Child Prodigy Geniuses

Extraordinary talent from an early age

77 Geniuses

Child Prodigy Geniuses

Meet 77 child prodigies who displayed extraordinary intellectual gifts from a remarkably young age, reshaping our understanding of human potential.

Marnen Laibow-Koser
b. 1970 · United States
Being a child prodigy, proficient with multiple musical instruments and programming techniques.
IQ 268
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Ainan Celeste Cawley
b. 1999 · SG
Being a child prodigy with estimated IQ of 250.
IQ 250
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William James Sidis
1898–1944 · United States
The Animate And The Inanimate
IQ 250
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Chris Hirata
b. 1982 · United States
Being the youngest U.S. citizen to receive an International Physics Olympiad gold medal. Starting wo
IQ 225
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Terence Chi-Shen Tao
b. 1975 · Australia
When he was two years old, he was able to perform simple arithmetic. By the time he was nine, he was
IQ 220
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Edith Stern
b. 1952 · United States
Holding over 100 US patents and being awarded the ASME Kate Gleason Award.
IQ 200
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Michael Grost
b. 1954 · United States
Starting university at the tender age of 10, the maths prodigy is now a computer scientist, accordin
IQ 200
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Michael Kearney
b. 1984 · United States
Child prodigy, youngest person to ever graduate from college (age 10)
IQ 200
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Sho Yano
b. 1990 · United States
The youngest student at the University of Chicago to receive an MD, Yano had one degree under his be
IQ 200
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Adragon Eastwood De Mello
b. 1976 · United States
Graduating from college at the age of 11.
IQ 185
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Lord Byron
1788–1824 · England
Don Juan and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
IQ 180
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William Pitt the Younger
1759–1806 · United Kingdom
Becoming the youngest prime minister of Great Britain in 1783 at the age of 24
IQ 180
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Erasmus
1469–1536 · Netherlands
In Praise of Folly • Handbook of a Christian Knight • On Civility in Children • Julius Excluded • Th
IQ 177
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Jacob Barnett
b. 1998 · United States
Becoming a doctorate student at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada at 18 years old.
IQ 170
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Raphael
1483–1520 · Italy
PaintingArchitecture
IQ 170
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Thomas Chatterton
1752–1770 · United Kingdom
Committed suicide age 17
IQ 170
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Manahel Thabet
b. 1981 · YE
the youngest person to receive a financial engineering Ph.D. magna cum laude. In 2012 she came up wi
IQ 168
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Felix Mendelssohn
1809–1847 · Germany
grandson of Moses Mendelssohn; student of Carl Zelter; Mendelssohn first appeared in concert at the
IQ 165
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Lydia Sebastian
b. 2003 · India
started speaking when she was just six months old and at the age of four, she started playing the vi
IQ 162
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Brielle Milla
b. 2012 · United States
Child Prodigy who attended the Allen Show
IQ 160
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Akshay Venkatesh
b. 1981 · India
Mathematical Work, Former Child Prodigy
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Alma Deutscher
b. 2005 · England
The Sweeper of Dreams at 7, Full-length opera Cinderella at, Piano concerto at 12.
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Anish Kumar Giri
b. 1994 · Russia
Achieving the title of Grandmaster at the age of 14 years.
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Arfa Karim
1995–2012 · Pakistan
World's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, 2004–2006
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Aryan Chopra
b. 2001 · India
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Awonder Liang
b. 2003 · United States
Being the second youngest American to qualify for the title of Grandmaster at the age of 14.
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Camille Saint-Saëns
1835–1921 · France
Giving his first public recital at age five
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Carl Filtsch
1830–1845 · Romania
Composed concerto at thirteen; died at age fourteen
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Charles-Valentin Alkan
1813–1888 · France
Entered Paris Conservatoire at age 5, youngest ever admission.
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Edmund Thomas Clint
1976–1983 · India
Having drawn over 25,000 paintings
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Emily Bear
b. 2001 · United States
Composed and released her first piano album at age five
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Ethan Bortnick
b. 2000 · United States
Having a perfect pitch at age 3, composing at age 5, playing first concert at age 6.
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Étienne Bacrot
b. 1983 · France
Becoming a Grandmaster in March 1997 at the age of 14 years and 2 months
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Evgeny Kissin
b. 1971 · Russia
Entered music school at age six
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Fabiano Caruana
b. 1992 · Italy
Becoming a grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, and 20 days.
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Franz Liszt
1811–1886 · Hungary
Performed first major concert at age eleven and was already an accomplished concert pianist by the a
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Gian Carlo Menotti
1911–2007 · Italy
Composed first opera at age eleven
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Glenn Gould
1932–1982 · Canada
Attending The Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) at age 10
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Gukesh D
b. 2006 · India
Becoming a grandmaster at the age of 13.
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György Cziffra
1921–1994 · Hungary
Entered the Franz Liszt Academy at age nine, after some four years performing in a traveling circus
