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Stanford-Binet: Origin and Development

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Title: Children Above 180 IQ Stanford-Binet: Origin and Development

Author: Leta Stetter Hollingworth

Editor: Harry L. Hollingworth

Release date: November 20, 2014 [eBook #47403]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILDREN
ABOVE 180 IQ STANFORD-BINET: ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT
***

Title: Children Above 180 IQ Stanford-Binet: Origin and Development

Author: Leta S. Hollingworth

Original publisher: World Book Company

Copyright 1942.

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CHILDREN ABOVE 180 IQ STANFORD-
BINET: ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

FOREWORD

Shortly after the year 1924 Leta S. Hollingworth prepared a manuscript on
"Children above 180 IQ (Stanford-Binet)" in which she surveyed the
material on the topic available up to that date and added accounts of five
cases which she had studied individually. [1] As the years went by she held
back the manuscript from publication and one by one she found seven more
cases to be included in her list. At the time of her death in 1939 she had
begun to revise this manuscript, bringing the survey up to date and adding
the new cases. The present book gives as much of this revision from her
own hand as is available. The Preface and Chapters 1, 2, and 3 are as she
wrote them. The accounts of the first five cases are given just as she
originally wrote them up, but to them "editorial supplements" have been
added in which an endeavor has been made to present for each case such
data as have been found in her files, with little in the way of discussion or
interpretation.

The seven new cases which the original author had intended to include in
the manuscript she had not yet written up. For these, therefore, it has been
necessary to study the data she had accumulated for each child, to secure
additional data when and where possible, and to present such an account of
each as she might herself have written, patterned after her reports of the
earlier cases.

Much is lost that would have been contributed had the author lived to
complete her project. She knew these cases intimately and at first hand.
Some of them she had followed for as long as twenty years, taking a
personal interest in the individual children and their problems, advising
them, assisting them, continuously observing them, and frequently testing
and measuring them.

Particularly inadequate must be the accounts of the later development of
the individuals herein described, for many of the details well known to the
author she not committed to paper, since she fully expected to complete the
manuscript herself. It is to be regretted that a follow-up study of these
recent developments could not have been undertaken, and a hope is
expressed that this may yet be done.

The chapters summarizing the group of twelve new cases are wholly
without Leta S. Hollingworth's touch. It seemed desirable, however, to give
such a summary as could be made under the circumstances. Had the
original author been able to complete her book, we know that penetrating
light would have been thrown on many of the more personal difficulties of
these children of rare intelligence. This experience and insight can no
longer be recovered. It must suffice to put on record chiefly the factual data
now available, leaving it for future workers to follow up, if it should seem
desirable, the subsequent career and destiny of the individuals whose early
development and background are herein reported. Identification of these
children is not made in this book, but the necessary facts for this purpose
are on file and identification can be made at any time in the interests of
educational research.

The third section of this book as originally outlined by Leta S.
Hollingworth was to have dealt with general principles and with the social
and educational implications of the study of children of very high

intelligence. Up to the time of her death nothing of this character had been
written by her explicitly, but throughout the years in which her projected
book was developing she wrote a number of papers and reports bearing on
the subject, and these were published from time to time in technical
journals. It is well known that the content of these papers was dictated by
her study of such cases as are herein reported, by her familiarity with the
reports of other students in this field, and by her own very concrete and
long experience in the organization and conduct of two experimental
projects in the schools of New York City. It is, in fact, likely that the final
chapters she had in mind for this book would have been a reorganization of
the conclusions set forth in these articles.

Consequently, the last five chapters of this book, instead of being an
attempt to guess at what the author might have said in them, are all from her
own hand. They are either selections from or complete reproductions of
papers she had published on what she considered to be the implications of
her observations of children of rare intelligence.

The publication of this book has been made possible by funds granted by
the Carnegie Corporation of New York. That Corporation is not, however,
the author, owner, publisher, or proprietor of this publication, and it is not to
be understood as approving by virtue of its grants any of the statements or
views expressed herein.

Harry L. Hollingworth
Barnard College
Columbia University, New York

[1] Chapter 9 of Gifted Children, published in 1926, bears the title
"Children Who Test above 180 IQ (Stanford-Binet)." Some of the cases
described more fully in the monograph manuscript are also sketched in that
chapter.

CONTENTS

PREFACE

PART I: ORIENTATION

1. THE CONCEPT OF INTELLECTUAL GENIUS Concepts of the
Ancients, Dictionary Definitions, Concepts of Genius, Miscellaneous
Observations Tending to Define Characteristics of Genius, Speculation and
Comment Concerning Genius

2. EARLY SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF EMINENT ADULTS Origin of
Eminent Adults, Yoder's Study, Terman's Inferences from Biography

3. PUBLISHED REPORTS ON TESTED CHILDREN Modern
Approach to the Study of Ability, Binet's Method, The Range of Intellect
above 180 IQ, Children Observed before the Era of Binet, Children Who
Test above 180 IQ by Binet-Simon Tests, Children Who Test above 180 IQ
by Stanford-Binet Tests, Generalizations

PART II: TWELVE CASES NEW TO LITERATURE CONCERNING
TESTED CHILDREN

4. CHILD A
Family Background, Preschool History, School History, Judgments

of Teachers, Mental Measurements, Traits of Character, Physical
Measurements and Health, Miscellaneous Characteristics

5. CHILD B
Family Background, Preschool History, School History, Traits of
Character, Judgments of Teachers, Mental Measurements, Physical
Measurements, Miscellaneous Characteristics

6. CHILD C
Family Background, Preschool History, School History, Traits of
Character, Mental Measurements, Physical Measurements, Later
School History

7. CHILD D
Family Background, Preschool History, Traits of Character, Mental
Measurements, Physical Measurements and Health, Miscellaneous
Characteristics, School History

8. CHILD E
Family Background, Early History, School Achievement, Mental
Measurements, Social Habits, Tastes, etc., Later Mental Measurements,
Later Physical Measurements, Later Scholastic Records, Extracurricular
Activities, Teachers' Comments, Summary up to 1921, Eventual
Scholastic Records, Researches of E, Summary of Development

9. CHILD F
Family Background, Preschool History, Early School History, Early
Test Scores, Home Rating, Miscellaneous Characteristics, Later
Educational Career

10. CHILD G
Family Background, Educational History, Early Mental Tests,

Later Test Records, Traits of Character, Physical Measurements,
High School Record, G's Brother's Record

11. CHILD H
Family Background, Preschool History, Mental Measurements, Physical
Measurements, Intellectual Ability

12. CHILD I
Family Background, Preschool History, Early Educational History,
Mental Measurements, Physical Measurements and Health, Miscellaneous
Characteristics

13. CHILD J Family Background, Childhood Characteristics, Later
Mental Tests

14. CHILD K
Family Background, Early Development, Mental Measurements, Physical
Measurements, Later Educational Progress

15. CHILD L
Family Background, Early History, Achievement at Speyer School,
High School Record to Date of Writing, Later Tests and Inventories

16. SUMMARIES OF HEREDITIES AND EARLY BEHAVIOR Family
History and Background, Physical and Behavioral Development

17. SCHOLASTIC ACHIEVEMENT AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY
Scholastic Achievement and Educational Adjustment, Creative Work,
General Statement

PART III: GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND IMPLICATIONS.

18. ADULT STATUS AND PERSONALITY RATINGS.
Adult Status of Highly Intelligent Children, Critique of the
Concept of "Genius" as Applied in Terms of IQ, Application of
Bernreuter Inventory of Personality to Highly Intelligent Adolescents

19. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY IN HIGHLY
INTELLIGENT CHILDREN General Considerations, The Part Played by
Physique, Problem of Leadership, Problems of Adjustment to Occupation,
Learning to "Suffer Fools Gladly", The Tendency to Become Isolated, The
Concept of "Optimum Intelligence", Conclusion

20. THE CHILD OF VERY SUPERIOR INTELLIGENCE AS A
SPECIAL PROBLEM IN SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT The Quality of Gifted
Children, The Problem of Work, The Problem of Adjustment to Classmates,
The Problem of Play, Special Problems of the Gifted Girl, Problems of
Conformity, The Problems of Origin and of Destiny, General
Considerations

21. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLING OF VERY BRIGHT
CHILDREN
Considerations in Planning the Curriculum, Enrichment Units at
Speyer School, Special Work, Emotional Education, Matters of
General Policy

22. PROBLEMS OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELEMENTARY
AND SECONDARY
SCHOOLS IN THE CASE OF HIGHLY INTELLIGENT PUPILS
The Elementary School, Transition from Elementary to Secondary
School, Consideration of the Questions Arising, What about Genius?

PREFACE

This study is founded upon the work of Francis Galton, on the one hand,
and of Albert Binet, on the other. It goes back to Galton's Hereditary
Genius, read as a prescribed reference in the courses of Professor Edward
L. Thorndike, in 1912; and to the publication in 1916 of Professor Lewis M.
Terman's Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon Scale for Measuring
Intelligence. It comprises observations, measurements, and conversations
covering a period of twenty-three years, during which acquaintanceships
and friendships, every one of them delightful, have been formed and
maintained with the twelve individuals who form the basis of the study.

It was in November, 1916, shortly after taking appointment as instructor
in educational psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University, that I
saw for the first time a child testing above 180 IQ (S-B). I was teaching a
course in the psychology of mentally deficient children, and it seemed to
me that my class should if possible observe under test conditions one bright
child for the sake of contrast. Accordingly, I asked whether any teacher
present could nominate a very intelligent pupil for demonstration.

Miss Charlotte G. Garrison and Miss Agnes Burke, teachers in the
Horace Mann School, Teachers College, New York City, thereupon
nominated the child who is called E in this monograph. E was presented at
the next meeting of the class. It required two full classroom periods to test
this child to the limits of the Stanford-Binet Scale, which had just then been

published. E exhausted the scale without being fully measured by it,
achieving an IQ of at least 187. He was on that date 8 years 4 months old.

This IQ of at least 187 placed E in Galton's Class X of able persons; i.e.,
more than six "grades" removed from mediocrity. Taking 1 PE#dis# as one
"grade," it placed him at least plus 11 PE from the norm; for 1 PE (Probable
Error) equals 8 IQ, according to Terman's original distribution of 905 school
children. [1] This appeared as sufficiently striking to warrant permanent
recording, since it would rate E as one in a million for statistical frequency,
assuming "zeal and power of working" to be also abundantly present.

I did not at that time have any expert knowledge of highly intelligent
children. I had been working for some years in the hospitals of New York
City with persons presented for commitment to reformatories, prisons, and
institutions for mental defectives. I had tested thousands of incompetent
persons, a majority of them children, with Goddard's Revision of the Binet-
Simon Scale, scarcely ever finding anyone with an IQ rating as high as 100.
This thoroughgoing experience of the negative aspects of intelligence
rendered the performance of E even more impressive to me than it would
otherwise have been. I perceived the clear and flawless working of his mind
against a contrasting background of thousands of dull and foolish minds. It
was an unforgettable observation.

I then began to look for children like E, to observe them with reference to
the principles of education. This search has been conducted in a desultory
manner, in "odd" moments, ever since 1916. At times, as in 1922-1923 and
in 1935-1936, when pupils were being sought for special classes at Public
School 165, Manhattan, or at Public School 500, Manhattan, the search has
been systematic. Usually, however, the quest has been quite otherwise, for
in the course of long searching I have learned that it is nearly useless to look
for these children, because so few of them exist. In twenty-three years'

seeking in New York City and the local metropolitan area, the densest
center of population in this country and at the same time a great intellectual
center attracting able persons, I have found only twelve children who test at
or above 180 IQ (S-B). This number represents the winnowing from
thousands of children tested, hundreds of them brought for the testing
because of their mental gifts. Of course there were and are others who have
not been found, since [this] search has never been exhaustive.

The most interesting part of this research is yet to come, in the form of a
record of the mature performances of these gifted persons observed in
childhood. However, I propose to make a report now of origin and
development; to be followed, if I live so long, by further reports of adult
status. Such researches require more than the life span of one investigator,
since time is of the essence of the task. Universities should make provision
for institutional prosecution of these long-time studies as distinguished from
individual prosecution. In any case, I shall try to leave the records to some
younger student who will comprehend them, and who will amplify them if I
prove unable to do so myself.

Galton, in his efforts to understand ability, was limited to the study of the
eminent adult, dead and gone. The only test he could use was that of
reputation, for at the time he was at work on the problem, mental
measurement had not yet been developed as a technique. He wished for a
more valid method of gauging ability, and he fully realized that it would be
of greater advantage to study "the living individual." "Is reputation a fair
test of natural ability?" he asked. "It is the only one I can employ . . . am I
justified in using it? How much of a man's success is due to his
opportunities, and how much to his natural power of intellect?"

Galton's work was finished before Binet's studies made it possible to
measure natural ability apart from reputation; and what is most essential of

all, to measure natural ability in childhood. It was Binet's great and original
service that he rendered it possible to determine accurately the permanent
intellectual caliber of an undeveloped human being. It has always been
possible to appraise the ability of people forty or fifty years old, after they
have met "the tests of life," but for the pursuit of education and social
science it is not very practically useful to know what a person is like only at
the end of his life. It is essential, rather, to know with a high degree of
precision and certainty the mental endowment of persons at the beginning
of their lives if anything is to be done in the matter of special training for
special children.

The facts derived from the study of the twelve exceptional persons herein
described, and from the study of others like them, and the principles
deduced from these facts, are of that order of importance for social science
which Galton ascribed to them. Nevertheless, to hear of the tremendous
differences between the dullest and the most intelligent individual, between
the average man and the person who falls more than +10 PE away from him
in mental ability, is extremely tedious to the typical American listener. This
is only too well known to one who has long tried to interest foundations and
moneyed persons in the education of gifted children. There is an apparent
preference among donors for studying the needs and supporting the welfare
of the weak, the vicious, and the incompetent, and a negative disregard of
the highly intelligent, leaving them to "shift for themselves."

Perhaps a wider dissemination of facts such as have been adduced in the
studies of Professor Lewis M. Terman and other educators, and in this
study, may eventually bring about a more constructive point of view, one
more conducive to a recognition of national welfare involved in educational
plans for the unusual student.

It is desirable in this introduction to make known some of the etiquette
and ethics involved in the scientific study of very gifted children. This is a
new area in the field of human relationships and the investigator who works
within it comes rather frequently upon certain questions of good manners
which do not arise in any other field of psychological research.

For instance, persons who test above 180 IQ (S-B) are almost sure to
read and recognize in books and articles whatever has been written about
them, no matter how anonymously they may have been described. This is
true of them even as children. When the book Gifted Children was
published, in 1926, Child A, who is described therein as well as in these
pages, was thirteen years old. He read the book within two weeks of
publication; for, as he said in mentioning the matter to the author, "I go
every week to the Public Library and look first at the shelf of new books."
The problem always in the foreground is how to present the whole truth
about such matters as family history, social-economic status, and character,
without invading the privacy of those described and without identifying
them to the general public or to curious persons.

Those who test above 180 IQ (S-B) are characterized by a strong desire
for personal privacy. They seldom volunteer information about themselves.
They do not like to have attention called to their families and homes. They
are reluctant to impart information concerning their plans, hopes,
convictions, and so forth. The question arises, then, how to avoid
presumption; for it is by no means easy for a young person politely to evade
an older person who can lay claim to having known one "all one's life."

Thus, in this study, in order to preserve the privacy of those concerned,
some items have been omitted from the histories which would have been of
interest to students of child psychology. Let it be understood at once,
however, that the omissions include nothing discreditable to any of the

twelve individuals studied; rather, many of these items are highly
creditable. There have been acts of moral courage, acts of skill, and acts of
self-sustaining heterodoxy that if told at all should be told only by those
who performed the actions. Perhaps autobiographies may some day be
written by these persons, telling whatever they may wish to tell.

In the matter of the attitude of people in general toward gifted children,
there are, of course, a majority who are kindly and understanding and
helpful, but it is a melancholy fact that there are also malicious and jealous
people who are likely to persecute those who are formally identified as
being unusual. It may prove a handicap rather than a help to a gifted
youngster to have been identified in book or article or school as
extraordinary. Some of the children herein described have suffered
considerably from the malice of ill-mannered persons, even their
instructors, who have felt the impulse to "take them down a peg." Specific
instances of such persecution can be cited from public prints, and reference
will be made to them in the course of this monograph.

It would be of interest to present a photograph of each child herein
observed, to show how in personal appearance they are diametrically
opposite to the popular stereotype of the highly intelligent child; but
photographs would tend to identification.

These questions of what is right and what is wrong, what is permissible
and what is forbidden, in reporting the origin and development of the gifted
cannot be fully determined here. The policies pursued in this study have
been discussed from time to time with gifted children and their parents, and
I have been guided by their advice. Everything has been presented that is
consistent both with scientific interest and with the preservation of personal
privacy. The work as it stands has taken hundreds of hours of the time of
these children and of their parents and teachers, over a period of twenty

years. They are all very busy people, yet they have given time and energy
for tests, measurements, and interviews as requested. It is obvious that
without this coöperation no study could have been made.

Leta S. Hollingworth
Teachers College
Columbia University
New York City

[1] EDITORIAL NOTE. The larger and better sampling of subjects tested
for the 1937 Stanford Revision showed a wider variability than the 1916
group and indicates that the true PE of the IQ distribution of unselected
children is in the neighborhood of 11 IQ points, according to Terman.

[2] All such records have been deposited in the psychological laboratory
of Barnard College, Columbia University.

