Geniuses Who Died Young

Explore 43 geniuses who died before the age of 40, from prodigies struck down in their prime to revolutionary thinkers whose brief lives changed the world forever.

Edmund Thomas Clint

1976–1983 · India · Died at 7

Having drawn over 25,000 paintings

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Carl Filtsch

1830–1845 · Romania · Died at 15

Composed concerto at thirteen; died at age fourteen

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Arfa Karim

1995–2012 · Pakistan · Died at 17

World's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, 2004–2006

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Thomas Chatterton

1752–1770 · United Kingdom · Died at 18

Committed suicide age 17

IQ 170

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Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga

1806–1826 · Spain · Died at 20

Composed a two-act opera at age thirteen

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Évariste Galois

1811–1832 · France · Died at 21

Work on the theory of equations and Abelian integrals

IQ 165

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Otto Weininger

1880–1903 · Germany · Died at 23

Sex and Character

IQ 155

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Lili Boulanger

1893–1918 · France · Died at 25

Attended Louis Vierne's organ classes at the Paris Conservatoire at age six

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Niels Henrik Abel

1802–1829 · Norway · Died at 27

Abel's binomial theorem • Abel equation • Abel equation of the first kindAbelian extension • A

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Henry Moseley

1887–1915 · United Kingdom · Died at 28

Atomic number, Moseley's law

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Novalis

1772–1801 · Germany · Died at 29

Hymns to the Night and The Novices at Sais

IQ 170

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Anne Brontë

1820–1849 · United Kingdom · Died at 29

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

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Percy Bysshe Shelley

1792–1822 · England · Died at 30

"Ozymandias" (1818), "Ode to the West Wind" (1819), "To a Skylark" (1820), and “The Mask of Anarchy”

IQ 185

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Franz Schubert

1797–1828 · Austria · Died at 31

"Erlkönig" (D. 328), the Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 (Trout Quintet), the Symphony No. 8 in B m

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Xavier Bichat

1771–1802 · France · Died at 31

The concept of tissue

IQ 175

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Sylvia Plath

1932–1963 · United States · Died at 31

The Bell Jar and Ariel

IQ 140

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Ettore Majorana

1906–1938 · Italy · Died at 32

The Italian theoretical physicist was an expert in electrically neutral subatomic particles created

IQ 183

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Srinivasa Ramanujan

1887–1920 · India · Died at 33

Landau–Ramanujan constant, Mock theta functions, Ramanujan conjecture, Ramanujan prime, Ramanujan–So

IQ 175

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Lucilio Vanini

1585–1619 · Italy · Died at 34

Nomological determinism,

IQ 175

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William Kingdon Clifford

1845–1879 · United Kingdom · Died at 34

Clifford algebra

IQ 175

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Vincenzo Bellini

1801–1835 · Italy · Died at 34

Norma • La Sonnambula • I Puritani

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Georges Danton

1759–1794 · France · Died at 35

Being a leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution

IQ 155

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

1756–1791 · Austria · Died at 35

Serenade No. 13 “Eine kleine Nachtmusik”, Requiem, The Magic Flute, Clarinet Concerto and Symphony N

IQ 170

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Zerah Colburn

1804–1839 · United States · Died at 35

Mental calculator; child prodigy

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Georges Bizet

1838–1874 · France · Died at 36

Carmen

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Lord Byron

1788–1824 · England · Died at 36

Don Juan and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

IQ 180

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Maximilien Robespierre

1758–1794 · France · Died at 36

Playing an important part in the agitation which brought about the fall of the French monarchy on 10

IQ 170

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Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot

1796–1832 · France · Died at 36

Carnot cycle • Carnot efficiency • Carnot theorem • Carnot heat engine

IQ 190

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Ada Lovelace

1815–1852 · United Kingdom · Died at 37

The mother of computing science; contributed to the first published computer program; was the first

IQ 160

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Heinrich Hertz

1857–1894 · Germany · Died at 37

Proving the existence of the electromagnetic waves

IQ 180

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Raphael

1483–1520 · Italy · Died at 37

PaintingArchitecture

IQ 170

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Robert Burns

1759–1796 · Scotland · Died at 37

"Auld Lang Syne" "To a Mouse" "A Man's a Man for A' That" "Ae Fond Kiss" "Scots Wha Hae" "Tam O'Sha

IQ 150

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Vincent van Gogh

1853–1890 · Netherlands · Died at 37

The Potato Eaters (1885) Sunflowers (1887) Bedroom in Arles (1888) The Starry Night (1889) Portr

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Alexander Pushkin

1799–1837 · Russia · Died at 38

Eugene Onegin, The Captain's Daughter, Boris Godunov, Ruslan and Ludmila.

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Felix Mendelssohn

1809–1847 · Germany · Died at 38

grandson of Moses Mendelssohn; student of Carl Zelter; Mendelssohn first appeared in concert at the

IQ 165

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Mary Wollstonecraft

1759–1797 · Died at 38

IQ 160

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Rosalind Franklin

1920–1958 · United Kingdom · Died at 38

Structure of DNA • Fine structure of coal and graphite • Virus structures

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Augustin-Jean Fresnel

1788–1827 · France · Died at 39

His research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light.

IQ 180

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Blaise Pascal

1623–1662 · France · Died at 39

Pascal's law

IQ 185

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Charlotte Brontë

1816–1855 · England · Died at 39

Jane Eyre • Villette

IQ 165

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Frédéric Chopin

1810–1849 · Poland · Died at 39

Publishing two polonaises by the age of seven

IQ 165

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Giacomo Leopardi

1798–1837 · Italy · Died at 39

The Idilli

IQ 180

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Martin Luther King Jr.

1929–1968 · United States · Died at 39

Civil rights movement, Peace movement

IQ 140

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which genius died the youngest?

Edmund Thomas Clint died at just 7 years old.

How many geniuses died before 40?

There are 43 geniuses in the Geniuses.Club database who died before reaching 40 years of age.

Why do so many geniuses die young?

Throughout history, many brilliant minds were lost to war, disease, persecution, and the physical toll of intense dedication to their work. Some, like mathematicians and poets, showed peak creativity in youth.

Geniuses Who Died Young