| Rank | Name | IQ | Born | Known For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 1st | Gilbert N. Lewis 🇺🇸 | 195 | 1875 | Covalent bondLewis dot structuresValence bond theoryElectronic theory of acids and basesChemical the… |
| 2 2nd | Bertrand Russell 🇬🇧 | 180 | 1872 | |
| 3 3rd | Lawrence Joseph Henderson 🇺🇸 | 180 | 1878 | The Fitness of the Environment, Henderson–Hasselbalch equation |
| 4 | Guglielmo Marconi 🇮🇹 | 165 | 1874 | Radio |
| 5 | Carl Jung 🇨🇭 | 165 | 1875 | Analytical psychology <br> Psychological types <br> Collective unconscious <br> Complex <br> Archety… |
| 6 | Lise Meitner 🇦🇹 | 165 | 1878 | Discovery of protactinium Discovery of nuclear fission |
| 7 | Sergei Rachmaninoff 🇷🇺 | 160 | 1873 | |
| 8 | Albert Einstein 🇩🇪 | 160 | 1879 | Einstein’s theories of special & general relativity delivered a remarkable transformation in our und… |
| 9 | Maria Montessori 🇮🇹 | 155 | 1870 | Founder of the Montessori method of education |
| 10 | Robert Frost 🇺🇸 | 145 | 1874 | A Boy's Will, North of Boston |
| 11 | Ernest Rutherford 🇳🇿 | — | 1871 | Discovery of alpha and beta radioactivity <br> Discovery of atomic nucleus (Rutherford model) <br> R… |
| 12 | Winston Churchill 🇬🇧 | — | 1874 | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from… |
| 13 | Josef Hofmann 🇺🇸 | — | 1876 | Being probably the first pianist of note to record on Edison's phonograph |
| 14 | William Armstrong Fairburn 🇺🇸 | — | 1876 | English-born American naval architect, marine engineer, chemical engineer, and industrial executive;… |
| 15 | Tatyana Afanasyeva 🇺🇦 | — | 1876 |
The Gilded Age was beginning as Edison, Bell, and Carnegie ushered in an era of massive industrial expansion and technological invention. Electricity was transitioning from laboratory curiosity to commercial reality, and the modern corporation was emerging as the dominant institution of economic life. The Franco-Prussian War reshaped European power, and a new wave of colonialism was bringing the entire globe under Western economic influence.
Gilbert N. Lewis is ranked #1 among geniuses born in the 1870s with an estimated IQ of 195, known for Covalent bondLewis dot structuresValence bond theoryElectronic theory of acids and basesChemical thermodynamicsFugacityH….
Our database includes 18 notable geniuses born between 1870–1879, spanning fields from science and mathematics to philosophy, literature, and the arts.
The average estimated IQ of documented geniuses born in the 1870s is 167, with the highest recorded being 195.
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