PART I ORIENTATION

CHAPTER ONE THE CONCEPT OF
INTELLECTUAL GENIUS

It would be an ambitious project to find and discuss all the definitions of
genius that have ever been offered in writing. To do this is beyond our
present purpose, which is, rather, to illustrate the various concepts that have
been formulated and to take guidance from them in the consideration of
children of great ability. It will perhaps be many years before it will be
apparent whether the children studied herein are geniuses or not. Perhaps
this can never be determined, as the word "genius" may eventually be found
to have no meaning that can be agreed upon. All we know about the status
of the subjects of the present study is that they test above 180 IQ (S-B) and
are thus more than +10 PE removed from mediocrity in general
intelligence. [1] It may be possible to arrive at some comparison between
their characteristics and performances on the one hand, and the concepts of
genius that have been offered on the other.

CONCEPTS OF THE ANCIENTS

The concept of the genius is very ancient. Ovid (12), [2] referring to
Caesar and his preparations to complete the conquest of the world, notes the
manner in which a genius acts in advance of his years:

Though he himself is but a boy, he wages a war unsuited to his
boyish years. Oh, ye of little faith, vex not your souls about the age of

the gods! Genius divine outpaces time, and brooks not the tedium of
tardy growth. Hercules was still no more than a child when he
crushed the serpent in his baby hands. Even in the cradle, he proved
himself a worthy son of Jove.

The Greeks called that person's "daemon" which directed and inspired his
creative work. Dictionaries refer to the Roman concept of genius as "a spirit
presiding over the destiny of a person or a place; a familiar spirit or a
tutelary." The genie was one of the powerful nature demons of Arabian and
Mohammedan lore, believed to interfere in human affairs and to be
sometimes subject to magic control.

Thinkers in any and every field, no matter how remote from that of
psychology, have confidently discussed the nature of genius. Philosophers,
poets, litterateurs, physicians, physiologists, psychiatrists, anthropometrists,
lexicographars, encyclopedists— all have offered definitions, each
according to his light. It has been deemed a subject on which anyone might
legitimately express an opinion. The result is, as might be expected, an
interesting miscellany of contradictions.

DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS

By derivation the word "genius" means to beget or to bring forth, coming
from genere, gignere. Samuel Johnson's Dictionary—from which Galton
took his point of departure in choosing the word "genius" for the title of his
work on ability—defines a genius as "A man endowed with superior
faculties."

Funk and Wagnall's Dictionary offers the following definition: "Very
extraordinary gifts or native powers, especially as displayed in original
creation, discovery, expression, or achievement."

Webster's New International Dictionary defines "genius" as
"Extraordinary mental superiority; esp. unusual power of invention or
origination of any kind; as, a man of genius."

The Dictionary of Psychology defines "genius" in part in terms of IQ, but
at the same time denies the word any special meaning as a recognized
scientific term: "Genius—a very superior mental ability, especially a
superior power of invention or origination of any kind, or of execution of
some special form, such as music, painting, or mathematics. . . . It has no
special technical meaning, but has occasionally been defined as equivalent
to an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 140 or above."

Generally speaking, then, dictionaries define genius as a superior or
superlative degree of intellectual capacity, and avoid claiming it for any
concept of an added, different, or abnormal element in human faculty.

CONCEPTS OF GENIUS

As a manifestation of abnormal psychology. A number of thinkers in
fields allied to psychology have laid emphasis upon a supposed connection
between genius and nervous instability or insanity. This idea is embodied in
the statement by Pascal: "L'extrême esprit est voisin de l'extrême folie."
Lamartine refers to "la maladie mentale qu'on appelle génie." Lombroso
(10) is perhaps the most widely quoted among those who have held or who
hold this point of view.

As constituting a different species. The idea has been expressed by
thinkers other than professed psychologists—and at times by psychologists
themselves—that men of genius are a separate species, partaking of
qualities not shared in any degree by persons at large. This concept is at one
with that which would regard the idiot and the imbecile as distinct in kind,
not in degree only, from the mass of mankind. Genius would thus be not

merely more of the same but a different sort altogether. Thus Hirsch (7)
specifically declares:

The genius differs in kind from the species, man. Genius can be
defined only in terms of its own unique mental and temperamental
processes, traits, qualities, and products. Genius is another
psychobiological species, differing as much from man, in his mental
and temperamental processes, as man differs from the ape.

As a hypertrophied and highly specialized aptitude for specific
performance. The thought has been advanced that intellectual genius is a
matter of specialization; that the mind of a genius will not, typically, work
on all data with superior results, but that it is adapted only or primarily to
certain kinds of intellectual performance. In other words, the genius is
thought to lack general ability. A recent statement by Carrel (2) seems to
express in part at least this theory:

There is also a class of men who, although disharmonious as the
criminal and the insane, are indispensable to modern society. They are
the men of genius. They are characterized by a monstrous growth of
some of their psychological activities. A great artist, a great scientist,
a great philosopher, is rarely a great man. He is generally a man of
common type, with one side over-developed.

As a combination of traits. Galton (6) thought of genius as that which
qualifies a person for eminence, and he believed that achieved eminence
must be founded on a combination of no less than three essentials. He
wrote:

By natural ability I mean those qualities of intellect and disposition
which urge and qualify a man to perform acts that lead to reputation. I
do not mean capacity without zeal, nor zeal without capacity, nor

even a combination of both of them, without an adequate power of
doing a great deal of very laborious work. But I mean a nature which,
when left to itself, will, urged by an inherent stimulus, climb the path
that leads to eminence, and has strength to reach the summit . . . one
which, if hindered or thwarted, will fret and strive until the hindrance
is overcome, and it is again free to follow its labour-loving instinct. It
is almost a contradiction in terms to doubt that such men will
generally become eminent.

Again, Galton says:

We have seen that a union of three separate qualities—intellect,
zeal, and power of work—are necessary to raise men from the ranks.

Lehman (9) has recently expressed this same idea, as a result of a
statistical study of the most productive years of intellectual workers:

Indeed, it is doubtful that genius is solely the fruit of any single
trait. It is the belief of the writer that the fruits of genius are, on the
contrary, a function of numerous integers, including both the personal
traits of the individual worker, environmental conditions that are not
too hostile, and the fortunate combination of both personal traits and
external conditions.

As quantitative. Galton (6) was the first to place the study of genius on
the basis of quantitative statement, so that comparisons might be made and
vertifications be effected. Galton formulated the theory that genius (great
natural ability) is nothing more nor less than a very extreme degree in the
distribution of a combination of traits—"intellect, zeal, and power of
working"— which is shared by all in various "grades" or degrees.
Reasoning thus, Galton applied for the first time in human thought the
mathematical concepts of probablity to the definition of genius.

Quetelet (13), drawing objects from congeries of known composition,
had elaborated the form which the probabilities take of drawing a given
combination. This form, with the law of deviation from the average
governing it, is now, of course, a commonplace in psychological
laboratories, so that it is hard to realize that when Galton made the mental
leap from this curve to the abilities of men, no one had ever thought of
human minds as "fitting" the curve drawn by Quetelet. Such a "fit" had
already been thought of in connection with measurements of physique, and
had been demonstrated for measurements of the shrimp (16) and for
physical traits of persons. But that "natural ability" should be susceptible to
the probability curve and "the curious theoretical law of deviation from an
average" as length is among shrimps, or as circumference of the chest is
among Scottish soldiers (as shown by Quetelet), was not conceived. With
the modern methods of mental measurement it is easy enough to perceive
the truth of this. But Galton was working in the dark, entirely without
instruments of precision; and his table of frequency "for the classification of
men according to their natural gifts" must be regarded as one of the most
prescient statements in the history of social science.

Working with the tables devised by Quetelet, Galton proposed the tabular
"classification of men according to their natural gifts" shown [below].

CLASSIFICATION OF MEN ACCORDING TO THEIR NATURAL GIFTS

GRADES OF NATURAL NUMBERS OF MEN COMPRISED IN THE SEVERAL GRADES
OF NATURAL ABILITY, WHETHER IN RESPECT ABILITY, SEPARATED TO THEIR
GENERAL POWERS OR TO SPECIAL APTITUDES BY EQUAL INTERVALS

Below Above Proportionate; In Each Million In Total Male
Population of the United Kingdom, Say Average Average viz., One in
of the Same Age 15 Millions, of the Undermentioned Ages 20-30 30-
40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 a A 4 256,791 651,000 495,000 391,000
268,000 171,000 77,000 b B 6 161,279 409,000 312,000 246,000

168,000 107,000 48,000 c C 16 63,563 161,000 123,000 97,000
66,000 42,000 19,000 d D 64 15,696 39,800 30,300 23,900 16,400
10,400 4,700 e E 413 2,423 6,100 4,700 3,700 2,520 1,600 729 f F
4,300 233 590 450 355 243 155 70 g G 79,000 14 35 27 21 15 9 4 x

All grades All grades below g above G 1,000,000 1 3 2 2 2 0 0

Interpreting this theoretical tabulation, Galton (6) wrote:

It will be seen that more than half of each million is contained in
the two mediocre classes a and A; the four mediocre classes a, b, A,
B, contain more than four fifths, and the six mediocre classes more
than nineteen twentieths of the entire population. Thus, the rarity of
commanding ability and the vast abundance of mediocrity is no
accident, but follows of necessity from the very nature of these
things.

On decscending the scale, we find by the time we have reached f
that we are already among the idiots and imbeciles. We have seen that
there are 400 idiots and imbeciles to any million of persons living in
this country; but that 30 per cent of their number appear to be light
cases, to whom the name of idiot is inappropriate. There will remain
280 true idiots and imbeciles to every million of our population. This
ratio coincides very closely with the requirements of class f. No doubt
a certain proportion of them are idiots owing to some fortuitous cause
. . . but the proportion of accidental idiots cannot be very large.

Hence we arrive at the undeniable but unexpected conclusion that
eminently gifted men are raised as much above mediocrity as idiots
are depressed below it; a fact that is calculated to enlarge
considerably our ideas of the enormous difference of intellectual gifts
between man and man.

MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS TENDING TO DEFINE CHARACTERISTICS OF
GENIUS

In addition to the formulation of the rather definite concepts of genius
which have been discussed, there are to be found in the literature of this
topic a large number of general observations ascribing certain
characteristics to persons of genius. There are also many remarks as to the
conditions of living, of education, of genetics, and so forth, which are
alleged to foster or to hinder the development of genius. Many of these
observations and remarks emanate from others than professed
psychologists, some of the most interesting coming from litterateurs and
philosophers.

One of the most penetrating discussions of genius by a litterateur is that
of Shaw (15) in his Preface to Saint Joan. Shaw regards Saint Joan as a
young genius, and in introducing his readers to this point of view he says:

Let us be clear about the meaning of the terms. A genius is a person
who, seeing farther and probing deeper than other people, has a
different set of ethical values from theirs, and has energy enough to
give effect to this extra vision and its valuations in whatever manner
best suits his or her specific talents.

Here is brought out the tendency to heterodoxy which characterizes
genius and is the source of much of its difficulty. Shaw dwells upon these
difficulties in saying:

But it is not so easy for mental giants who neither hate nor intend
to injure their fellows to realize that nevertheless their fellows hate
mental giants and would like to destroy them, not only enviously
because the juxtaposition of a superior wounds their vanity, but quite
honestly because it frightens them. Fear will drive men to any

extreme; and the fear inspired by a superior being is a mystery which
cannot be reasoned away. Being immeasurable it is unbearable when
there is no presumption or guarantee of its benevolence and moral
responsibility; in other words, when it has official status.

This is the same trend of thought which Mill (11) follows in his Essay on
Liberty, noting the originality that characterizes genius and the troubles that
result from it, and insisting upon freedom for genius in the interests of the
general welfare.

It would not be denied by anybody that originality is a valuable
element in human affairs. There is always need of persons not only to
discover new truths, and point out when what were once truths are
true no longer, but also to commence new practices, and set the
example of more enlightened conduct, and better taste and sense in
human life. . . . It is true that this benefit is not capable of being
rendered by everybody alike; there are but few persons in comparison
with the whole of mankind, whose experiments, if adopted by others,
would be likely to be any improvement on established practice. But
these few are the salt of the earth; without them, human life would
become a stagnant pool. . . . Persons of genius, it is true, are and are
always likely to be, a small minority; but in order to have them, it is
necessary to preserve the soil in which they grow. Genius can only
breathe freely in an atmosphere of freedom. Persons of genius are, ex
vi termini, more individual than any other people . . . less capable,
consequently, of fitting themselves, without hurtful compression, into
any of the small number of moulds which society provides in order to
save its members the trouble of forming their own character. If from
timidity they consent to be forced into one of these moulds, and to let
that part of themselves which cannot expand under the pressure
remain unexpanded, society will be little better for their genius. If

they are of strong character, and break their fetters, they become a
mark for the society which has not succeeded in reducing them to
common-place, to point with solemn warning as "wild," "erratic," and
the like; much as if one should complain of the Niagara River for not
flowing smoothly between its banks like a Dutch canal.

Mill says further:

I insist thus emphatically on the importance of genius, and the
necessity of allowing it to unfold itself freely both in thought and in
practice, being well aware that no one will deny the position in
theory, but knowing also that almost everyone, in reality, is totally
indifferent to it.

Mill, indeed, had much to say about the conditions under which the
exceptional individual contributes to social change and progress, which
bears immediately upon the education of highly exceptional children.

Bearing further upon the persecution to which genius is often subject as a
penalty for nonconformity, Havelock Ellis (5) after studying a large number
of British men of genius says:

It is practically impossible to estimate the amount of persecution to
which this group of preëminent persons has been subjected, for it has
shown itself in innumerable forms, and varies between a mere passive
refusal to have anything to do with them or their work and the active
infliction of physical torture and death. There is, however, at least one
form of persecution, very definite in character, which it is easy to
estimate, since the national biographers have probably in few cases
passed over it. I refer to imprisonment. I find that at least 160, or over
16 per cent, of our 975 eminent men were imprisoned, once or

oftener, for periods of varying length, while many others only
escaped imprisonment by voluntary exile.

This is a conclusion reached by one investigating the condition of genius
among what are probably the most liberal people in the world—the British,
a nation of protestants.

Another condition of genius frequently alleged is that of personal
isolation. Shaw makes Saint Joan say, "I was always alone." Schopenhauer
(14) says: "It is often the case that a great mind prefers soliloquy to the
dialogue he may have in the world." Hirsch (7) dwells at some length upon
isolation:

The genius is constantly forced to solitude, for he early learns from
experience that his kind can expect no reciprocation of their generous
feelings. . . . Solitude can best be defined as the state in which friends
are lacking or absent, rather than as the opposite of sociability. . . .
Solitude is but a refuge of genius, not its goal. Time after time one
detects, from the lives or writings of genius, that solitude is not its
destiny but only a retreat; not the normal fruition of its being, but an
empty harbor sheltering it from the tortures, griefs, and calumnies of
the world. . . . It is a grievous error to credit the genius with an innate
inclination to shun men. But in his youth he learns by experience that
solitude is preferable to suffocation, stupefaction, or surrender.

Alger (1) sees isolation as a necessary corollary of the insistence upon
perfection and accuracy which characterizes genius:

A passion for perfection will make its subject solitary as nothing
else can. At every step he leaves a group behind. And when, at last, he
reaches the goal, alas, where are his early comrades?

These references to the early experience of the genius in meeting the
uncordial response of the world as constituted, with its resultant tendency to
isolation, connect themselves with an account found in the Apocryphal New
Testament, in a portion called the Hebrew Gospels.

And Joseph, seeing that the child was vigorous in mind and body,
again resolved that he should not remain ignorant of the letters, and
took him away, and handed him over to another teacher. And the
teacher said to Joseph: I shall teach him the Greek letters, and then
Hebrew. He wrote out the alphabet and began to teaching him in an
imperious tone, saying: Say Alpha. And he gave him his attention for
a long time and he made no answer, but was silent. And he said to
him: If thou art really a teacher, tell me the power of the Alpha and I
will tell thee the power of the Beta. And the teacher was enraged at
this, and struck him.

SPECULATION AND COMMENT CONCERNING GENIUS

The ecology of genius has evoked speculation and comment.
Thus Churchill (3) says:

Mountain regions discourage the budding of genius because they
are areas of isolation, confinement, remote from the great currents of
men and ieas that move along river valleys. They are regions of much
labor and little leisure, of poverty today and anxiety for the morrow,
of toil-cramped hands and toil-dulled brains. In the fertile alluvial
plains are wealth, leisure, contact with many minds, large urban
centers where commodities and ideas are exchanged.

The origins of genius have also engaged the attention of speculative
thinkers. For instance, Dixon (4) and also Hirsch (7) offer the hypothesis
that racial mixture is an antecedent of genius. Kretschmer (8) would by

inference subscribe to this theory, since he holds that genetically genius
results from the union of unlike elements, to which he refers as
"bastardization":

The investigation of the family history of highly talented
individuals demonstrates very clearly the effect of biological
"bastardization," and shows why it may lead to the production of
genius. . . . It results in a complicated psychological structure, in
which the components of two strongly opposing germs remain in
polar tension throughout life. . . . This polar tension acts as an
effective and dynamic factor and produces in the genius the labile
equlibrium, the effective super-pressure, that continuous, restless
impulsiveness, which carries him far beyond placid, traditional
practice and the simple satisfaction of life. On the other hand, in
regard to his intellectual abilities, the polar tension creates in the
genius his wide mental horizon, the diverse and complicated wealth
of his talent, the all-embracing personality.

Kretschmer also allies himself with those who hold the concept of genius
as closely related to insanity, quoting selected cases in proof:

"Bastardization" produces internal contrasts and conflicts, affects
tensions, highly strung and uncompensated passions, and a spiritual
lability. It consequently creates a predisposition to genius . . . but also
[[points]] to psycho-pathological complications. Thus the research on
"bastardization" becomes closely interwoven with the old, familiar
questions, leading us back to the problem: "Genius and Insanity."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. ALGER, WILLIAM. The Genius of Solitude, page 144.

2. CARREL, ALEXIS. Man the Unknown. See pages 140-141. Harper &
Brothers, New York; 1935.

3. CHURCHILL, ELLEN SEMPLE. The Influence of Geographic
Environment on the Basis of Ratzel's System of Anthropogeography.
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston; 1909.

