Short answer: No IQ score for Christopher Hitchens has ever been published, and no scholar has produced an estimate. Any number offered online is guesswork. The documented record is the evidence: 18 books, National Magazine Awards in 2007 and 2011, a No. 1 New York Times bestseller in God Is Not Great, and fifth place on a 2005 ranking of the world's top public intellectuals.
At a glance
| Estimated IQ | No scholarly estimate |
|---|---|
| Measured score | None published |
| Born – died | 13 April 1949, Portsmouth, England – 15 December 2011, Houston, Texas |
| Field | Journalism, essays, literary criticism, polemic |
| Education | Balliol College, Oxford: philosophy, politics and economics; third-class degree (1970) |
| Signature achievement | God Is Not Great (2007), No. 1 on the New York Times list |
| Recognition | No. 5 on the 2005 Foreign Policy/Prospect list of top public intellectuals |
| Comparable minds | Stephen Fry, Richard Dawkins |
No score on file
Hitchens never released an IQ result, and none has surfaced since his death in 2011. He was born in 1949, far too late for Catharine Cox's 1926 study of historical geniuses, and no later scholar has attempted a retrospective estimate. Figures posted on celebrity-IQ sites cite no test and no source.
That leaves the record. It is unusually rich. Hitchens wrote for a living for nearly four decades, argued in public for much of that time, and left 18 books. He became known as one of the “Four Horsemen” of New Atheism, alongside Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett. His full profile is on the Christopher Hitchens genius page.
The third-class degree
The most surprising credential is the weakest. Hitchens read philosophy, politics and economics at Balliol College, Oxford, from 1967 and graduated in 1970 with a third-class degree.
The grade is a reminder that exam results and intellectual power are different measurements. A degree class captures performance on set papers in one season. It says little about what a person will read, retain and argue over the next 40 years.
The same caution applies to IQ. A single score is a snapshot with a margin of error of roughly five points. For how much, and how little, a high score predicts, see what counts as a high IQ.
Four decades of output
Volume and range are the clearest evidence. Hitchens was a correspondent and foreign editor at the New Statesman, a columnist at The Nation from 1981 to 2002, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair from 1992. He wrote the “Fighting Words” column for Slate and a monthly essay for The Atlantic.
- The Missionary Position (1995), a critique of Mother Teresa.
- The Trial of Henry Kissinger and Letters to a Young Contrarian (both 2001).
- Why Orwell Matters (2002).
- God Is Not Great (2007), which reached No. 1 on the New York Times list in its third week.
- Hitch-22 (2010), a memoir shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award in autobiography.
- Arguably (2011), 107 essays, named one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of the year.
He won National Magazine Awards in 2007, for columns and commentary, and in 2011. Mortality, seven Vanity Fair essays on his illness, appeared posthumously in September 2012.
A rule in twelve words
Some writers leave a style. Hitchens left a principle. On page 258 of God Is Not Great he wrote: “What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.” The line is now called Hitchens's razor.
It restates an old Latin maxim, quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur, what is freely asserted is freely denied. It is often paired with the Sagan standard, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” associated with Carl Sagan.
The razor applies neatly to IQ lore. A number with no test, no date and no examiner can be dismissed without argument. This site applies that rule to every figure it reports.
On the debate stage
Hitchens was at his most formidable live. In 2009 he and Stephen Fry opposed the Intelligence Squared motion “The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world,” against Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja and the Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe. On 26 November 2010 he faced former prime minister Tony Blair at the Munk Debates, arguing against the proposition that religion is a force for good.
Debate at that level tests verbal fluency, recall of evidence, speed of rebuttal and nerve, all at once and in public. It is a harsher examination than most written tests, and he chose to sit it again and again.
Hitchens beside Fry, Dawkins and Harris
None of his best-known sparring partners and allies has a published IQ score either. Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are living, and neither has released a result. Stephen Fry has not published one. Rankings of these men by IQ are fiction.
What can be compared is output and influence. In September 2005, Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines placed Hitchens fifth on their list of the top 100 public intellectuals. The label “genius” is often tied to an IQ of 140, a convention rather than a finding; our page on IQ 140 explains where that line came from and why it is arbitrary.
How we assessed this
We looked for any disclosed, reported or scholarly IQ figure and found none. We therefore give no number. The profile rests on his bibliography, awards, debates and education as recorded in standard references, the Intelligence Squared archive, and the publication history of his books.
Frequently asked questions
What was Christopher Hitchens's IQ?
It is unknown. Hitchens never published an IQ score, none has been reported since his death in 2011, and no scholar has estimated one. Numbers found on celebrity sites cite no test. His books, columns and debates are the documented evidence of his ability.
Was Christopher Hitchens a genius?
He was among the most accomplished essayists and debaters of his generation. He wrote 18 books, won two National Magazine Awards, produced a No. 1 bestseller, and ranked fifth on a 2005 Foreign Policy/Prospect list of public intellectuals. Whether that earns the word genius is a judgment; the record itself is not in doubt.
Who had a higher IQ, Christopher Hitchens or Richard Dawkins?
There is no way to know. Neither man published an IQ score, and no reputable outlet has reported one for either. Dawkins built his reputation in evolutionary biology; Hitchens built his in journalism and polemic. Different records, no common test.
What is Hitchens's razor?
It is the principle Hitchens set down in God Is Not Great (2007): “What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.” It updates a Latin maxim and places the burden of proof on whoever makes a claim.
Did Christopher Hitchens do well at Oxford?
Not by the grades. He read philosophy, politics and economics at Balliol College from 1967 and graduated in 1970 with a third-class degree. His later career shows how poorly a single exam result can predict a lifetime of intellectual work.
Sources
- Christopher Hitchens (Wikipedia) — Life dates, Balliol and third-class degree, outlets, books, awards, Four Horsemen, 2005 ranking, Munk debate
- God Is Not Great (Wikipedia) — Publication May 2007; No. 1 on the New York Times list in its third week
- Hitchens's razor (Wikipedia) — Wording, page 258, Latin antecedent, pairing with the Sagan standard
- Arguably (Wikipedia) — 107 essays; New York Times 10 Best Books of 2011
- The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world (Intelligence Squared) — 2009 debate line-up with Hitchens and Stephen Fry
- Christopher Hitchens (Encyclopaedia Britannica) — Overview of his career as author and critic
Editorial standard: IQ figures for historical figures are retrospective estimates and are labeled as such; scores for living people appear only when the person disclosed them or a reputable outlet reported them. Corrections: contact the editors.
