable to those of a highly skilled adult; hence the term child prodigy.

Math and science

Mathematics

Mathematicians

• Maria Gaetana Agnesi - Delivered a speech she translated into Latin at age 9.[1]
• Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz - He published astronomical tables at age 10.[2]
• Alexis Clairault - He wrote on geometry at 12 and delivered a speech to an adult audience at 14.[3]
• Erik Demaine-entered college at 12.[4]
• Charles Fefferman - Mastered calculus before 12.[5]
• Carl Friedrich Gauss - His potential was noted at seven, and in his teens he unknowingly discovered the already extant Titius-Bode law.[6]
• William Rowan Hamilton - (Originally a languages prodigy)[7]
• Ruth Lawrence - The youngest student to enter Oxford.[8]
• Colin Maclaurin - Entered university at 11, a feat not particularly unusual at the time, but at 14 he defended a thesis concerning ideas at the forefront of contemporary human knowledge.[9]
• John Von Neumann - A "mental calculator" in youth as well.[10]
• Blaise Pascal - Taught himself geometry at 12.[11]
• Srinivasa Ramanujan - Indian autodidact in mathematics, particularly number theory
• Regiomontanus (Johannes Müller)-Studied dialectics at 11.[12]
• William James Sidis - Corrected E. V. Huntington's mathematics text galleys at age of eight and entered Harvard at 11. [13]
• Terence Tao - Youngest Gold medalist at the International Math Olympiad.[14][15]
• Norbert Wiener - He entered Tufts at 11.[16]

Mental calculators

Note: Several mathematicians were mental calculators when they were still children. This sections is for child prodigies largely or primarily known for calculating skills. It should be noted that mental calculators are sometimes more like savants than they are like child prodigies. They have skills that rarely exist in adults and they may not be truly "mature" in mathematical understanding.

• Zerah Colburn (1804-1840) - At the age of nine he was able to multiply six digit numbers in his head.[17]
• Shakuntala Devi - Her abilities were first recognized at age 3.[18]
• Brian Greene - At five he could multiply 30-digit numbers. (As an adult he is an important physicist)[19]
• Jacques Inaudi - Noted in France at an early age.[20]
• Truman Henry Safford - In youth he could square 18 digit numbers, later in life he was an astronomer.[21]
• Daniel Tammet - a British autistic mental calculator who can explain his abilities - recounted pi to its 22,514th digit from memory

Computer science and engineering

Computer science

• Steve Kirsch - Wrote an e-mail program at the age of 12, (witnessed, participated in the birth of the internet), programmed IBM 360 mainframe.
• Márton Szász - Hungarian computer-genius, who won the Portocom Prize in 1996 for his work in computing at the age of 9 (1996) [22]. His IQ is a reported 197, and currently he is studying at the University of Miskolc. Márton was an actor at the age of 10 in The Family Summer. [23]
• Steve Wozniak - Started developing complex electronics while still in grade 5. Went on to develop the worlds' first screen and keyboard desktop computer - Apple I.

Engineering

• Alia Sabur - 15 year old Doctoral candidate at Drexel University.[24]

Physics

• Murray Gell-Mann - Nobel laureate who taught himself calculus at seven and went to Yale at 15.[25]
• Song Yoo-geun-Physics prodigy who entered university at age 8.[26]
• Tathagat Avatar Tulsi - Undergraduate degree at age 10[27]

Medicine

• Balamurali Ambati-He was a college junior by age 12 and a doctor at 17.[28]
• Avicenna-Memorized the Quran at age ten, studying medicine at 13.[29]
• Sho Yano-Graduated summa cum laude at age 12 from Loyola University Chicago. At 15 he attends the Pritzker School of Medicine[30]
• Akrit Jaswal India's youngest university student. He did an operation when he was 7.

Biology and psychology

• Jean Piaget - Published a paper on the albino sparrow at 11, later a psychologist.

The Arts

Acting/directing

Note: This section is mostly limited to child actors or directors who were respected enough to be nominated or win awards against adult competitors, although it also includes a few actors from eras predating film who were deemed theatrical prodigies. This section must be limited in this way because being even an award-winning child actor is not, in itself, prodigious. (See Academy Juvenile Award for why being an award winning child actor does not equate to being competitive with adults.)