4. DIXON, ROLAND B. The Racial History of Man. Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York; 1923.

5. ELLIS, HAVELOCK. A Study of British Genius. Constable, London;
1927.

6. GALTON, FRANCIS. Hereditary Genius. The Macmillan Company,
London; 1914.

7. HIRSCH, N. D. M. Genius and Creative Intelligence. Sci-Art
Publisher, Cambridge, Massachusetts; 1931.

8. KRETSCHMER, E. The Psychology of Men of Genius. Translated by
R. B. Cattell. Harcourt, Brace & Co., Inc., New York; 1931.

9. LEHMAN, HARVEY C. "The Creative Years in Science and
Literature." Scientific Monthly (August, 1936).

10. LOMBROSO, C. The Man of Genius. Scott, London; 1891.

11. MILL, JOHN STUART. Essay on Liberty. See page 76 ff. The
Macmillan Company, New York; 1926 Ed.

12. OVIDIUS NASO, PUBLIUS. Ars Amatoria (The Love Books of
Ovid). Translated by J. Lewis May. Privately printed for the Rarity Press,
New York; 1930.

13. QUETELET, M. Letters on Probability. Translated by Downes.
Layton & Co., London; 1849.

14. SCHOPENHAUER, ARTHUR. "Essay on Genius," in The Art of
Literature, Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer. Willey Book Company, New
York.

15. SHAW, GEORGE BERNARD. Saint Joan. Dodd, Mead, & Co., Inc.,
New York; 1924, 1936.

16. WELDON, W. F. R. "Certain Correlated Variations in Crangdon
Vulgaris," Proceedings of The Royal Society, Vol. 51, page 2 (1892).

[1] See endnote [1] in Preface.

[2] Numbers in parentheses refer to correspondingly numbered
references in the Bibliography at the end of each chapter.

CHAPTER TWO EARLY SCIENTIFIC STUDY
OF EMINENT ADULTS [1]

Because, strictly speaking, the present study is limited in its interest and
data to childhood, no attempt will be made to review in detail the somewhat
numerous studies of exceptional adults.

ORIGIN OF EMINENT ADULTS

Such studies as those undertaken by Galton (11, 12), De Candolle (9),
Ellis (10), Odin (17), and Cattell (4, 5) show that those who, as adults,
become eminent in intellectual work, are in disproportionately great
numbers the children of the "upper" (nobler or professional) classes; and
that they are usually born either in cities or on large country estates (in
France, in the chateaux). Very few eminent adults have originated in the
families of laborers, and relatively few have been born in agricultural
districts, in countries long settled. Beyond these facts of origin, the
investigators of eminence in adults have not given much information about
their subjects of inquiry in respect to childhood.

YODER'S STUDY

We shall begin our detailed reference to previous observations with
Yoder's study, published in 1898. Yoder (25) made a systematic attempt to
gather data about the boyhood of very eminent men. He thus tracked down

certain facts about fifty great persons concerning whom he could find data
bearing on their childhood. From these he was able to make the following
generalizations:

1. The child who will become a great man may be born at any time, over
a very wide range of the productive period in the lives of parents. The
mothers of the fifty great persons studied ranged in age from 18 to 44 years,
when the great man was born, with a median of 29.8 years. The fathers
ranged in age from 23 to 60 years, with a median of 37.7 years.

2. The average number of siblings of these persons was 5+, not including
half brothers and sisters.

3. In families of more than one child, there was found to be a strong
tendency (chances of nearly 2 to 1) for the great man to be in the elder half
of the siblings.

4. Of those listed, 17 were only sons, either by order of birth or by death
of other sons born. (This is not to say that they were only children.)

5. There was found no evidence that the great were sickly or physically
weak in childhood, to a more marked extent than average.

6. There appeared a tendency to great height among them than among
persons in general, "though the tendency is not very marked."

7. Play interests were keen among these children, though the play was
often of an unusual kind. "Solitary play" is repeatedly described. Of
Emerson, his biographer says: "I don't think he ever engaged in boys' plays,
not because of any physical disability, but simply because from earliest
years he dwelt in a higher sphere." Others are said to have been "disinclined
to general intercourse." Instead of joining in the usual childish games,

Newton preferred to play with his machines, Darwin with his collections,
Shelley to read, Stevenson to make clay engines, and Edison to mix his
chemicals. Of Byron it was written: "The love of solitude and of meditation
is already traceable in the child. He loves to wander at night among the dark
and solitary cloisters of the abbey." To quote Yoder: "Solitude seems to
have played a rather striking role in the lives of these great men. Either by
nature or by opportunity, they have stayed a great deal alone."

Nevertheless, many of the fifty persons studied by Yoder enjoyed
physical activity. Washington loved outdoor sports, Schiller was a leader in
athletics, Byron was an enthusiastic swimmer and rider, and Lincoln was
the champion wrestler and woodcutter of his neighborhood.

8. The popular idea that great men owe their success to their mothers'
influence upon their education does not receive verification from a study of
these cases. The mother's place seems very often to have been filled by
some other person, frequently an aunt, either because the mother had died,
or because there were many other children to care for. "The role of the aunt
stands out prominently."

9. These great persons were, in the decided majority of cases, derived
from well-to-do families. Most of them were privately educated, by tutors
or in private schools. Very few were "self made."

TERMAN'S INFERENCES FROM BIOGRAPHY

Terman (20) has effected an interesting advance over Yoder's method, in
the interpretation of evidence from the biography of adults. [2] By
analyzing data in the biography of Francis Galton, and by relating these
data to modern knowledge of mental tests, Terman derives that the IQ of
Francis Galton in childhood must have been not far from 200.

As Terman has elsewhere pointed out, these attempts to study genius in
childhood by inference from the biography of adults are very unsatisfactory.
In the first place, only those whose potentialities have been realized are
included in such study. Since factors other than innate intellectual power act
also as determinants of eminence, we cannot be sure whether equal capacity
for selective thinking may have existed in persons who died before the age
of achievement, who were younger sons, who were girls, or who were the
children of the poor. Moreover, such evidence as can be gleaned concerning
those who have achieved eminence is comparatively unsystematic and
unreliable as regards childhood.

Most clearly related to our present study are the previously reported
observations of children made directly, during childhood, by trained
investigators. The modern development of mental tests has now enabled
psychologists to identify young children who deviate from average in the
direction of superiority as regards selective thinking, and to follow their
development for some years. Eventually, therefore, it will be known how to
recognize those children who can become "great," and whether extreme
deviation in mental tests is a basis of prophecy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. BINET, A. _Psychologie des grandes calculateurs et joieurs d'échecs.
Hachette, Paris; 1894.

2. BRIMHALL, D. "Family Resemblances among American Men of
Science," American Naturalist, Vol. 56 (1922) and Vol. 57 (1923).

3. CASTLE, C. S. "Statistical Study of Eminent Women." Archives of
Psychology, Vol. IV, No. 27 (1913).

4. CATTELL, J. McK. "A Statistical Study of Eminent Men." Popular
Science Monthly (1903).

5. ——— "Families of American Men of Science." Popular Science
Monthly, Vol. 86, pages 504-515 (1915).

6. CLARK, E. L. American Men of Letters: Their Nature and Nurture.
Columbia University Press, New York; 1916.

7. COX, C. M. The Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses.
Genetic Studies of Genius: Vol. 2. Stanford University Press, Stanford
University, California; 1926.

8. DAVIES, G. R. "A Statistical Study of the Influence of the
Environment." Quarterly Journal of the University of North Dakota (1914).

9. DE CANDOLLE, A. Histoire des Sciences et des Savants depuis Deux
Siècles. Geneva, Switzerland; 1873.

10. ELLIS, HAVELOCK. A Study of British Genius. Hirst and Blackett,
London; 1904.

11. GALTON, FRANCIS. English Men of Science. The Macmillan
Company, London; 1874.

12. ——— Hereditary Genius. The Macmillan Company, New York,
1914. (Original edition, London; 1869.)

13. LEHMAN, HARVEY C. "The Creative Years in Science and
Literature." Scientific Monthly, Vol. XLIII, pages 151-162 (1936).

14. LOMBROSO, C. The Man of Genius. Scott, London; 1895.

15. MIDDLETON, W. C. "The Propensity of Genius to Solitude."
Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, Vol. 30, pages 325-332
(1935).

16. MITCHELL, F. D. "Mathematical Prodigies." American Journal of
Psychology, Vol. 18, pages 61-143 (1907).

17. ODIN, A. Genèse des Grands Hommes des Lettres Français
Modernes. Paris et Lausanne; 1895.

18. RASKIN, E. "Comparison of Scientific and Literary Ability: A
Biographical Study of Eminent Scientists and Men of Letters of the
Nineteenth Century." Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, Vol. 31,
pages 20-35 (1935).

19. SCHUSTER, E. "The Promise of Youth and the Performance of
Manhood." Eugenics Laboratory Memoirs, Vol. 3, pages 16 ff. London;
1907.

20. TERMAN, LEWIS M. "The IQ of Francis Galton in Childhood."
American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 28, pages 209-215 (1917).

21. VISHER, S. S. "A Study of the Type of Place of Birth and of the
Occupation of Father of Subjects of Sketches in Who's Who in America."
American Journal of Sociology, 1925.

22. ——— "The Comparative Rank of the American States." American
Journal of Sociology, Vol. 36, pages 735-757 (March, 1931).

23. WHITE, R. K. "Note on the Psycho-pathology of Genius." Journal of
Social Psychology, Vol. 1, pages 311-315 (1930).

24. ——— "The Versatility of Genius." Journal of Social Psychology,
Vol. 2, pages 460-489 (1931).

25. YODER, G. E. "A Study of the Boyhood of Great Men." Pedagogical
Seminary, Vol. 3, pages 134-156 (1894).

[1] EDITORIAL NOTE. No revision of this chapter has been found
among the author's papers. In the earlier manuscript reporting but five
cases, there was a brief section entitled "Inferences from the Study of
Adults," and in the incompletely revised manuscript a list of references is
given for this chapter which had not yet been written. The earlier sections
and the revised bibliography are, therefore, all that is available for this
chapter. The bibliography will be sufficient to guide any reader who may be
further interested in the details of the scientific study of adults.

[2] EDITORIAL NOTE. Had these pages been written at a later date, or
revised by the author, of course the more recent work of C. M. Cox (7),
inspired by Terman, would have been considered.

CHAPTER THREE PUBLISHED REPORTS ON
TESTED CHILDREN

Galton and those who built directly upon his pioneer thought about ability
were limited to the study of those who had passed the tests of life itself, the
study of the old and the dead, upon whom developing theories and
processes of education have no bearing. Today one of the principal reasons
for obtaining knowledge concerning able persons is that they and others like
them may be properly educated for the social functions which they alone
can perform. Inferences from study of eminent adults are, therefore, of
negligible importance compared to the identification and education of
today's gifted children.

MODERN APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF ABILITY

In 1905 Binet and Simon (3), announcing their scale for the measurement
of intelligence in children, rendered it possible to know at the beginning of
a human being's existence where—within narrow limits of error—he or she,
in comparison with all others, grades in caliber of general intelligence. This
work, relating itself to work done also by others—notably Spearman (21)
and Thorndike (28, 30)—created a new epoch in the study of ability and
inaugurated the so-called modern, or present-day, approach to the subject.

BINET'S METHOD

No extended discussion of what "general intelligence" is will be
undertaken in these pages, as it would not be germane to the purposes of
this monograph. It will be sufficient to refer to the concept which Binet had
in mind in standardizing his scale (4): "It seems to us that there is a
fundamental faculty, the alteration or the lack of which is of the utmost
importance for practical life." It is this "fundamental faculty" which Binet
named "judgment" that is the variable upon which rests the extreme
position of the children who are to be studied herein.

The quantitative methods which make possible the study of the status of
these children when they have reached adulthood are those developed in
recent years by Thorndike (30) and his students. As the children identified
years ago by Binet's method grew to adulthood, there were developed in the
various laboratories of Columbia University methods of measuring the
intelligence of superior adults, based on the fundamental principles which
are the same for mental measurement at all periods of development.
Methods have thus been made available for making quantitative statements
of the status of these individuals both during development and at maturity.

THE RANGE OF INTELLECT ABOVE 180 IQ

It is pertinent to inquire what are the limits of variation in terms of
standard use in respect to human intelligence. How far superior to the
average person are the most highly intelligent individuals currently
produced? Galton's (9) X grade of man was defined in terms of incidence as
"one in a million." But this X man was not a product of one variable.
Galton's X man resulted from an intellect in combination with "zeal and
power of working." The incidence of this combination of traits would
probably be less than the incidence of intellect alone in degree sufficient for
X.

Our purpose in this chapter will be to consider investigations, made by
direct methods, of the origin and development of children of a type
extremely rare in occurrence, incidence being based on one variable only;
i.e., intelligence measured in terms of IQ (S-B). For this purpose the line
might be drawn at any point farther than +7 PE or +8 PE from the mean. A
choice of 180 IQ (S-B) as a minimum insures a degree of plus deviation
very rarely found even in metropolitan cities and their suburbs, as is clear
from the reports of mental surveys conducted during the present century.
The choice of 180 IQ (S-B), instead of 179 or 181 or some other amount of
IQ in the extreme upper range, is obviously arbitrary and is adopted merely
for the purpose of defining a point at and above which there are very few
children who score.

Frequency of occurrence. Just how often does a child testing above 180
IQ (S-B) appear in the juvenile population of the United States? We cannot
tell exactly until we know more about the spread of the distribution of IQ
(S-B). In terms of PE (1 PE = ±8 IQ), according to Terman's original
findings (24) we should come upon a deviate of +10 PE only once in more
than a million times, provided the distribution of IQ corresponds exactly or
even rather closely to Quetelet's (17) curve of probability as respects
spread; for on this curve cases above or below ±5 PE approach zero in
frequency.

It is certain, however, even from existing data, that the distribution of IQ
extends for at least ±10 PE (even assuming that wider data will define 1 PE
as ±10 instead of ±8 as found by Terman. It is probable that children who
test above 180 IQ are actually present in our juvenile population in greater
frequency than at the rate of one in a million. This does not mean that
intellect when finally measured in true units may not conform in variability
to the mathematics of chance; it means only in terms of IQ (in terms of ratio

and not of absolute units) the conformity is probably not exact, as respects
the law of deviation.

There may be one, or two, or three, or more children among every
million born in the United States under present conditions who test at or
above 180 IQ (S-B). In any case, however, they are extremely rare, and the
study of their origin and development is of correspondingly great interest.
In the course of discovering about 1000 children testing at or above 140 IQ
(S-B) in the state of California, Terman (26) found 15 who tested at or
above 180 IQ (S-B). Children who test at and above 140 IQ (S-B) are as 1
in 250 of children in large California cities and environs. Thus 140 IQ (S-B)
defines a frequency of about 4 in 1000 of urban juvenile population in
California. About 1.5 per cent, therefore, of those children who are as 4 in
1000 reach the status of which we are here treating; i.e., 180 IQ (S-B). [1]
Nor can we take the children of California urban districts as a true sample
of the population of the United States at large, since there is reason to
believe that among urban children there is an uncommon proportion of
intelligent individuals (8). Also it should be conceded that California has a
total population that is above the average of the United States in general as
regards mental ability (37). In any case, it may be guessed with some
degree of approximation to fact how very few there are among American
children who test at or above 180 IQ (S-B).

CHILDREN OBSERVED BEFORE THE ERA OF BINET

Scattered observations of children estimated by more or less competent
persons as very unusual are to be found dating from quite early years. In
this period the literature of child psychology was still in the state of
narrative. The earliest of these narrations bears the date of 1726 (1) and
concerns the child Heineken.

Christian Heinrich Heineken. Born February 6, 1721, the "Little
Heineken," of Lübeck, was the son of an artist. When the child was 10
months old, his elders first noticed that he was looking with sustained
attention at the figures wrought in gold on a grotesque that decorated the
walls of his room and that were also on a white stove that stood therein.

Den 3 Dezember 1721 bemerkte man zuerst, dass das kind diese
Figuren hin und her, eine Zeitlang ohne Unterlass ansah und seine
Äugelchen auf eine derselben gleichsam anklebte. Man sagte ihm
daher die Namen dieser Figuren, das sei eine Katze, das ein Turm, ein
Schäfchen, ein Berg. Den andern Tag, den 4 Dezember, fragte man es
wieder, wo die Katze, der Berg, das Schäfchen wäre und siehe da, das
Kind deutete mit seinen kleinen Fingerchen hin und traf immer das
rechte Bild, das man ihm genannt hatte. Noch mehr, nun gab es sich
Mühe, die ihm vorgesagten Wörter: Katze, Berg, Turm selbst
nachzusprechen: es sah daher mit unverwandten Blicken dem
Redendend nach dem Munde, gab auf die Bewegung der Lippen und
der Zunge desselben beständig acht, lallte das Wort nach und
wiederholte dies so oft, bis es endlich eine Silbe nach der andern
herauspresste. [a]

By the time this child was 14 months old he had learned all the stories in
the New Testament. At this age he was still not weaned from the breast of
his nurse, and had an antipathy to other foods. In order to get him
accustomed to other forms of food, the family took him to sit with them at
meals, but instead of eating "he did nothing but learn." When he saw the
various appurtenances he asked persistently how the dishes were named,
where they came from, what else could be made from the things, and did
not rest until he had discussed every piece of information.

In this mode of life the child remained always happy and in good humor.
He was lovable. Only when at times he was refused answers to his
questions, because it was feared that he might be injured by too many
remembrances, the child was "sorely grieved." The extent of his learning in
the fourth year of life was as follows:

Es konnte gedruckte und geschriebene Sachen lateinisch und
deutsch lesen.

Schreiben konnte es noch nicht, seine Fingerchen waren zu
schwach dazu.