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Hou Yifan
b. 1994 · China
Being the youngest female player to qualify for the title of grandmaster (at the age of 14 years 6 m
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Jascha Heifetz
1901–1987 · Russia
Being one of the greatest violin players of the 20th century
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Jeffery Xiong
b. 2000 · United States
Being the third youngest in the US to qualify, at age fourteen, for the title of Grandmaster
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Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga
1806–1826 · Spain
Composed a two-act opera at age thirteen
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Kishan Shrikanth
b. 1996 · India
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Kit Armstrong
b. 1992 · United States
Concerto debut at eight; Morton Gould Young Composer Award for five consecutive years
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Lang Lang
b. 1982 · China
Entering the Beijing Conservatory at age eight
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Leo Ornstein
1895–2002 · United States
Enterin Saint Petersburg Conservatory at age ten
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Lili Boulanger
1893–1918 · France
Attended Louis Vierne's organ classes at the Paris Conservatoire at age six
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Martha Argerich
b. 1941 · Argentina
Orchestral debut at age six, being one of the best pianists in the world.
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Niccolò Paganini
1782–1840 · Italy
Composed first opera at age eleven
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Nihal Sarin
b. 2004 · India
Being a Chess Prodigy
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Nodirbek Abdusattorov
b. 2004 · UZ
Chess Prodigy
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Sergei Prokofiev
1891–1953 · Ukraine
Composed an opera at age nine
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Parimarjan Negi
b. 1993 · India
Being the seventh youngest grandmaster in history.
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Peter Leko
b. 1979 · Hungary
Being the world's youngest grandmaster in 1994
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Priyanshi Somani
b. 1998 · India
Mental calculator
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Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa
b. 2005 · India
Being the fifth-youngest person ever to achieve the title of Grandmaster
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Richárd Rapport
b. 1996 · Hungary
Hungarian Chess Champion in 2017.
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Samuel Barber
1910–1981 · United States
Attempted an opera at age ten; attended the Curtis Institute of Music at age fourteen
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Samuel Reshevsky
1911–1992 · Poland
Eight-time winner of the US Chess Championship
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Truman Henry Safford
1836–1901 · United States
Calculating prodigy
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Wei Yi
b. 1999 · China
The fifth-youngest grandmaster in history
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Zerah Colburn
1804–1839 · United States
Mental calculator; child prodigy
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Ariel Lanyi
b. 1997 · Israel
Music Prodigy Pianist
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Gitanjali Rao
b. 2005 · United States
Water lead-level measuring device (2018)
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Tanishq Abraham
b. 2003 · United States
Being the youngest American to receive a degree in biomedical engineering.
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Santiago Gonzalez
b. 1997 · United States
Graduating from university at 17.
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Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
1648–1695 · Mexico
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Shree Bose
b. 1994 · United States
Cofounding Piper, a STEM education company creating engineering kits for children.
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Marian Bechtel
b. 1997 · United States
Creating a landmine detector
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Marko Čalasan
b. 2000 · MK
Becoming the youngest Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator at the age of eight and the youngest
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Colin Carlson
b. 1995 · United States
Winning the Harry S. Truman Scholarship at 14
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Saheela Ibraheem
b. 1996 · United States
Enrolling into Harvard at the age of 15.
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Anne Brontë
1820–1849 · United Kingdom
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
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Kadence Clover Hawk
b. 2008 · United States
Remarkable skateboarder
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Abhimanyu Mishra
b. 2009 · United States
Youngest ever Grand Master and IM in the world. Winner of Spring Classic 2022 (group B). Tied for 2n
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Geniuses Who Died Young (43)Female Geniuses Throughout History (92)Nobel Prize-Winning Geniuses (88)Ancient Geniuses (74)Renaissance Geniuses (95)Living Geniuses Today (207)Geniuses with the Highest IQ Scores (16)Polymath Geniuses (151)

Frequently Asked Questions

What defines a child prodigy?

A child prodigy is a person who, at an early age (typically under 10), develops abilities far beyond what is expected for their age in a given field.

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Do child prodigies grow up to be geniuses?

Many child prodigies become accomplished adults, though not all. Some face unique psychological challenges. Mozart, Gauss, and Pascal are examples of prodigies who achieved lasting greatness.

How many child prodigies are in the database?

Geniuses.Club features 77 geniuses who were recognized as child prodigies.

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Child prodigies

Kim Ung-yongKim Ung-yongTested IQ 210 — Guinness Record Holder, NASA Engineer at 8, PhD…Shakuntala DeviShakuntala DeviMultiplied two 13-digit numbers in her head in 28 secondsStephen WiltshireStephen WiltshireAutistic Savant Drawing Entire Cities from Memory — MBE from…Michael KearneyMichael KearneyBachelor's at 10 Years, 4 Months — Youngest U.S. College…
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