The 2007 recitation
The record is listed plainly: 15,314 digits on 21 July 2007, in three hours fourteen minutes. That is roughly 79 digits a minute sustained for more than three hours, without a single error, because in pi recitation one wrong digit ends the attempt at that point.
The scale is worth stating in ordinary terms. Fifteen thousand digits is about the length of a short story with no words in it, no grammar to lean on, no narrative to recover a lost thread from, and no possibility of paraphrase.
The North American record
His earlier mark, 12,887 digits on 16 December 2006, took three hours forty minutes and stood as the North American record. Between December 2006 and July 2007 he added roughly 2,400 digits and cut 26 minutes off the run.
That is the ordinary rhythm of the discipline: memorisers extend their chains in blocks, rehearse the joins, and then reattempt the whole sequence under observation. Speed improves because recall becomes automatic, not because the reciter hurries.
Not only pi
On 30 September 2006 he recited 5,544 digits of the square root of two in two hours seven minutes — a world record for that constant. On the same December day as his pi attempt he recited 905 digits of e in twenty minutes, holding the record for that constant from 16 December 2006 until 30 January 2007.
Six weeks is a short reign, and it illustrates the shape of the field: records in constants other than pi are held by a handful of people and change hands quickly, because the pool of competitors is small enough that one determined newcomer resets the table.
Why people memorise pi
Pi is the standard test piece of memory sport for a simple reason: it is infinite, non-repeating and public, so any two attempts are directly comparable and any claim can be checked digit by digit against the published expansion.
That verifiability is the point. Mic's Pi Day survey of record-holders in March 2017 placed Umile among the names the discipline recognises, and the Pi World Ranking List exists to keep those claims in a single, checkable table rather than in press cuttings. Without such a list, a memory record is only an assertion; with it, every digit of a three-hour recitation can be audited after the fact.
What is documented — and what is not
Documented: the four recitations, their dates, digit counts and durations, and his inclusion in Mic's 2017 round-up of pi record-holders.
Not documented in these sources: his age, his home city, his occupation, the venue and witnesses for each attempt, and the method he used to memorise the sequences. The research record notes that only one source was fully verified in its pass, and that local coverage in Philadelphia is the likely place to look for the rest. Until that is found, the four dated entries above are the whole of the reliable file on him.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Markie Pasternak | United States | She remembers every day of her life since February 2005, and cannot stop | Age 11 |
| Marc Umile | United States | Reciting 15,314 digits of pi | — |
| Rebecca Sharrock | Australia | Highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) | — |
| Krishan Chahal | India | Reciting 43,000 digits of pi | — |
| Rick de Jong | Netherlands | Reciting 22,612 digits of pi | — |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- He recited 15,314 digits of pi on 21 July 2007 in 3 hours 14 minutes.
- He recited 12,887 digits on 16 December 2006, listed as a North American record.
- He set a world record of 5,544 digits for the square root of two on 30 September 2006.
- He held the record for e, at 905 digits, from 16 December 2006 to 30 January 2007.
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- His age, home city and occupation.
- The venues and witnesses for the attempts.
- His memorisation method.
- Whether he has attempted any further recitations since 2007.
Questions people ask about Marc Umile
How many digits of pi can Marc Umile recite?
His listed record is 15,314 digits, recited on 21 July 2007 in three hours and fourteen minutes.
Is he the world record holder for pi?
No. His entries stand on the Pi World Ranking List, and his 12,887-digit run of December 2006 is listed as a North American record rather than a world one.
How old is Marc Umile?
The sources used here do not give his age, birth year or home city.
What other records does he hold?
A world record of 5,544 digits for the square root of two, set on 30 September 2006, and a former record of 905 digits for e, held for six weeks in 2006 and 2007.
What happens if a reciter makes a mistake?
The attempt ends at that digit. Pi is public and non-repeating, so every claim can be checked against the published expansion, one digit at a time.
Is Marc Umile on Wikipedia?
The research record finds no article under his name. His results are listed on the Pi World Ranking List.
Where is Marc Umile now?
No source used here says. The most recent mention is Mic's Pi Day round-up in March 2017.
How did he memorise the digits?
The sources used here do not describe his method.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Umile’s story?
How many digits of pi did Marc Umile recite in 2007?
How long did that recitation take?
Which other constant did he set a world record for?
Sources
- Pi Day 2017: Meet the record-holders for memorizing digits of pi — Mic, 2017-03-14
- Marc Umile — details — Pi World Ranking List
- Pi World Ranking List — Pi — Pi World Ranking List
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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