Das Einmaleins konnte es in und ausser der Ordnung hersagen.
Auch numerieren, subtrahieren, addieren und multiplizieren
vermochte es.

In Französischen kam es soweit, dass es ganze Historien in
dieser Sprache erzählen konnte.

In Latein lernte es über 1500 gute Sprüche aus lateinischen
Autoren.

Plattdeutsch hatte das Kind von seiner Amme, von der es nicht
lassen wollte, gelernt.

In der Geographie fuhr es fort, das Merkwürdigste eines jeden
auf der Landkarte steheneden Ortes zu fassen. [b]

On a journey across the sea to Copenhagen, undertaken for the boy's
health, a storm arose and the passengers were badly frightened, all but the
child, who said, smiling "Qui nescit orare, discate navigare." When
subsequently the ship came safely to anchor, he remarked, "Anchora navis
sistitur; deserit ille suos nunquam, qui cuncta gubernat."

When the boy was brought before the Danish king, he said of the
diamond order that the king gave him to hold, "C'est l'Ordre d'Elephant,
garni de diamant." And gazing at the diamonds, he added, "Les bijoux sont
precieux, mais la vie du Roi est plus precieuse."

The "little Heineken" died at the age of 4 years 4 months, in accordance
with the popular superstition that early death awaits the highly intelligent
child, "a wonder for all time."

Karl Witte. The father of Karl Witte (35) has furnished a somewhat
elaborate account of his son's development, from which we learn that the
young Karl could read fluently before his fourth birthday. He learned to
write soon thereafter. At the age of 7 years 10 months a public
demonstration of his ability to read was given, covering Italian, French,
Greek, and Latin. He passed tests of preparedness to matriculate at the
University of Leipsic [Leipzig] when he was 9 years old. In the field of
mathematics he pursued analytical geometry at 11 and calculus at 12 years
of age. At 14 he achieved the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and was
awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws at 16. At 23 he became full professor
of jurisprudence at the University of Breslau. He was then called to Halle,
and continued there for the remainder of his life, teaching and writing. At
the age of 83, still vigorously engaged in mental tasks, he died, thus
outliving the melancholy promise of early death which had often been
prophesied to his father.

Pastor Witte, who directed his son's education, did not claim for him
extraordinary intelligence. "Any man normally well endowed can become a
great man if properly educated," he wrote (35). His special method of
educating the boy seems to have been simply to afford him companionship.
He describes the child as strong, healthy, and playful, without vanity or
conceit. From the total record one must conclude that Karl Witte's

intelligence quotient in childhood was in excess of 180, comparing his
history with those studied in this monograph. His performances in
childhood compare favorably with those of the children we have known
with IQ (S-B) in the range above 185.

Otto Pöhler. IN 1910 Berkhan (2) recorded the performance of Otto
Pöhler, "the early reading child of Braunschweig," the son of a master
butcher (erstes und einziges Kind der Sclachtermeisters), born August 20,
1892. This child learned to walk and talk and his teeth erupted "at the right
time." At the age of 1 year 3 months, when his grandmother led him forth
on short neighborhood walks, she would read to him from signs on the
streets. And at this period she wrote for him his name, "Otto." Soon he
could recognize the word "Otto," when he saw it in the newspaper. Then the
grandmother explained to him the alphabet, and read him single words.
When Otto was taken to Dr. Berkhan, he was 1 year 9 months old, and he
could read incidental matter, such as "April 27," written in Latin across the
calendar in Dr. Berkhan's office.

Otto Pöhler, geborn den 20 August 1892 zu Braunschweig, erstes
und einziges Kind des Schlachtermeisters, bekam zu rechter zeit
Zähne und lernte zu rechter Zeit laufen und sprechen. Als er 5/4 Jahre
alt war, führte ihn die Grossmutter vor die Tür und in die nächsten
Strassen und nannte ihm dabei die Namen, welche auf den Haus- und
Strassenschildern standen, auch hatten ihm Angehörigen mehrfach
seinen Vornamen Otto aufgeschrieben. Als das Kind nun eine Zeitung
in die Hände bekam, zeigte es den mehrfach in derselben gedruckten
Namen Otto. Von da ab erklärte ihm die Grossmutter die Buchstaben
und las ihm einzelne Worte vor; dabei ergab sich, dass das Kind ein
ungeheures Gedächtnis für Buchstaben, Worte, und Zahlen hatte.

Als mir der kleine Otto zugeführt wurde, war er wie ich vorhin
anführte 1 3/4 Jahre alt. Er tat sehr vertraut, kletterte sofort mehrfach
auf meine Kniee, zeigte sich überhaupt sehr beweglich und unruhig.
Als er einen neben dem Schreibtisch hängenden Wandkalender
erblickte, las er unaufgefordert laut die auf demselben lateinisch gross
gedruckte Anzeige: April 27 = "April zwei sieben. . . ."

Im Oktober, 1894, stellte ich den jungen Otto im Alter von 2 Jahren
und 2 Monaten dem ärztlichen Landesverein vor. Als derselbe nach
Beendigung meines über ihn gehaltenen Vortrags in den Sitzungssaal
geführt wurde, zog einer der Ärzte den Börnerschen Medizinal-
Kalender hervor mit der Aufforderung, die lateinische Aufschrift zu
lesen. Er las fliessend: "Re—ichs Medizinal-Kalender. Begründet von
Dĕr Pa—ul Börnēr. Eins acht neun vier." [c]

When Otto was 4 years old, Stumpf reported concerning him in the
Vossiche Zeitung, of January 10, 1897, describing him as "not strongly yet
not poorly developed, physically." The back of the skull was said to be
conspicuous; the face, delicate; and the eyes, "wise and alive, taking on a
remarkably concentrated expression in thinking." The general impression
was that made by a merry, unspoiled youngster, seeing the world. His great
passion was still for reading, and the most important things in the world to
him were history, biography, and geography.

Er ist körperlich nicht stark, aber auch nicht schlecht entwickelt.
Auf den ersten Blick fällt der lange Schädel und der starke Hinterkopf
auf. In dem zierlichen Gesicht fesseln kluge, lebhafte Augen, die
beim Nachsinnen einen merkwürdig ernsten konzentrierten Ausdruck
annehmen. . . . Im ganzen macht er keineswegs den Eindruck eines
ungesunden, abgematteten, sondern eines noch ganz frisch und lustig
in die Welt schauenden Jungen. . . .

Seine grösste Leidenschaft ist noch immer das Lesen, und das
Wichtigste in der Welt sind ihm historische, biographische und
geographische Daten. Er kennt die Geburts- und Todesjahre vieler
deutscher Kaiser, auch vieler Feldherren, Dichter, Philosophen,
zumeist sogar auch Geburtstag und Geburtsort; ferner die Hauptstädte
der meisten Staaten, die Flüsse, an denen sie liegen u. dergl. Er weiss
Bescheid vom Anfang und Ende des dreissigjährigen und des
siebenjährigen Krieges, von den Hauptschlachten dieser und anderer
Kriege. Das alles hat er sich nach Aussage der Mutter ohne fremdes
Zutun durch das emsige Studium eines "patriotischen Kalenders" und
ähnlicher im Hause vorfindlicher Literatur, auch durch Entzifferung
von Denkmalsinschriften in den Städten (wofür er besondere
Leidenschaft hat) angeeignet. Als ihm auf zwei verschiedenen
Blättern nacheinander 2 zwölfstellige Zahlen gezeigt wurden, die sich
nur durch eine der mittleren Ziffern unterschieden, las er sie sogleich
als Milliarden und konnte dann, ohne die Blätter wieder anzusehen,
mit Sicherheit angeben, worin der Unterschied lag. [d]

Stumpf further said:

. . . Dr. Placzek u.a. die den Knaben früher beobachteten, den
bestimmten Eindruck gewannen eines besonders geweckten, rasch
und scharf denkenden und zugleich eines gutartigen, durchaus
liebenswürdigen Kindes. An den Eltern und zumal an der Mutter
hängt er mit der grössten Zärtlichkeit. [e]

When Berkhan saw Pöhler in July, 1907, the boy was an Obersekundaner
in a gymnasium [f]. In April, 1909, aged 16 years 8 months, he appeared as
an intelligent, wonderfully retentive, cultured young man, who oriented
himself easily and who, although favored over and above his
contemporaries, had kept a modest and lovable nature.

Jetzt, fast 17 Jahre alt, ist er ein intelligenter, mit einem
bewunderungswerten Gedächtnis ausgestatteter, kenntnisreicher, sich
auffallend leicht orientierender junger Mann, der, obgleich in seiner
Weise vor der Mitwelt bevorzugt, sich ein bescheidenes,
liebenswürdiges Wesen bewahrt hat. [g]

Pöhler's plan, when seen on this final occasion, April, 1909, was to go at
Easter, 1910, to the university, to become a student of German history.

Other cases. General discussions of mental gifts in children which bear
interestingly upon the subject here under discussion but fail to present any
specific instances of individuals who exemplify extreme status, are those by
Dolbear (7) and by Hartlaub (12), and the lectures given in 1930 before the
Hungarian Society for Child Research and Practical Psychology (31).
Among the cases cited by Waddle (33) there are none that belong to our
study. In the research of Cox (6), the following eminent persons were rated
as having been in childhood at or above 180 IQ (S-B): John Stuart Mill,
Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Blaise Pascal,
Thomas Babington Macauly, and Hugo de Groot (Grotius). We would,
however, venture to guess, from what we have observed over a long period
of the work of persons who in childhood tested from 135 to 200 IQ (S-B),
that a large number of the persons included in Cox's study would have
tested in childhood at or above 180 IQ (S-B); and that the reasons why they
failed of such rating as studied by Cox were two: (1) the data of childhood
requisite for the valid rating were lacking; (2) the raters were not
sufficiently familiar with what is required in terms of IQ to make possible
the evaluation of those studies, because only a few children testing so high
could have been seen by any rater, and nothing was as yet known of the
performance of tested children at any stage of maturity. Many of the
persons studied by the methods of Cox were rated at 140, 150, 155 IQ (S-
B), whose performances in early maturity were far in excess of what can be

expected of persons who represent nothing better than what the upper
quarter of American college students can do (6). It is only when children
test at least as high as 170 IQ (S-B) that they render performance in early
maturity that suggests anything like the achievements of the persons studied
by Cox.

CHILDREN WHO TEST ABOVE 180 IQ BY BINET-SIMON TESTS

After the publication of the Binet-Simon tests (3), a few cases of children
testing very high by means of them were reported in the literature which
resulted from the tests before they were revised by Terman (24). At that
time, which was previous to the appearance of the Stanford-Binet tests, the
IQ was not used in expressing mental status, but we are able to calculate
what this was from the data of Mental Age. These early cases, definitely
measured, are as follows:

Bush's daughter, B. In 1914 Bush (5) reported upon the mental
examination of his daughter, B, who at the age of 3 years 6 months tested at
6 years by the Binet tests of 1911. Her IQ would thus be proved at about
185, calculated from her father's detailed record of responses. This report
was rendered primarily to show that the Binet tests were too easy, as no
child could possibly be really so advanced mentally as was B. "B's state is
in no wise extra-normal, or beyond what it should be. She represents the
norm."

Additional data concerning B are that she "is of a happy disposition . . .
strong and well of body," and that her parents are both teachers. This record
clearly reveals a child of surpassing intelligence, contrary to the father's
belief that "she represents the norm."

Elizabeth, recorded by Langenbeck. In 1915 Langenbeck (15) contributed
observations of a 5-year-old girl, Elizabeth, who tested at a mental level of

about 11 years by the Binet-Simon tests of 1911, administered in the
Psychological Laboratory at John Hopkins University. This would yield an
IQ of about 220 (assuming the tests of 1911 to be approximately
comparable with Stanford-Binet in power to distribute intellect).

Elizabeth is described as an only child. At 16 months she had a speaking
vocabulary of 229 words, some English and some German, as she had a
German nurse. At 5 years of age she had a speaking vocabulary of 6837
words, which are inscribed in the record. The observer writes of her as
follows:

Her quickness of thought and readiness with an instant and
convincing answer were typified one dusty, blustering day when we
were out walking. A cloud of dust enveloped us, to her great
indignation, and being a very vehement character she exclaimed, "I
should like to kill the dust!" In answer to my reproof, "Do not be so
foolish. How can anyone kill the dust?" she replied, "Very easily—
pour a little water on it." This was at the age of 4 years. . . . She is
highly imaginative, and lives largely in a dream world of her own
creation. Her games are nearly all pretense that she is someone else,
and that she is surrounded by companions, sometimes purely
fictitious, though often characters out of books that have been read to
her. . . . When being read to, she asks the meaning of every unfamiliar
word, and rarely forgets it, using it thereafter in its proper place. . . .
Many of her forebears have been distinguished men and women, and
on both sides her family have been people of more than average
capacity and cultivation. . . . From an early age she has shown
unusual muscular coördination, using her fingers daintily and with
precision. From her eighth month she used a paper and pencil,
drawing recognizable figures. At 4 years she could illustrate a little
story composed by herself. . . . The source of much of her knowledge

is a mystery to her parents, and can only be explained by her keen
observation and retentive memory, as well as by a power of
comprehension much beyond her years. However absorbed she may
appear to be in her play, talking vigorously to herself and to
imaginary companions all the time, she nevertheless hears everything
that is said in her presence, though months will often pass before she
alludes to it. . . . She taught herself her letters from street signs and
books, and could print them all before she was three, and during the
next few months would write letters of several pages, of her own
composition, having the words, of course, spelled for her. . . . She has
an accurate ear and could sing a tune correctly before her second
birthday, and dances in excellent time. . . . Every new thought or
impression is at once associated with some previous idea. Hence,
doubtless, her marvelous memory. For example, in a country walk she
noticed a typical Virginia snake fence, having never seen one before.
After a single moment's hesitation she said, "You see that M or W
fence?" . . . At the age of five years she had coined twenty-three
words— e.g., laten, to make late; neaten, to make neat; plak, to
pretend; up-jar, pitcher.

Rusk's case, from Scotland. In 1917 Rusk (19) published an account of a
Scottish boy whose IQ, calculated from Rusk's detailed record, was 166 on
first test and about 200 on second test given two and a half years later, the
Binet-Simon tests of 1911 being used. This child was the son of a widow in
Dundee, who lived and supported her two sons by letting rooms to lodgers.
The young brother of this boy was not judged to be remarkably intelligent,
but no test was given to substantiate this impression. Details of family
history are not recorded.

The boy was brought to attention at the age of 5 years by his teachers,
who noted particularly his aptitude for mathematics. The mother was

unaware of her son's extraordinary intelligence, but she had noticed that he
spent a considerable amount of time on the floor, counting. He would count
such objects as cigarette coupons begged from lodgers. Also the mother
observed that he "had learned before going to school, or being taught to
read, to recognize certain words."

CHILDREN WHO TEST ABOVE 180 IQ BY STANFORD-BINET TESTS

Beatrice. Terman and Fenton (25) first described Beatrice in 1921 under
her own name. In 1930 Terman (27) again described this child, under the
name of Beatrice (evidently being then convinced that pseudonyms are to
be preferred in designating children studied), adding data about
development.

The child's four grandparents were respectively of Swedish, German-
French, English, and Scottish descent. "The mother is a woman of more
than average intelligence, and of considerable musical ability. The father's
line of ancestry includes several notables, among them a Lord Mayor of
London. The father is a physician, and the author of the Ford Stitch,
favorably mentioned in standard texts on surgery. Betty [Beatrice] has no
sisters or brothers."

Beatrice was born in San Francisco, January 21, 1912, and was first
tested six weeks before her eighth birthday, by Stanford-Binet, yielding
then a mental age of 14 years 10 months and an IQ of 188. Her speaking
vocabulary was at that time 13,000 words. A variety of mental tests gave
nearly the same composite result as that achieved by Stanford-Binet. At the
time of testing, the child had never attended school but had been given a
little private instruction at home. Her scores on standard tests of scholastic
knowledge ranged, nevertheless, from fifth-grade norms (in the four
fundamental processes in arithmetic) to second year of college (in tests of
poetic appreciation). Her median score in eight scholastic tests was about

eighth grade (where the median birthday age of pupils is about 14 years,
and where pupils have been in school on an average of eight years).

Ratings for traits of character and for physique gave this child a score
much above average in both respects. She weighed 11 pounds and 15
ounces at birth, and at the age of 8 years 2 months corresponded to the
standard for 9 years 6 months in weight and for 10 years 6 months in
stature. Her hand grip at this time was equal to that of the average 10-year-
old. She began to walk at 7 months of age, which is the earliest age of
walking recorded for any of the children so far studied, including those who
are the special subjects of this monograph. At 19 months she talked clearly
and knew the alphabet; and at the age of 4 years 6 months she was
discovered reading Heidi, a book of about fourth-grade degree of difficulty.
Her parents did not know that she could read, and they have no idea when
or how she learned. By her eighth birthday Beatrice had read approximately
seven hundred books, many of them twice. At that age it was one of her
favorite pastimes to write stories or poems and to illustrate them with
original drawings. Her health was said by her parents to be excellent. The
measurements given show her to be large and strong for her age.

Beatrice was not entered at school until she was 11 years old, but studied
at home under her mother's guidance. There was little formal instruction—
as a rule there was arithmetic, from ten to twenty minutes daily. At 11 years
of age Beatrice entered the ninth grade of a private school for girls, which
she attended for two years. She entered the university when she was 14
years 8 months old, and graduated at 17. In college Beatrice earned A and B
grades in English and languages and C's in science. She fell barely short of
Phi Beta Kappa Election. Throughout her life she has had few playmates
and few intimate friends. Her desire is for a literary career.

Root's case, VIII A. In 1921 Root (18) described a boy who at the age of
8 years 0 months scored at a Mental Age of 16 years 0 months, with an IQ
(S-B) of 200. Other tests agreed in placing this boy near an average adult
level in processes of thought. The stature of the child at this time was 4 feet,
and the weight 59 pounds.