• William Henry West Betty - A sensation as a boy doing Voltaire and Shakespeare roles.[31]
• Jackie Cooper - Youngest Best Actor Oscar nominee, the award that year went to Lionel Barrymore.[32]
• Hana Makhmalbaf (director at age 8, currently 17) [33]
• Tatum O'Neal - Won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar at age 10 for her 1973 role in Paper Moon, making her the youngest person ever to win a regularly awarded Oscar. [34]
• Haley Joel Osment - Nominee for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar at age 11.[35]
• Anna Paquin - She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar at age 11. [36]
• Ernest Truex - He did Shakespeare at age 6.[37]
• Brandon De Wilde - First child actor to win Donaldson award at 9.[38]

Literature

• William Cullen Bryant-Published at ten, had a book of political satire poems at 13.[39]
• Thomas Chatterton-Composing poems that would make him famous at age 12.[40]
• H. P. Lovecraft - recited poetry at age 2 and wrote long poems at age 5[41]
• Mattie Stepanek-Successful writer when he died at 13.[42]
• Lesya Ukrainka-Wrote at age 9, published by 13[43]
• Lope de Vega - wrote his first play at the age of 12.[44] Could read Latin at 5 and was translating Latin verse at ten.
• Henriett Seth-F. - Hungarian autistic prodigy, wrote her first poem at the age of 9. [45], [46]
• Adora Svitak-An American writer born in 1997, Adora published her first book, a collection of short stories, at age 7. Her first novella is a political satire that lampoons conservative politics, including the anti-gay rights moment and President George W. Bush's oil policies. Adora Svitak
• Christopher Paolini - An American writer who began writing the best-selling Inheritance series when he was 15, and became a New York Times best-selling author at age 19

Music

See List of music prodigies.

However Symphony No. 1 (Mozart) deserves mention as a noted composition by a child prodigy, namely Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Camille Saint-Saëns might also deserve some mention as he had his first composition before he turned four years old and at four he learned Latin. This is similar to the age that Jeremy Bentham, who is listed here, learned Latin. Examples of autistic musical child prodigies are Thristan Mendoza, a Filipino marimba prodigy and Matt Savage, US jazz prodigy.

Visual arts

• Amanda Dunbar-Young Fauve Impressionist. [47][48][49]
• Akiane Kramarik-12 year old Christian artist who has been featured on television and in museums.[50]
• Jan Lievens-Painter apprenticed at 8 and an independent artist at 12.[51]
• John Everett Millais-Painter who entered the Royal Academy at eleven.[52]
• Alexandra Nechita-Painter with solo exhibit at age eight.[53][54]
• Dylan Scott Pierce-Wildlife art illustrator at 10.[55]
• Pablo Picasso-His Picador is from age eight, see List of Picasso artworks 1889-1900.
• Henriett Seth-F.- An example of autistic artist child prodigies: a Hungarian writer, poet and artist. She painted abstract and surrealist paintings till at the age of 13. [56], [57]
• Stephen Wiltshire - An example of autistic artist child prodigies, he is English artist

Humanities

Academics

• Christian Friedrich Heinecken (possibly a legend, but fits if the story has any truth to it.)
• Michael Kearney-Degrees in anthropology biochemistry, geology, and computer science. He is currently noted as a "17 year old professor."[58]
• Dong Qichang-He passed the prefectural civil service exam at 12.[59]
• Adragon De Mello - earned a college degree in computational mathematics in 1988, at age 11.
• Gregory R. Smith-He entered college at age 10 and was first nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize at age 12.[60]

Law/philosophy

• Jeremy Bentham-He studied Latin at age 3 and entered The Queen's College, Oxford at 12.[61]
• Saul Kripke- philosopher by 12 and invited to apply for a teaching post at Harvard while still in high school.[62][63]
• John Stuart Mill-Knew several dead languages by age eight and studied scholastic philosophy at 12.[64]

Linguistics/translation

• Jean-François Champollion - He knew several dead languages at age ten and at sixteen he read an important paper at the Grenoble Academy.[65]
• Thomas Young (scientist) - More noted as a physicist, he was a polyglot at a young age who worked on translating Demotic Egyptian[66][67]

Sports/athletics

• Jean Carlos Chera-10 year old footballer.[68]
• Fu Mingxia-Became the youngest world champion in diving at age 12.[69][70]
• Martina Hingis-At 12 she became the youngest juniors champion at a Grand Slam event by winning at Roland Garros.[71]
• Joel Logrono-Developed over twenty different "special techniques" in tennis at age fourteen.
• Ricky Rubio-At age 14 he became the youngest ever to play in Spanish Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto.
• Michelle Wie-At age 12 she became the youngest female to qualify for an LPGA tournament, and at 13 became the youngest person of either sex to win a USGA event for adults. [72][73]
• Tiger Woods-He first won the Optimist International Junior tournament at age 8[74]

Military

• David Farragut First Navy command at 12 years old.[75]

Other

• Sayed Azam Read and wrote at 2. Admitted to a medical college at 10 years old.

See also

• Chess prodigy
• List of people youngest in their field

References

• Gifted Children: Myths and Realities by Ellen Winner: ISBN 0465017592
• Children Above 180 IQ: Standford-Binet Origin and Development by Leta Stetter Hollingworth: ISBN 0405064675
• Child Prodigies and Exceptional Early Achievers by John Radford: ISBN 0029256356

External links

• The Origins and Ends of Giftedness by Ellen Winner
• Time Asia
• History of the education of gifted children by Ellen Summers