The ancestry in the case is predominantly English. Father and mother
both graduated from high school. The father was a railroad engineer. Two
maternal aunts held prominent places in the public schools. The family had
"all comforts but few luxuries." "The aunt who has guided the [[boy's]]
education seems a rare combination; her educational ideas are a happy
union of radical, common sense, and practical factors." "Nervous
temperament" is judged by Root to be characteristic of the family on the
mother's side.

This boy was an only child. His mother stated that he had never been ill,
but it is to be considered that she was a Christian Scientist. He was educated
at home until he was 7 years 6 months old, learning reading and
arithmetical processes through multiplication. He had read the Young Folks'
Cyclopaedia of Common Things "over and over." His chief interests were at
this time games and reading and, to a lesser degree, animals and flowers.

The following is a letter from his aunt, describing his home education:

At the age of three he learned his letters untaught by anyone
apparently, and was spelling words. It was felt that this would
interfere with his learning to read later on, so he was taught to read by
the phonic method. This was done with no more time and personal
attention than any first-grade teacher, with ordinary numbers of
pupils, could give to each one, provided she were generously supplied
with different books, and not limited to one or two sets—state series
or otherwise. A few months after his fourth birthday he was reading

with independence and an almost perfect power to recognize new
words. His only noticed failures were such foreign words as
"Chevrolet" seen on billboards, and unusual words like "aisle," used
without context, which he pronounced "alicie." His ease in reading
was, of course, made possible, or at least greatly facilitated, by the
fact that an effort had always been made to use an extended
vocabulary in talking to him. Even at two, he would surprise
acquaintances and strangers with expressions which meant no greater
effort to him than a child's baby-talk; such as, "Oh, the spider has
attached his web to the board."

This ability to read opened a new world, for he read car-signs,
billboards, newspapers, magazines, and books. His books and
magazines were carefully selected. His access to newspapers,
especially the funny sheets, had the most questionable results. But
The Child's Garden of Verses and others proved a veritable dream
world—as real as the everyday one. He once asked his mother, "Does
Robert Louis Stevenson know when I'm naughty?" At another time he
wrote a letter to some of the characters in another book. At the age of
six he read Swiss Family Robinson and Champlin's Cyclopedia of
Common Things—the two books which have been and still are his
favorites. Other books which he read before entering school at seven
years were: Overall Boys, Brownie Book, Kipling's Just-So Stories
(read over and over for two or three years), Swift's Gulliver's Travels,
Kingsley's Heroes, Aesop's Fables, Tolstoy's Stories for Children,
Grimm's Fairy Tales, Arabian Nights, Barrie's Peter Pan and Peter
and Wendy.

He entered school at seven and a half years and was put in the B1
(beginner's) class. In the two days he was kept there, he developed a
distinct aversion to school since nobody discovered he could do

anything and the class confinement and need for sitting still (coupled
with the fact that he did not find the toilet for over a week) made
school most disagreeable to him. On the third day a member of the
family intervened and the teacher very reluctantly allowed him to
enter the second grade. She insisted that he could not do the work, as
he did not know his sounds. Of course he did "know his sounds," but
perhaps he refused to do such baby-work, although he never
expressed his unwillingness at home, and seemed quite afraid of
displeasing his teacher. In the second grade he was forced to sit for 20
to 25 minutes, studying a reading book, which he could have read
through in that time. At home he was told to take some work to
school, but the teacher refused to let him read in school, even the
Cyclopedia of Common Things. At the end of a week and a half he
was in absolute rebellion and was taken out of school.

The family then took this child to a teacher of fourth grade, who was
personally acquainted with him, and asked her to examine him for proper
placement. This resulted in a more appropriate adjustment. By February of
his first year in school he had reached Grade 5A in school placement, and
had had thirteen different teachers, including those for special subjects such
as music, nature study, and the like. His initial aversion to school lessened,
but he found no positive joy in attending. Root describes the temperament
of the boy as "somewhat irascible." This case illustrates in extreme degree
the maladjustment to school which is characteristic of children testing
above 180 IQ (S-B).

Twins A and B. In 1922 Gesell (10) reported the case of twin girls, both
of IQ 183 (S-B). Gesell was interested but incidentally in the IQ ratings of
these girls, his main interest centering in the condition of twinning.
Measurements were taken with a view to comparing twins, and therefore

many details that would be of interest for our present purpose—for
instance, those of family history—are omitted from the report.

A and B were born by Caesarean section, somewhat prematurely,
weighing 4.3 pounds and 5.3 pounds, respectively. Notwithstanding their
premature birth, in six months A was able to rise spontaneously to a sitting
posture in her mother's lap, and very soon thereafter B did likewise. At 11
months both had begun to walk, and to talk in sentences. At the age of 3
years they began the study of French, and in less than a year from that time
they were reading elementary English, French, and Esperanto. At the age of
4 they could distinguish parts of speech. They entered the third grade in
school at the age of 6 years, and at the time of report they had achieved the
seventh grade and were engaged in junior high school work at the age of 9
years.

They are not prigs: they are attractive, animated, sociable children,
with a bubbling sense of humor. They are popular with their
playmates. They can take charge of a gymnasium class in which most
of the members are two to four years their seniors, and preserve
excellent attention and discipline. They speak mature but not pedantic
English, and they speak French with the fluency of a native. They
have read the Book of Knowledge in its entirety in French; and a year
ago embarked on Russian. They play duets on the piano, but not with
rare distinction. They swim; they ride horseback; they write jingles;
and they read by the hour. Their school work does not tax them; they
do not worry about it; and they are far from fastidious in regard to the
form of their written work.

A complete family chart of the twin sisters, A and B, would show
evidence of superior endowment in the immediate ancestry on both
the maternal sides. Scientific and linguistic ability of high order and

physical energy are some of the traits which are found in the two
immediate generations. The trait of twinning likewise has a hereditary
basis in this instance, for the mother also bore two boys, twins who
died in infancy.

Measurements of physique show A and B to be slightly smaller than
children of their age in good private schools, but very well nourished. The
children have no living brothers or sisters.

Elizabeth, reported by Hirt. Elizabeth was reported from the public
schools of Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1922, by Hirt (13). She was born January
16, 1914, and was tested June 14, 1921, aged 7 years 5 months. Her Mental
Age was found to be 14 years, 0 months, yielding an IQ of 189 (S-B).

Elizabeth's mother was a member of a large family of children brought
from Germany to America by their parents. The father (Elizabeth's maternal
grandfather) died soon after their arrival in America, and the mother
(Elizabeth's maternal grandmother) worked hard to keep her family together
and to give them all an elementary school education. Elizabeth's father is of
Pennsylvania German descent. He has a high school education, and
attended a business college. His occupation in 1922 was that of a postal
mail clerk.

This child weighed 10 pounds at birth, 22 pounds at 6 months, 28 1/2
pounds at 12 months, and at the age of 7 years 5 months she weighed 61
pounds and was 51 inches tall. Superior size was thus consistently
maintained from birth to the time of first report, in 1921. Two teeth erupted
before she was 5 months old. She was not quite a year old when she began
to repeat words. He first sentence was, "Open the door, Daddy," uttered at
the age of 17 months. The parents remembered this sentence as a sudden
transition from one-word communications into sentence structure.

The only illness Elizabeth had ever had until she was 7 years 4 months
old was mumps, which came on at that age.

Hirt's report continues as follows:

Among Elizabeth's first toys was a set of cubical blocks with letters
and numbers on four sides. One of the baby's favorite amusements
was to hold up a block and point to one side after the other for her
entertainer to tell what was on the side of the block indicated.
Gradually the game changed, and the baby held up the block and
pointed to the picture called for by the entertainer. At the age of 15
months she made no mistakes in finding the animals called for, and
very soon afterwards she could find the letters in the same way.

One of her first books was The Story of the Naughty Piggies. The
child seemed never to tire of hearing the story read, and by the time
she was two and a half years old, when she sat in the lap of the reader,
she could turn the page at just the right place in the story. About that
time the two leaves in the center of the book loosened and dropped
out. The German grandma made a mistake in sewing them in, putting
the second first. Elizabeth quickly discovered the mistake and was
very unhappy about it. She followed her grandmother about, asking
her to fix it. The grandmother could not understand what the child
meant, and finally appealed to the child's mother, who discovered
what was wrong. Elizabeth was not yet three years old, and they
could not believe that the child detected the difference between these
two pages of the book. But after the grandmother ripped out the
stitches and replaced the leaves in their proper sequence, the little girl
showed unmistakable satisfaction and content.

At three and a half years of age, Elizabeth was spelling everything
she saw printed and asking what the letters spelled, and she could

recognize many words. At four years, she read the advertisements in
the streetcars, as well as everything in all the books she possessed.
During all this time there was no attempt on the part of the parents to
make their daughter precocious. They were pleased with her readiness
to learn, but they did not look upon her as an unusual child.

In September, 1920, Elizabeth was enrolled in the first grade, in the
public schools of Erie, Pennsylvania. She was then 6 years, 8 months
old. On her second day in school her teacher discovered that should
could read anything that was placed before her. The principal put her
in the second grade until she had time to investigate her case. She
spent forty-two days in the second grade, during which time the
principal observed her closely, and decided to place her in the fourth
grade.

Elizabeth had no trouble in completing that grade in the remainder
of the school year, the principal giving her some special help in
spelling and arithmetic. . . . Elizabeth is not a skillful writer, as far as
penmanship goes, but she seldom makes a mistake in either spelling
or punctuation, and the content of her letters and compositions is
superior, even for the advanced grade in which she is now working. . .
. Intellectually speaking, this child takes everything to which she is
exposed, and she is not satisfied unless she understands the subject
fully. Unfamiliar words or terms bring from her the question, "Just
what does that mean?" She has a cheery disposition, and laughs often
and heartily. She is contented in any environment, because her
imagination makes it as she wishes it. . . . When she is reading or
studying, she becomes so engrossed that it is hard to attract her
attention to anything outside her book. . . . She is slow in her written
work, and she is slow and rather awkward in some of her motor
coördinations.

After less than a month in the fifth grade, in September, 1921 (age
7 years 8 months), Elizabeth was promoted to the sixth grade, where
she is doing superior work. In the examinations at the end of the last
semester she ranked about the middle of the class, due to the fact that
she is still slow in her written work. But in comprehension she easily
leads the class.

Thus far nothing has been done for this exceptional child except to
move her along from grade to grade five times as rapidly as the
average child can go. When we see her at times very evidently bored
while a teacher is trying to make a subject clear to pupils of average
ability, we wonder what would have happened if Elizabeth were now
in the second or third grade where most eight-year-old children are
found.

In 1925 Hirt again reported upon the child, Elizabeth, as follows:

By February, 1923, she had completed the work of the six
elementary grades, and she was promoted to the junior high school.
Now, at the end of her fifth year in school, she is ready for the second
semester's work in the ninth grade. . . . After her promotion to the
junior high school, some of her teachers complained that she was
lazy; others said that she was very inattentive; and all declared that
she was "very silly." The school psychologist had a conference with
these teachers, and it was decided that Elizabeth should be given a
heavier schedule, and Latin was added to her program. She has been
enthusiastic over this subject from the very first. . . . During the past
year there has been a steady improvement in Elizabeth's attitude
toward her school work as well as in her behavior in general. Though
some of her teachers still consider her "silly," they all recognize her
unusual mental ability. While they give her B and C grades in most of

her subjects, they realize that she could easily do A work in every
subject if she cared to. They say that she wastes much time, though
her mind seems always to be busy. Her mother says that when she is
at home "she writes, and writes, and writes, covering reams of paper."
Elizabeth has told her mother that she is writing a book and a play.

In the spring of 1925, when a friend asked Elizabeth where she was
going to spend her summer vacation, the child replied, "Why, I expect
to take a trip around the world." Then seeing the surprise in her
friend's face, she explained, "Of course, it is not probable that I shall
go far from our porch swing, but I find the swing a very satisfactory
conveyance; it is perfectly safe, and it always takes me exactly where
I want to go."

When Elizabeth entered the tenth grade, in senior high school, in 1926,
she was 12 years 8 months old. Her social behavior was at about the level
for this age, and her teachers were coldly critical, unable or unwilling to
reconcile her conduct with her physical size and intellectual maturity. She
made very few friends. She was graduated from high school in June, 1929,
with the reputation of being lazy. She excelled in the languages, but her
work in other subjects was mediocre.

After she was graduated from high school, funds were not available for
Elizabeth to attend college away from home or to pay tuition. Consequently,
because she must live at home she enrolled in a State Teachers College,
though she had no desire to become a teacher. She was 15 years 8 months
old at this time, and her work was very uneven in excellence. When the
time arrived for practice teaching, she was assigned to teach high school
pupils of about her own age, and failed in this branch of the work, so that
she was not graduated. She received, however, an honorable discharge from
the college. During these years, 1929-1933, her situation was further

complicated by the passing of a state law prohibiting students below 17
years of age from attending the State Teachers College. As Elizabeth was
then still below the age specified in the new law, she was forced to
withdraw and wait for time to pass, resuming her studies as soon as she fell
within the law.

When Elizabeth was discharged from the Teachers College, interested
friends made attempts to secure for her a subsistence and tuition scholarship
at some good liberal arts college, but no such opportunities were found.
One college otherwise interested in granting a tuition scholarship now
found her "too old," she being then aged 19 years.

The scholastic history of Elizabeth is too long to be told here in greater
detail. It affords an instructive and tragic example of the blindness of
current educational practice in dealing with children who test in the highest
ranges of intellect. At 22 years of age Elizabeth lives at home, without
suitable occupation, writing poetry and helping with the tasks of the
household. Her education as conducted has not provided her with any
recognized equipment for enter for entering into the intellectual life of her
world, although she possesses one of the best intellects of her generation.

The case of J. M. The history of J. M., a 10-year-old girl of IQ 190 (S-B),
was presented by Washburne (34) in 1924. This girl was a pupil in the
public schools of Winnetka, Illinois, where the plan of individualized
instruction is followed, with individual subject promotions.

At the age of 10 years 6 months, J. M. was 54.5 inches tall and weighed
88.5 pounds. This is decidedly in excess of the standards for average
children, as regards size. She was doing work of good quality in the eighth
grade, and could have been in high school had not the school authorities
checked her progress in the seventh grade by giving her a large amount of
extra work to do. Her school record shows that she entered the public

schools of Chicago in the first grade, in September, 1919. The teacher of
first grade immediately discovered that she knew too much for that grade
and brought about her placement in the second grade. There she remained
until the following April, when her family moved to Winnetka.

In Winnetka, J. M. entered the second grade and was promoted in June.
Her reading, tested by the Monroe and Gray tests, was up to fifth-grade
standard when she reached third grade, and had reached the sixth-grade
standard by December, 1920. Her progress in other school subjects was
such that in September, 1921, she entered the fifth grade. Her rapid progress
was halted somewhat, as she "was carrying a double language course,
finishing the fourth grade and beginning fifth-grade work simultaneously."
When in May, 1922, she began the sixth-grade work, she completed it in
two weeks. "June, 1922, found her, therefore, doing advanced sixth-grade
reading, through with sixth grade spelling, almost through with sixth-grade
arithmetic, and promoted to the seventh grade in language. She was then
nine years old." In the course of this progress, the grade standard in
penmanship was last to be achieved. The perplexities which now arose in
connection with this child's education are set forth as follows, by
Washburne:

In spite of the fact that she was so clearly ready for seventh-grade
work in the fall of 1922, we hesitated about having her come from the
lower grade school to our junior high school. She was smaller and
younger than any of the children in the junior high, and we felt that
she was already so far advanced that still more progress was perhaps
undesirable. But she had formed a warm attachment for two girls a
year or so older than herself, both possessed of high IQ's, and she felt
that there would be nothing for her to do in the sixth grade if we held
her back. This was so obviously true that we admitted her to the

junior high school with an agreement that she would remain there
until she was twelve years old.

We felt that while she doubtless could do the work of the junior
high school within a year, or at the most in a year and a half, since our
junior high contains only the seventh and eighth grades, she ought not
to go to the senior high school too young. We agreed to give her a
widely enriched curriculum of electives and special courses, to keep
her active and happy for three years. But it didn't work!

When she found that no effort on her part would get her through
any sooner, she stopped making effort. The end of the first year (June,
1923) found her with seventh-grade cooking, seventh-grade art, and
seventh-grade pottery, all incomplete. She had taken up general
science toward the end of the year, and of course had not finished it
either. She had, on the other hand, completed all of the seventh-grade
English and arithmetic, including some advanced work; had done
exceptionally well in French. In dramatics she first had a know-it-all
attitude, owing to her mother's success in amateur theatricals, but
later did very good work. In social studies she had been inclined to
superficiality, trusting to her quick grasp on a single reading of the
material (Rugg's Social Science Pamphlets) and doing little real
thinking. But she was interested, and finished the course within the
year.

The general feeling of the teachers, and of J. M. herself . . . was
that she had "loafed on the job" a good deal, had been over-confident,
and had "let down" generally when the stimulus of rapid advancement
was taken away. This gives us some inkling as to what would have
happened to her in a regular school system, where the class lockstep
is the rule. This year J. M. is taking a straight eighth-grade course

with one elective, and is tying up the loose ends left undone at the end
of last year.

. . . The child's strong desire to move forward with the children
who are now her friends, and the undesirable effect on her of our last
year's experiment in holding her back regardless of her effort or
ability to go forward, have resulted in our decision to let her graduate
this coming June.

Her parents, however, have requested that we keep her in our junior
high school for a postgraduate year, because they feel that the
influence of this school is needed by J. M. We shall, therefore, try to
provide a special course for her next fall. If we found out that it does
not work out successfully, we will enter her in the senior high school
in February, 1925. If, on the other hand, we find that we can give her
the sort of education that will be helpful to her in our junior high
school and that she responds rightly, we shall hold her here until June,
letting her enter the senior high school at the age of twelve and one
half years.

Interpreting and summarizing our experience with J. M.: Our
system of individual instruction has permitted her to make full use of
her intellectual ability. When we tried to depart from it to prevent her
progress from becoming too rapid, she showed a lack of interest and
in some parts of her school work she did not work up to capacity, and
even became to a slight extent a discipline problem. Given, however,
an incentive to first-class work and the training in social behavior
which we are trying to give in our junior high school, J. M. developed
successfully and well. On the whole, our system has enabled us to
deal with her flexibly and as an individual. It has prevented us from
prolonging our mistakes. Probably no system, or uniform plan, can be

made to fit children of such exceptional mental endowments. The
most we can hope for is a flexibility which will enable us to deal with
such children as individuals, feeling our way as we go along.

As for family background, J. M. originates from ancestors of very
superior intelligence. Her parents were both tested by means of Army Alpha
and both scored far above the generality of adults. Her father was educated
as an electrical engineer but subsequently went into investment banking. J.
M.'s paternal grandfather was an architect, trained in Manchester School of
Science. He also attended the University of Edinburgh. The paternal great-
grandfather was an architect and shipbuilder, expert in laying out factories,
and he was descended from a line of builders. The paternal grandmother
was an English woman, educated by her aunt, "who had advanced ideas on
what a girl should study." The father of this grandmother was a dealer in
building materials.

On the maternal side, J. M.'s grandfather was first a teacher, then a
merchant, who became very wealthy, and a mayor of a Southern town for
eighteen years. The line of his descent was through Southern planters. The
maternal grandmother was the daughter of a college professor, who in turn
was the son of a physician and surgeon, coming from a long line of
physicians. The mother of the maternal grandmother was descended from
wealthy farmers. It is of some interest that for three generations at least, J.
M. and her immediate progenitors were born when the parents were thirty
years or older, in some cases being more than sixty years old.

The case of E. B. This child was described in 1924, by Stedman (22), as
having "the highest IQ yet reported." Exception was taken some years ago
by the present writer to this description, on the ground that the test by which
E. B. registered an IQ of 214 was not first given to the child. She had been
tested previously by Stanford-Binet, at the age of 5 years 9 months, earning

an IQ of 175. When tested in the Psychological Department of the Los
Angeles city schools at the age of 8 years 11 months, E. B. made the record
of a superior adult, earning an IQ of 214 (S-B). The record is thus
ambiguous, and will be included here only because we cannot say how
much allowance should be made for "test wisdom" on second test.
However, subsequent history points to 175 IQ as the more probably correct
status for this child, since when she was tested at the age of 21 years 1
month, by Lorge and Hollingworth (16), using CAVD, Levels M, N, O, P,
and Q, and other tests of cultural and specifically scientific knowledge, the
result placed her among individuals who in childhood had tested between
170 and 180 IQ (S-B).

E. B. was born on September 21, 1913. When 4 years 6 months old she
was placed in a convent school on account of her mother's departure for
France. She was not enrolled as a pupil but was allowed to sit with the high
first grade when she wished, because her chum sat there. In four months, at
the close of the school year, it was discovered that she could read any page
in the reader which had been used as a text, and any page in the public
school first reader, which she had never seen before. Accordingly, though
not yet 5 years old, she was "promoted" to the second grade.

At the close of the next school year she was promoted to the fourth
grade, aged 5 years 9 months. Before E.B. was 6 years old she had
read practically every book listed by the public library at Des Moines
for children of the first six grades. At the age of 9 years 4 months she
was doing eighth-grade and post-eighth grade work. Her favorite
books at the age of 9 years include Barrie's The Little Minister,
Sentimental Tommy and Tommy and Grizel; Hugo's Les Misérables;
Dickens's Oliver Twist, Our Mutual Friend, and David Copperfield;
Eliot's Silas Marner and Mill on the Floss; Bunyan's Pilgrim's
Progress; Hutchinson's If Winter Comes and This Freedom. . . . Until

she entered the opportunity room, E. B. never had a child companion,
and was unpopular with children. She was friendly but shy, and was
unable to comply with the play standards of other children. In the
opportunity room she made better social adjustments. She is cheerful,
affectionate, and considerate to the point of self-denial. She obeys
implicitly, but is forgetful in the commission of small duties, perhaps
because engrossed with more interesting matters. She thinks along
economic and political lines, and can hold her own even with many
adults in conversing on these subjects. . . . Health is excellent. She
has had the usual children's diseases, but has recuperated very
quickly. . . . E. B. is of French, English, and Scotch descent. The
father finished high school at 13, and was an A and B student at the
University, taking gold medals for original composition. He is a
writer and an editor. . . . The paternal grandfather is a lawyer, teacher,
and author. The paternal grandmother has mathematical ability. E.
B.'s mother entered school at 8 years, and completed high school at
15. She then entered business college, and completed the course in
less than three months. She then entered college, working her way
through with consistently A records. She was editor of a national
magazine at 25, and at the time of investigation was an editorial
writer on Screenland. . . . The maternal grandfather's history is
unknown. It is thought that he was average; but the maternal great-
grandfather was probably superior. At 21 he could neither read nor
write, but just at this time a public school was established near his
home. He entered, and finished the course for the entire eight grades
in sixteen months. . . . E. B.'s mother states that E. B. first spoke
words with meaning at 7 or 8 months of age, and that she walked at
10 months. When she was 3 years old her parents discovered that she
knew the alphabet, which she seems to have learned by asking
questions about printed signs. She has had very little formal

instruction at home, for her mother has been active in newspaper
work most of the time, usually working at night.

E. B. entered college in a large city at 12 years 0 months of age. The girls
in this college are very highly selected for intellect, and E. B. did not do
outstanding work among them. She encountered many difficulties, but
graduated at the age of 16 years 9 months with a creditable rating. At the
age of 20 years she married, holding also at that age a very responsible post
in charge of cash for the metropolitan branch of one of the largest
manufacturing and distributing companies in the United States. It is her aim
to become a writer.

Verda. In 1925 Terman (26) reported two children not elsewhere
described, with IQ's above 180 (S-B), Verda and Madeline [below], both
discovered during the census of the gifted taken in California.

The occupational level among Verda's male ancestors has been largely in
the professions and in business. Her father is a successful life insurance
salesman, and shows musical, mechanical, and literary ability. He is of
Scotch-Irish extraction. Her mother is of French and English ancestry, a
descendant in direct line from Governor Bradford, of colonial New
England, and is related to many notables. Verda has no brothers or sisters.

The child's first words were articulated at 7 months, and she talked in
sentences at 15 months. She hummed a tune at 17 months' could name all
the primary colors at 22 months; could count to 13 at 25 months. Her first
poem (said in rhyme and meter) was composed at the age of 2 years 9
months. This was recorded by her mother. She did not herself put on paper
her literary compositions until the age of 5 years, when she learned to print.
After this the stories she composed were no longer recorded by her mother.
Soon after she was 4 years old she brought a book to her parents and read to

them. Up to that time she had had no formal instruction in reading but she
had been read to.

Verda did not enter school until she was 8 years 7 months old, beginning
in the high fourth grade.

Her IQ was first determined at the age of 11 years 1 month by an
incomplete test, made as a demonstration before by an incomplete test,
made as a demonstration before a group of teachers in the limited time of
fifty minutes, and was calculated at 175. When at age 11 years 7 months she
was fully tested in a standard situation, she passed every test provided on
Stanford-Binet, proving at an IQ ("corrected" [2]) of 186. Through four
years of high school she received an "A" grade in every academic subject,
with the exception of one semester of French and one of biology, in which
the grade was "B." She was graduated from high school at age of 16 years 9
months.

According to her own testimony, Verda's usual amount of study during
her senior year was only six hours a week outside of school hours. "She is
fond of parties and dances, and is very active in student life, particulary
through her literary contributions. She rates herself as rather disliking study.
She would rather read, play the piano, compose music, stories, or plays, or
spend time with her friends." (In 1926 she won a gold medal in a piano-
playing contest.) She has shown a wide margin of energy and ability over
and above what is necessary for a "straight A" record in high school.

There is much more in the description of this child that is interesting, but
the case cannot here be quoted in full.

Madeline. At the age of 6 years 7 months Madeline yielded an IQ of 192
(S-B). She was then in the third grade, but her scores on Stanford
Achievement Tests corresponded to fifth- and sixth-grade norms. At 7 years

of age, her parents' chief concern in regard to her was to prevent her from
reading too much.

At 7 months of age Madeline was able to distinguish all the pictures on
the walls of her home when they were named to her. She could identify the
pictures of six American poets when she was a little over a year old. She
knew the common flowers by name before the age of 3. Her mother
reported that "reading seemed to be born in her." She could count to 100 at
3 years, played parchesi at 4 years, and "carried the powers of 2 mentally to
the 20th, as a Sunday afternoon pastime before the age of 6." At 7 years of
age she was writing poetry with religious thought expressed.

Entering school in the first grade at the age of 4 years 11 months,
Madeline was held in the ordinary course on account of her age and in order
to improve in handwork, in which she seemed deficient. She was listless
and bored at school, and developed habits of procrastination and time-
wasting. In high school, however, she began to take an interest in the work
offered, and at the time of report she was finishing the ninth grade with "A"
ratings in all except an occasional course which she regarded as
uninteresting or meaningless.

Often when she is sent out to the back yard at night to dispose of
kitchen refuse, she fails to return until her mother goes in search of
her. Her mother always finds her studying the heavens. Madeline has
recently developed a strong interest in astronomy, has devoured
several books on the subject, and is planning to become an
astronomer.

The health of this child has always been good. She has had the usual
children's diseases, and contracts colds, but has never been seriously ill.

Madeline's ancestry is very superior. On the paternal side, the grandfather
was of English-Irish descent; the grandmother, of Scottish-French descent.
Teaching and preaching have been the usual occupations. On the maternal
side, the grandfather was of German-Dutch descent; the grandmother, of
English descent. The child's parents are both university graduates, and they
have done graduate work. She has two younger sisters, of 167 and 162 IQ
(S-B), respectively. The family is in very moderate financial circumstances,
having taken responsibility in the care of relatives.

Rosemarie. In 1928, Schorn (20) reported upon a girl aged 4 years 6
months, who tested at 8 years Mental Age in the Psychologisches Institut at
Würzberg. This report gives her an IQ of 184. She was brought to attention
because she could read fluently at the age of 3 years 6 months, without
having been schooled.

The case of this child illustrates some of the points of misunderstanding
of such children by those who have not seen several like them. Because she
could not perform motor tasks in advance of her years, it was concluded
that she "was not generally bright."

The case of K. In 1934 Goldberg (11) described the case of K, a boy who
achieved an IQ of 196 (S-B) when tested at the age of 6 years 7 months.

K was born June 25, 1927, in New York City, of Jewish parents, and is an
only child. The parents state from memory that K started to walk at 14
months of age, and could talk rather fluently at the age of 1 year 6 months.
Dentition began at 8 months of age. His health has been very good, and he
has had no serious illnesses.

When K was 20 months old, he knew his alphabet and within a
short while after that he was able to recite it backwards. At about the
same time he had a set of blocks, which offered him additional

opportunity for developing a well-nigh astounding feat. He could by
looking at one of the figures on a given block call off from memory
the other five objects on the remaining sides. This he was able to do
for almost the entire set. At about 2 years of age K knew his own
name and address and what is more significant the addresses and
telephone numbers of the entire family, numbering about a dozen.

By studying a calendar he learned to tell on what particular day a
certain date would fall. For example, if he were asked on what day of
the week July 16 would fall he would indicate Thursday. . . .

K began to read at about 4 years of age. He was given no formal
training in the beginning mechanics of reading. The only assistance
he received was a suggestion that he "pronounce words by syllables."
At this time he was already reading simple words easily.

K is of Jewish origin. Mr. K at the time of K's birth was 32 years of
age, and Mrs. K was 35. Neither K's mother nor his father has had the
benefit of college training. They are for the most part self-educated.
Mr. K is a proprietor of a small retail business.

At the age of 6 years 7 months K's height with shoes was 47.3 inches,
and his weight was 52 pounds. He is well nourished, and his physical
condition was found negative for all unfavorable indications. When asked
for the year, in the test at year IX (S-B), K said, "It is 1934, but if you
believe in the Jewish calendar, it is 5694."

The case of B. Witty and Jenkins (36) have reported the case of B, a
gifted Negro girl, who was tested at the age of 9 years 4 months, earning an
IQ of 200 (S-B), "corrected" score, and of 187, "uncorrected" score. [3] At
the time of testing, B was in the low fifth grade at school, her mental age
being 17 years 5 months at least ("uncorrected" score). She had received but

one double promotion though others were offered by the school, because
B's mother is afraid that the child will get too far from her age group.

B was discovered by asking a teacher to nominate the "most intelligent"
and "best student" among children in her class. B was nominated as "best
student," while a girl four years older, whose IQ turned out to be below 100,
was nominated as "most intelligent." This circumstance is illustrative of the
lack of insight which necessarily exists in relation to such children where
teachers have no special instruction in regard to them. The report continues:

The following items were secured from B's baby book, and from
the mother's reports. B, an only child, was born November 18, 1924.
The mother was then 27 years of age, and the father 31. B weighed 6
3/4 pounds at birth, 14 pounds at 3 months, and 17 1/2 pounds at 9
months. At 9 years and 5 months, B weighed 60 pounds and was 50
inches in height; this is normal for a child of her height and age
(Baldwin-Wood norms).

B walked a few steps at 8 months (under the excitement of running
after a dog), but walked no more till she was 12 months old. She
employed short sentences when she was about 16 months of age. Her
mother reports that B expressed her thought in sentences, rather than
in isolated words, almost from the beginning of language
development; she excited considerable comment among friends by
displaying an extensive vocabulary and by using nursery rhymes at
age 2.

B was taught to read by her mother at age 4, by the "picture-story"
method. (She knew the alphabet long before.) A few lessons only
were given her and thereafter B read and has continued to read
independently.

B has had no serious illnesses or accidents; her health history
appears normal and her physical condition at the present time is
excellent. Furthermore, she seems unusually well balanced from the
standpoint of mental hygiene. B exhibits regularity in habits, sleeps
soundly, seldom reports dreams, displays no unusual fears, and adapts
herself quickly and successfully to the demands of her child-group.

B's parents appear distinctly above the average both in intelligence
and in academic training. The mother finished a two-year normal
course and taught for a number of years in a metropolitan school
system. The father is an electrical engineer, a graduate of Case
College of Applied Science; he has pursued graduate studies at
Cornell University, and has done some college teaching. At present he
is a practicing electrical engineer. . . . Her maternal great-grandfather
(who is still active and robust at age 82) was private secretary to each
of four executives of a large railroad system. . . . Her paternal
grandfather was an inventor and manufacturer of polishes and waxes.
...

The mother reports B to be of pure Negro stock. There is no record
of any white ancestors on either the maternal or paternal side.

B has not much ability or interest in music. Her favorite subject is
science, and chemistry attracts her to the extent that she wishes to become a
chemist.

Child R. In 1936, Zorbaugh and Boardman (38) described a boy, R, of IQ
204 (S-B). They mention also three other children of IQ above 180, tested
at New York University's Clinic for the Social Adjustment of the Gifted, but
R is the only one described.

R was brought to the Clinic when he was 8 years old, and at that
time he had on the Stanford-Binet an IQ of 204. His father, an
engineer, is a well-known writer in the scientific field. His mother
holds a doctor's degree in physical chemistry from a foreign
university. Neither the father nor the mother has been tested, but they
are both persons of very unusual mental ability. R's two younger
brothers are also of very superior mentality. The family is of Jewish
origin and both the father and the mother were born in a foreign
country.

R, their first child, was born when the mother was thirty and the
father was thirty-five. His early development was exceedingly
precocious. His first tooth erupted at five months of age; he began to
walk at nine months and was running at eleven months; he was
talking in sentences at eleven months; he learned to read at four years
of age, and was reading omnivorously before he entered school.
When he entered school he had an unusual vocabulary, using such
words as "casuistry" and "disproportionate." At the age of 2 he was
modeling in clay, and at the age of 3 he began to design and make
machines. He applied through his father to the United States Patent
Office for two patents before he was 8 years old. At 8 years of age he
had a large library in his home composed mostly of books of science,
history, and biography, which he had catalogued himself, on the
Dewey decimal system. At this age he was writing a book on
electricity. Also at the age of 8 he had a small machine shop in which
he was working on his machines. At the age of 6 he enjoyed
discussing philosophy. At the age of 7 he would debate on the
significance of religion in world development.

The day he first came to the Clinic, Claudel's experiments on
developing power by raising the colder water from the lower levels of

the sea had just been reported in the scientific section of the New York
Times. R explained the theory involved much more clearly than had
the scientific writer of the Times.

R is well developed physically, above average in height, and
considerably above average in weight, likes the outdoors, especially
hiking and riding horseback. At the age of 9 he showed the first
symptoms of the approach of puberty. R is well adjusted to his school
and his playmates, plays on their soccer and baseball teams, is well
liked, and is a leader in many of their activities.

Other cases. In addition to these children who have been somewhat fully
described, a few others testing above 180 IQ (S-B) have been mentioned in
the literature of gifted children or their records have appeared in
tabulations. In 1923 Dvorak told of a boy of IQ 183 (S-B) who was
examined at the University of Minnesota. This boy was conspicuously
maladjusted at school. He "hated school," and did poor work there. He was
8 years 7 months old at the time of examination, and passed the tests at a
mental level of 15 years 9 months. The educational authorities were
unsympathetic and resistant to advice, but finally placed the child in the
fifth grade, where both work and conduct improved greatly. This observer
also mentions a boy of 189 IQ (S-B) who was tested at the same University.

Cyril Burt, writing of mental tests in the schools of London, cites an
English boy of 190 IQ, but does not give a description of him. The value of
these mere mentions is slight because there is no elaboration and no
subsequent history of the cases which would be useful for purposes of
generalizations.

GENERALIZATIONS

The preceding [cases] describe in some detail 19 cases rating 180 IQ or
better, if those be included (3 cases) that were reported before the Stanford
Revision came into use. Although the reports are lacking in uniformity and
vary in emphasis, it is possible to glean from them a few generalizations
concerning origin and development among the gifted.

Origin is extremely varied as regards racial stock. In describing
the 14 American children, German descent is mentioned 3 times,
French 3, Scottish 5, English 5, Swedish 1, Scotch-Irish 1,
Dutch 1, Jewish 1, Negro 1. There is one German child.

The occupational status of the fathers all fall in Class 1 or Class 2 of
Taussig's rating—professional, clerical, or business proprietors. Social-
economic status wherever mentioned is said to be moderate. None is stated
to be very wealthy or very poor.

Age of parents at birth of the exceptional child covers a wide range.

Development is decidedly ahead of schedule for the group in all respects.
Reported age of walking (7 cases stated) ranges from 7 months to 14
months. Talking in sentences, in the 10 cases in which it is given, ranges
from 8 months to 19 months. In 13 cases the age of reading is assigned, this
being always 3.5 or 4 years.

General health is, whenever mentioned, always reported as good, and
except for the twins, born prematurely, physique is superior.

In the array of 19 cases there are 12 girls and 7 boys, whereas of the 12
cases to be [later] reported [in] this study only 4 are girls. In the grand total
there are 16 girls and 15 boys.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. BERKHAN, OSWALD. "Das Wunderkind Christian Heinrich
Heineken." Zeitschrift für Kinderforschung, Vol. 15, pages 225-229 (1910).

2. ——— "Otto Pöhler, Das Frühlesende Braunschweiger Kind."
Zeitschrift für Kinderforschung, Vol. 15, pages 166-171 (1910).

3. BINET, A., et SIMON, TH. "New Methods for the Diagnosis of the
Intellectual Level of Subnormals." L'Année Psychologique, 1905, pages
191-244.

4. ——— "The Development of Intelligence in the Child."L'Année
Psychologique, 1908, pages 1-90.

5. BUSH, A. D. "Binet-Simon Tests of a Thirty-nine-Months-Old Child."
Psychological Clinic, 1914.

6. COX, C. M. The Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses.
Genetic Studies of Genius: Vol. 2. Stanford University Press, Stanford
University, California; 1926.

7. DOLBEAR, K. E. "Precocious Children." Pedagogical Seminary, Vol.
19, pages 461-491 (1912).

8. DUFF, F., and THOMSON, GODFREY H. "The Social and
Geographical Distribution of Intelligence in Northumberland." British
Journal of Psychology (1923).

9. GALTON, FRANCIS. Hereditary Genius. The Macmillan Company,
London; 1892. (First Ed., 1869.)

10. GESELL, ARNOLD. "Mental and Physical Correspondence in
Twins." Scientific Monthly (1922).

11. GOLDBERG, SAMUEL. "A Clinical Study of K, 196 IQ." Journal of
Applied Psychology, Vol. 18, pages 550-560 (1934).

12. HARTLAUB, G. F. Der Genius im Kinde. Hirt, Breslau; 1930.

13. HIRT, ZOE I. "A Gifted Child." Training School Bulletin, Vol. 19,
pages 49-54 (1922).

14. I. E. R. Intelligence Scale CAVD, Levels A to Q. Printed in 5 parts.
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York; 1925.

15. LANGENBECK, M. "A study of a Five-Year-Old Child."
Pedagogical Seminary (1915).

16. LORGE, I., and HOLLINGWORTH, L. S. "The Adult Status of
Highly Intelligent Children." Journal of Genetic Psychology, Vol. 49, pages
215-226 (1936).

17. QUETELET, M. Letters on Probability. Translated by Downes.
Layton & Co., London; 1849.

18. ROOT, W. T. A Socio-Psychological Study of Fifty-three Supernormal
Children. Psychological Monographs, 1921, 29, No. 133, pages 134 ff.

19. RUSK, R. R. "A Case of Precocity." Child Study, 1917.

20. SCHORN, M. "Zur Psychologie des Frühbegabten Kindes."
Zeitschrift für Psychologie, pages 105, 302-316 (1928).

21. SPEARMAN, G. "General Intelligence Objectively Determined and
Measured." American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 15, pages 201-293
(1904).

22. STEDMAN, L. M. Education of Gifted Children. World Book
Company, Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York; 1924.

23. TERMAN, LEWIS M. "A New Approach to the Study of Genius."
Psychological Review, Vol. 29, pages 310-318 (1922).

24. ——— The Measurement of Intelligence. Houghton Mifflin
Company, Boston; 1916.

25. TERMAN, LEWIS M., and FENTON, J. C. "Preliminary Report on a
Gifted Juvenile Author." Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 5, pages 163-
178 (1921).

26. ——— et al. Mental and Physical Traits of a Thousand Gifted
Children. Genetic studies of Genius: Vol. 1. Stanford University Press,
Stanford University, California; 1925.

27. ——— et al. Ibid., Genetic Studies of Genius: Vol. 3. Stanford
University Press, Stanford University, California; 1930.

28. THORNDIKE, E. L. An Introduction to the Theory of Mental and
Social Measurements. Science Press, New York; 1904.

29. ——— "Animal Intelligence." Psychological Review Monograph
Supplements, Vol. 2, No. 8 (1898).

30. ——— The Measurement of Intelligence. Bureau of Publications,
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York; 1926.

31. Tehetsegproblemak (Problems of Talent). Thirteen lectures by various
authors, delivered before the Hungarian Society for Child Research and
Practical Psychology, Budapest; 1930.

32. VON SCHÖNEICH, CHRISTIAN. Taten, Reisen und Tod eines sehr
klugen und sehr artigen 4-jährigen Kindes, Christian Heinrich Heineken
aus Lübeck. Zweite veränderte Auflage. Göttingen, 1779 (Erste Auflage,
1726).

33. WADDLE, C. W. "Case Studies of Gifted Children," Part I.
Twenty-third Yearbook, pages 185-207, National Society for the
Study of Education. Public School Publishing Company, Bloomington,
Illinois; 1924.

34. WASHBURNE, C. W. "Case History of J. M.," Part 1. Twenty-third
Yearbook, National Society for the Study of Education. Public School
Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois; 1924.

35. WITTE, K. The Education of Karl Witte. (Translated by L. Wiener.)
Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 1914.

36. WITTY, P. A., and JENKINS, M. D. "The Case of 'B'—a Gifted
Negro Girl." Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 6, pages 117-124 (1935).

37. YERKES, R. M. (Editor). "Psychological Examining in the United
States Army." Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 15
(1921).

38. ZORBAUGH, H. W. and BOARDMAN, RHEA K. "Salvaging Our
Gifted Children." Journal of Educational Sociology, Vol. 10, pages 100-108
(1926).

[1] It is not absolutely clear from Terman's text whether the 15 children
above 180 IQ (S-B) are to be thought of as representing the 643 children
statistically treated in Genetic Studies of Genius: Vol. I, or whether they rest

upon the "nearly one thousand" as a base, who were located. [[In a personal
communication Professor Terman writes that it was 15 out of 643.]]

[2] Correction is attempted according to a formula for records exceeding
the top of S-B, but this formula has never been actually validated.

[3] See previous footnote.

[a] "On December 3rd, 1721, someone first noticed that the child
watched these figures here and there for a long time without stopping, and
his little eyes at the same time stuck [upon them]. Someone said to him the
names of these figures: that would be a cat, that a tower, a little sheep, a
mountain. The following [lit. "other"] day, the 4th of December, someone
asked him again, where the cat, the mountain, the little sheep were and [to]
look there; the child indicated with his little tiny fingers there, and always
hit upon the right picture, that they had named to him. Even more, now he
gave effort himself to repeat the previously said words: cat, mountain,
tower: hence, he saw with unrelated glances [likely, unrelated to the figures
he was previously transfixed on] the speaking from the mouth [likely, of
whoever named the objects], got the movement of the lips and the tongue
[with] the same steady attending, slurred the word afterward and repeated
this so often, until he finally pressed out one syllable after another.

[b] He [pronoun is literally "it," derived from neut. case noun "das Kind"
i.e., "the child"] could read printed things in Latin and German.

He could not also write them; his little fingers were too weak to do so.

He could recite times tables both in and out of order. He could also count,
subtract, add, and multiply.

In French, he got so far, that he could recount entire histories in this
language.

In Latin, he learned over 1,500 good sayings from Latin-language
authors.

He learned Low German from his nurse, of whom he didn't want to let
go.

In geography, he continued to grasp the most curious things on each of
the maps of existing places.

[c] Otto Pöhler, born the 20th of August, 1892 to Braunschweig, first and
only child of a master butcher, got teeth at the correct time and learned to
walk and speak at the right time. When he was five fourths of a year old, his
grandmother led him outside the door and into the next streets and in the
course of this named to him the names which were on the house and street
signs, and also relatives wrote down him first name, Otto, multiple times.
When the child then got a newspaper in his hands, he showed the same
printed name, Otto. From then on, the grandmother explained to him the
letters and read aloud to him single words; in the process, it resulted that the
child had a prodigious memory for letters, words, and numbers.

When the little Otto was brought to me, he was, as I previously cited,
1_3/4 years old. He was very conversant, climbed immediately multiple
times onto my knees, showed himself, overall, very mobile and restless.
When he caught sight of one of the hanging wall calendars next to the
writing table, he read loudly, unprompted, the large-print, Latin display on
the same (April 27): "April two-seven…"

In October, 1894, I brought the young Otto, at the age of 2 years and 2
months, before the physician's country club. When the end of my delivered

lecture about him came, which was led in the boardroom, one of the doctors
showed the Börner's Medicinal-Calendar, with the request to read the Latin
inscription. He read fluently: "Imperial Medicinal-Calender. Founded by
Pa-ul Börner. One, eight, nine, four."

[d] He is not physically strong, but also not badly developed. At first
glance the long skull and the strong back of the head stand out. In the
delicate face clever, expressive eyes are captivating, which, with pondering,
take on at first a curiously serious, concentrated expression. In the whole,
he does not at all make an impression of an unhealthy, jaded child, but
rather of a boy with a completely fresh and merry view of the world.

His biggest passion is still always reading, and the most important thing
in the world to him are historic, biographic, and geographic dates. He
knows the birth and death years of many German Kaisers, also many
generals, poets, philosophers, mostly also birthdays and places of birth;
furthermore the capitals of most states, rivers on which they lie and the like.
He knows decisions of the beginning and end of the Thirty Year's and Seven
Year's Wars, of the main battles of these and other wars. From statements of
the mother, everything he picked up on without outside help, through the
diligent study of a "patriotic calendar" and similarly discoverable literature
in the house, also through the deciphering of monument inscriptions in the
cities (for which he especially has passion). When two different pages with
two 12-digit numbers were shown to him in succession, [the numbers of]
which differed by one of the middle digits, he read them as far as the billons
and could then, without looking at the pages again, with certainty, specify
wherein the difference lay.

[e] Dr. Placzek et al. who earlier observed the boy, the definitive
impression prevailed of a specially aroused, rapid, and sharp-thinking and,

at the same time, a benign, quite loveable child. With the parents and
particularly with the mother he's involved with the greatest affection.

[f] An Obersekundaner is a pupil in seventh year of a German secondary
school. "Gymnasium" here means secondary school.

[g] "Now, almost 17 years old, he is an intelligent, young man, equipped
with an admirable memory, full of knowledge; a young man easily getting
noticed, orienting, who, although in his way preferred before his
contemporaries, has proven [to have] a humble, lovable nature."

PART II TWELVE CASES NEW TO
LITERATURE CONCERNING TESTED
CHILDREN

CHAPTER FOUR CHILD A

Child A is a boy, born June 18, 1914. He was brought by his parents to
Teachers College, Columbia University, in the latter weeks of 1920, for
mental tests. This was on the advice of the principal of the school A
attended, for the boy was a school problem. He did not adjust himself
readily to the work of the classroom in the second grade where he was at
that time placed, at the age of 6 years 6 months. The school had found A
ready for work beyond the second grade in reading and arithmetic, but
because of his age and size it had decided to place him in second grade. The
record made at that time and subsequently reads as follows:

FAMILY BACKGROUND

A is descended from German Jews on both sides of his family. His
parents are not related by blood so far as can be known. He is of the third
generation to be born in the United States.

The paternal grandfather is living [[1920]] and well, a tailor by trade. He
is "very handy" in making helpful devices to use in his shop. The paternal
grandmother is living [[1920]] and well, a competent housewife, who has
evinced no noticeable intellectual interests.

No dependent or incompetent relatives of the father are known. It is usual
for the progenitors in the paternal branch to die between the ages of 80 and

100 years. The paternal great-grandfathers of A died aged 86 and 89 years,
respectively. The paternal great-grandmothers both died at 40 years. The
paternal great-great-grandmothers died at 101 and 102 years, respectively.
There have been no constitutional diseases in the ancestry.

A's father has but one sibling, A's paternal uncle, who is a successful
dentist. He married a teacher, and has two young daughters, A's cousins.
One of these, about 6 months older than A, has twice been tested by
Stanford-Binet, her IQ's being 170 and, a year later, 161. At the age of 8
years, this girl had reached the fifth grade in public school. She now
[[1920]] attends a special class organized for children of her age who test
over 150 IQ. The other of these cousins was tested by Stanford-Binet on
November 9, 1923, yielding an IQ of 129. These two girls are the only first
cousins A has.

A's maternal grandfather is living [[1920]] and well. He is a cloth
salesman, but he has always seemed dissatisfied with this vocation. He had
to go to work at an early age. The maternal grandmother is living [[1920]]
and well, a competent housewife, not especially interested in intellectual
pursuits.

No dependent or mentally incompetent relatives of the mother are
known. All are self-sustaining. There are no constitutional diseases in the
maternal ancestry. It is usual for the progenitors on the maternal side to die
between the ages of 60 and 70 years, but one of A's maternal great-
grandmothers lived to the age of 90 years. A's mother has but one sibling,
A's maternal uncle, a salesman, who is unmarried.

Father. A's father is a large, strong man, now following the profession of
organization engineer. He is a high school graduate and a graduate of Webb
Academy, holding a diploma from the latter as marine engineer and marine
architect. He has invented and patented a complete combustion furnace, and

has designed a set of torpedoes which were used in the Japanese-Russian
war. During the war of 1914-1918, he participated in the development of a
fleet destroyer, and designed a boat superior to previous models for
transporting nitrocellulose. He made the original layout for one of the
largest steel plants in the United States. His rating on Army Alpha is 180
points. His grip is 70 kg. in the right hand and 64 kg. in the left hand
(Smedley's dynamometer). He was 29 years old when A was born.

Mother. A's mother was graduated from high school at the age of 18
years. Before marriage she was in business, as an executive in charge of
advertising for one of the largest drug concerns in this country. She has
handled business affairs involving large sums for a tobacco company. She
also did some newspaper work. Formerly she had excellent health, but she
has not been entirely well since the birth of her children. She was 27 years
old when A was born.

Noteworthy relatives. In the paternal branch these include cousins who
founded the Banking House of Tuch, in London. The father's maternal
grandfather (A's great-grandfather), a tailor, devised and patented a union
suit, said to have been the first union suit. He also invented an improved
buckle for adjusting men's vests in the back. It was said of him, "He was
always trying to invent things."

Noteworthy relatives of the mother include the founder of the
Lemaire Optical Goods firm. This firm has an international
reputation for fine lenses. A cousin of the mother is a judge.
Another relative was a leader of Jewish reform movements.

Immediate family. A is the first-born child. He has one brother, three
years younger than himself. This brother is large, strong, and handsome.
His IQ on repeated tests, at intervals of a year, has stood at 145, 152, 145,
161. He too displays the special interest in mathematics which characterizes

A. For instance, at the age of 5 years he set himself the project of counting
all his footsteps until he had counted a million consecutive steps. This
project he carried out, his parents submitting to the numerous
inconveniences incident to it. The growth of this brother affords an
interesting comparison with that of A, since we have here two children,
both of extremely superior intelligence, of the same ancestry, and living
under the same school and home conditions, one of whom is nevertheless as
superior to the other—in terms of IQ—as that other is superior to the
average child.

PRESCHOOL HISTORY

The preschool history of A has been elicited from the parents and from
the "baby book" kept by them. A was born at full term, and the birth was
normal in all respects. He weighed 7 pounds 9 ounces, and was breast fed
for the first several months of life. He began to articulate words at 10
months, and at 14 months could pick out letters on the typewriter at
command. At 12 months he could say the alphabet forward, and at 16
months he could say it backward as well. His parents had no idea that he
could reverse the alphabet until one day he announced that he was "tired of
saying the letters forward" and guessed he would "say them backward." The
concepts of "forward" and "backward" had thus been developed by the age
of 16 months. At 12 months he began spontaneously to classify his blocks
according to the shape of the letters on them, putting V A M W N together,
Q P O G D together, and so forth. This love of classifying has remained one
of his outstanding characteristics. As an infant, he would for hours thus
amuse himself with his alphabet blocks.

When 18 months old he was able to carry out simple errands involving
not more than three or four items. By the time A was 30 months old he
could copy all the colored designs possible with his kindergarten blocks.

Before the age of 3 years he enjoyed rhymes, and would amuse himself
rhyming words together. From the time he was old enough to be taken out
to walk, he would point out letters on billboards and signs with keen
interest and delight, crying, "Oh, see D! There's J, Mother! There's K and
O!" Also before the age of 3 years A objected to stories containing gross
absurdities. For instance, he rejected the story of the gingham dog and the
calico cat who "ate each other up." A pointed out that this could not be,
"because one of their mouths would have to get eaten up before the other
mouth, and no mouth would be left to eat that mouth up." He was irritated
by this obvious lapse from logic and requested that the story be read to him
no more.

A learned to read for himself during the third year of life, and read
fluently before he entered school.

The photograph in Figure 1 [not included] shows one of A's amusements
at the age of 10 months—balancing and rolling simultaneously a large ball
between his hands and another between his feet as he lay on his back in his
crib. This activity illustrates his power of motor coördination in infancy,
and it is especially interesting in connection with the errors of judgment
made by A's teachers to the effect that "A is below average in control of his
body."

FIG. 1. CHILD A AT THE AGE OF 10 MONTHS.

SCHOOL HISTORY

First year. A has always attended private schools. He started school at the
age of 5 years, in Philadelphia. Here he was placed in the kindergarten,
though the question was raised by teachers as to the greater advisability of
placement in the first grade. After a few months in this school the family
moved to New York, where A entered an excellent private school at the age

of not quite 6 years. By this time he had developed many numerical
processes by himself. On one occasion the mother went to speak to the
teacher regarding the advisability of teaching such advanced processes to so
young a child at school, and the teacher replied in great surprise that she
had been on the point of asking the parents not to teach so young a child
these matters.

Second year. In the autumn of 1920, A entered a private school which he
attended for several years. It was here that he was considered to be a school
problem. It was recognized that he was ready scholastically for a grade
much beyond his age and size. As a compromise he was placed in the
second grade. Soon the teacher of the second grade advised that he be
considered for the third grade, as he did not "fit" into second-grade work.
Thereupon he was brought to Teachers College for educational guidance.
The report stated that A stood far ahead of the other second-grade children
in reading and arithmetic but that he was "poor in carrying out projects,"
and did not seem interested in the activities of the second grade.

After mental examination of A, revealing an intelligence level of 12 years
2 months, it was explained that there had never been worked out an
established appropriate procedure for variants of such rare occurrence. The
advice given was to place A in the third grade; for although his Mental Age
was then more than 12 years (his physical age at this time was 6 years 6
months), many of the 8-year-olds in this school would approximate A's
mental capacity, since the median IQ of the pupils there was about 120. A
was accordingly placed in the third grade, where he had the good fortune to
meet a teacher of extraordinary knowledge and ability. At the end of that
year he was promoted to the fourth grade.

Third year. In the autumn of 1921 A was in the fourth grade, with the
same teacher he had had in the third grade. Outside of school hours he took

special work in sports and games with a group of young boys. At the end of
that year he was promoted to the fifth grade, and placed in a special fifth-
grade group which had been formed of the brightest children of this status
in the school. During this time a special effort was made to develop A in
social activities and to interest him in group projects, with the result that "he
became much more a member of the group." Nevertheless, he still liked to
"lie down on his back and look up at the ceiling," instead of joining
common projects. "His mind often seems to be miles away."

Fourth year. In the autumn of 1922 A was in the fifth grade, composed of
the special group referred to above, with classmates about two years older
than himself, whose IQ's ranged above 140. At the end of that year he was
promoted to the sixth grade, at age 9 years. He seemed happy and contented
during his fourth year in school but displayed many characteristics which
might well try the patience of any but a very wise teacher. The tendency to
become absorbed in his own line of thought continued, giving an
impression at times of indifference, absent-mindedness, and non-
coöperation. Also, he was "slow to take advice." He decided, for instance,
not to learn French, as he was "not interested in it." He persisted in this
attitude until it was clearly explained to him that people who go to college
must know French, whereupon he applied himself and learned the language.
The relative difficulty in handwriting, shopwork, and other manual tasks
which such a child experiences in comparison with older classmates is also
a problem for the teacher.

Fifth Year. In the autumn of 1923 A entered the sixth grade. He was at
this time 9 years old.

JUDGMENTS OF TEACHERS

Teachers' judgments of A show the usual disagreements and errors. His
superior intelligence has been recognized to some extent by nearly all. One

teacher, however, has felt his superiority to be merely for reading and
arithmetic. Several teachers have judged A to be inferior in respect to
manual dexterity and motor coördination, forgetting that their comparison
was based always on older children, A's classmates. Only one teacher bore
this fallacy of judgment in mind in reporting her estimates. For instance,
one of the supervisors who had observed A, reported that he was below the
average child of his age in penmanship. A was then 6 years old. This
supervisor seemed not to recall that the average child of that age has no
penmanship whatever. Direct quotation from teachers' estimates will best
show how A has been appraised.

He was quite a desirable pupil, and we should have been glad to
keep him. From the headmaster of the school A first entered.

Though ahead of the class in arithmetic and reading, he reasons
like a child of 6. He has undeveloped judgment. From a teacher, in
1920.

He seems to like the third grade, and the children like him.
Intellectually he is able to carry the work of the grade, and while he is
not yet very responsive in manual work, I think he can gain the
muscular control he needs here as well as in a lower grade. He has
made a splendid effort in the matter of penmanship. He is still very
imperfectly adjusted to the school situation, but in time will find
himself able to meet the requirements, I am sure. From a report of a
classroom teacher, for February 1 to March 18, 1921.

Although A still has lapses of inattention during class lessons, in
general he complies with class requirements and he has learned to use
his free time without direction. His gain in penmanship has been
marked. From report of a classroom teacher, for March 21 to May 27,
1921.

He is doing well, but needs handwork. From report of a special
teacher, 1921.

He is slow to take advice but has shown big improvement over last
term. He seemed to go ahead suddenly. From report of a special
teacher, 1921.

He has got little from the playground. Doesn't "get into the game,"
and is a trial to his mates. From report of a teacher in charge of
playground, 1921.

Manifests considerable musical ability. Lovely voice, and true to
pitch. From report of a music teacher, 1921.

A is making excellent progress both socially and in his work. Mr.
W reports that his shopwork is good, considering his age, and that it
is improving. Miss C says there is continued improvement in art. I
find that his writing of figures is improving more than written
English. He does not like to write, and is apt to neglect written
homework. From report of a classroom teacher, for November 17,
1921, to January 31, 1922.

A is the youngest child in his group (he is 7 and in the fourth grade,
in which the average age is about 9). It is difficult to classify him in
general terms as the first in scholastic standing, as he is with a group
which numbers nine or ten superior children with IQ's running from
140 to 175; but in scholastic standing, with the exception of written
work, he is among the best. If one compares his age with that of the
others, his ability is of course most marked. Even in this group he is
conspicuous for his accuracy and lucidity of statement and for the
clear thinking this indicates.

One noticeable indication of his intelligence is his ability to
criticize his own concepts; unless he understands every detail of a
subject, he does not consider that he understands it.

His ability in academic work seems well distributed, though
strongest in mathematics. For this grade he is markedly low in art and
industrial work; but he would be average in second grade, where his
age would under ordinary circumstances place him. His artistic
feeling is all for music and literature. He is moderately interested in
drawing, but doesn't like modeling and does not want to draw unless
it is for some special purpose, or because everybody else is doing so
and it is the social thing to do. For example, he has made posters and
designs for holiday cards, which, while very crude, had an idea to
express and were suitable for their purpose. He enjoys shopwork and
here does better technically than in other types of handwork. I think
he is rather clumsy with his hands, even for his age, though not much
below the average child. With his mental ability he can learn to do
anything in which his interest is aroused.

This ability to attack any sort of problem is shown in his physical
work. He makes an excellent effort and comprehends what is to be
done, but in bodily coördination, in muscular strength, and in
rhythmic response he would rank in the lower half of a second grade.
From a specially requested report of a classroom teacher, June 20,
1922.

In short, I am fully convinced that A requires most of all training
which will develop a proper harmony and rhythm between mind and
body. From the report of the instructor in the special boys' group, to
which A belonged, outside of school, April 19, 1922.

A's teachers seem to hold the universal opinion that he is not doing
well in his work unless prodded or specially urged. It was to be
expected that the handwork, such as art and shopwork, would be hard
for him, but he seems to do poor work and at the same time to be
entirely satisfied with it, his teachers say. Miss B finds he is not an
observer of nature, but rather inclined to tell what he has read in
books.

However, on the academic side, in French and the regular
classroom studies, he seems to require the same prodding. His
sleepiness and inattention are quite marked at times. When aroused, I
find him capable of good thinking, and excellent memory work. I
have been afraid to overstimulate him, but in order to accomplish the
work of the fifth grade creditably we must develop in him more of a
feeling of responsibility on his own account. His immaturity shows
rather clearly in some of these respects. Of course his work is more
than passing, because of the fine coöperation at home and his own
vigorous response when sufficiently urged. From a report of a
classroom teacher, for September 18, 1922, to January 31, 1923.

It is still a problem to get A to make contributions to the work of
the class. His mind works along lines of special interest at the time.
Although urged by the parents to push A a little harder, I have
hesitated to do much urging. One fears to stimulate unduly. And yet I
find that A is learning in many ways all the time. There are still, of
course, some definite needs.

Mr. P reports no marked improvement on the physical side.
However, on the side of participation in the sports of the group, I find
a great improvement in A. He appears to be enjoying himself during a
ball game, and even catches a ball occasionally.

Miss B says she hopes that A will have some real country and
nature during the summer. He needs a chance to roam and think and
observe for himself rather than to learn facts from books or other
people.

In the French class his interest and attitude have improved. From
report of a classroom teacher, for February 1 to June 15, 1923, on the
occasion of A's promotion to the sixth grade.

These remarks from teachers bring clearly to notice some of the
difficulties in adjustment to school procedure when a child has a 12-year-
old capacity for thinking and the body of a 7- or 8-year-old, combined with
the life of a 6-year-old. Motor control is, of course, far behind abstract
thinking; writing is slow and feeble, while reading is rapid and fluent;
shopwork is poor but arithmetic is excellent; he can surpass 8- and 9-year-
olds—even those of superior intelligence—in the classroom, but in playing
with them he cannot catch a ball and is always the last to be selected when
sides "choose up," because he is a handicap in any playground
competitions.

From these remarks and estimates it is also easy to see how such a child
may provoke adverse comments from teachers, may be found unsuited to
school organization, and eventually even be reputed stupid or "foolish."
Fortunately for A, most of his teachers have had unusual training and have
been rigidly selected, besides, for insight and personality. If you have read
Edison's biography, you will recall that under teachers less highly selected
young Thomas "did not get on in school," was regarded as "foolish," and
eventually was removed from school by his mother, who educated him at
home, she herself being a teacher.

These difficulties of discrepancy between mental development and
physical development are seen to be greatest in the earliest years of

childhood. The judgments show that as A grew from his sixth birthday to
his ninth birthday, he became less and less conspicuous in his poor
penmanship and in his inaptitude at games.

MENTAL MEASUREMENTS

General intelligence tests of A have been made as follows:

DATE BIRTHDAY STANFORD-BINET ARMY ALPHA
AGE OF A MA IQ POINTS
A Norm A Norm A Norm
Dec. 30, 1920 6-6 12-2 6-6 187 100 (Not given)
Jan. 2, 1922 7-6 14-4 7-6 191 100 76 0 (Form 5)
Apr. 22, 1922 [1] 7-10 14-8 7-10 187 100 (Not given)
Feb. 22, 1923 8-8 (Not given) 95 0 (Form 7) [2]

Mechanical skill. On January, 2, 1922 (aged 7 years 6 months), A was
given the Stenquist Assembling Tests of General Mechanical Ability and he
made a score of 7 points only. He could tell what mechanisms were to be
constructed from the materials in five out of the ten instances, but he was
not "handy" enough to put them together. (The test depends very much
upon size and strength of hands and upon the degree to which motor
coördination is developed. Young children, therefore, of whatever degree of
intelligence, are unable to succeed in it).

Musical sensitivity. On February 22, 1923, Seashore's Tests of Musical
Sensitivity yielded results as follows, using the figures for eighth-grade
children for comparison, because of A's Mental Age:

TEST PERCENTILE (EIGHTH GRADE) PERCENTILE (ADULTS)
A A'S FATHER
Consonance Below 27th 36th

Pitch 91st 81st
Intensity 41st 26th
Time Below 17th 78th
Tonal memory 70th 9th

Design. On January 2, 1922, the examiner made the following note in
reference to A's performance with Milton Bradley color cubes (with which
he always asks to play when he comes to the laboratory):

The child can construct the most complicated designs with Milton
Bradley's color cubes in less than three minutes each, from memory—
the design being exposed to vision and studied for one minute. Three
colors are involved—red, blue, yellow, and white.

TRAITS OF CHARACTER

A has not been rated by any scale for traits of character as, for instance,
were the children reported by Terman. There are at hand only statements by
persons who know A. The parents both say that A has no troublesome traits
of character except "a tendency to fail to take his own part in a fight." If a
child strikes him, he often does not strike back but simply does nothing. His
parents feel that this indicates a lack of "give and take" that is essential to
getting along in the world. The parents describe him as "especially honest,
truthful, reliable, affectionate, kind, generous, and modest, with strong
control of his emotions."

Traits of A which are faulty from the point of view of teachers are
absentmindedness, lack of interest in group activities, untidiness, and
obstinacy. One teacher estimated him as "a little bit selfish." The desirable
traits most often mentioned by teachers are kindliness, amiability, affection,
good humor, reticence, and precision in treating the data of thought. The
following are quotations from teachers:

I am so sorry about A's coat. I laid it on his desk, as he was cooking
when it came. . . . Evidently he didn't notice it on his desk when he
came in later. Knowing A's absent-minded habits, I ought to have
called his attention to the coat.

A is not neat nor orderly.

A still has lapses of inattention during class lessons.

He is slow to take advice.

He is affectionate and kindly, while not over-demonstrative.

The class in which he has been for a year and three months was
slow in accepting him, but now they appreciate his intellect and his
good humor, and treat him with the kindly tolerance of older brothers
and sisters. A responds to this attitude well and loves to fool and
frolic with the others, somewhat kitten fashion. In the goal ball games
he wants to play though he is simply a figurehead, and he knows
enough to obey the rules and not get in anyone's way.

In working with a group, A is inclined either to be dictatorial or to
insist upon doing everything himself. This may be because of youth
or because he sees so clearly what is to be done, but I think he is a
little selfish and obstinate. A is a very lovable child with a tender
heart and a good deal of emotional capacity, generally kept hidden, so
he is not difficult to manage. It is difficult, however, to make him
assume responsibilities about material or work which is irksome, such
as writing, and he is very untidy.

It has been a pleasure to have A in my class. He has been friendly
and pleasant in his relations with his teachers as well as with his
classmates.

The physician who attended A when his ankle was twisted in an accident
(mentioned later in this account) rated him very high for courage.

The character traits which have stood out repeatedly and most noticeably
in the course of visits to the laboratory for mental tests appear to the present
writer to be amiability, reticence, emotional control in the face of mishaps
(such as falling off a chair in a strange place and bumping his head
severely), and obstinacy in pursuit of his plans and activities. He does not

seek advice, and does not take it readily. He is easily bored by unnecessary
repetitions of matter once presented. For instance, in certain mental tests,
where the standard procedure demands that the same question be asked
several times (Stanford-Binet fables, "What lesson does that teach us?"), A
grew more and more restive at each repetition, and finally said, "We don't
need that every time, do we?"

The nickname is an important datum in estimating a child. A's nickname
among the children at school is "Sleeping Beauty." This name was given,
the teacher thinks, because of A's abstraction and because he was never
ready in games.

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS AND HEALTH

Physique measurements. The following measurements were made by the
present writer, using the standard scales and stadiometer of the Teachers
College Laboratory. The measurement of cranial circumference was made
with a reinforced fabric tape.

[PART 1 OF 2]

DATE WT. HT. (STAND.,
(LBS.) IN.)
A Norm A Norm
Jan. 1, 1921 56.0 44.8 48.0 46.6
Sep. 17, 1921 [3] 58.0 128 cm
Jan. 2, 1922 66.5 51.7 50.3 48.3
Feb. 22, 1923 68.7 55.9 52.7 50.1

[PART 2 OF 2]

HT. (STAND., HT. HT.-WT. CRANIAL
IN.) (SIT., IN.) COEFF. CIR. (IN.)
A Norm A A Norm A
48.0 46.6 25.5 1.01 .96
128 cm
50.3 48.3 26.5 1.26 1.07
52.7 50.1 28.1 1.24 1.12 21.3

In the case of the measurements made in clothing, subtracting .5 inch, the
height of heels, from standing height, and 4 pounds for clothing from
weight, we see that in all measurements of physique taken, A decidedly
exceeds Baldwin's norms for the selected children in good private schools.

Grip measurements. Grip in the hand has been repeatedly measured with
Smedley's dynamometer, with the following results:

GRIP (KG.)
DATE Right Hand Left Hand
A Norm A Norm
January 1, 1921 13.0 10.0 10.0 9.0
February 22, 1923 16.0 13.0 14.0 12.0

The superior size of A is, therefore, accompanied by superior strength of
hand.

Growth curves of A and his brother compared. In the case of A and his
young brother, we have two boys of the same ancestry, living in the same
school and home environment, both falling into the highest one per cent of
the population as respects intelligence, yet very widely separated in terms
of IQ. The repeated measurements show that the children do not become
either more alike or more different as time passes, but that each remains a
constant, maintaining a static relationship to the other in mind and body.

The pressure of the similar environment does not bring them closer together
in ability.

Nervous stability. The supervisor who judged A's penmanship to be
inferior to that of the average child of 6 years, also interpreted this difficulty
in writing to be a symptom of nervousness, especially when considered in
connection with his abstraction and general maladjustment to work of the
second grade. For this reason the parents obtained statements from two
physicians who knew A well, as to the child's nervous stability. The
physician who removed A's tonsils wrote as follows:

I am glad to state that he is as free from any nervous stigmata as is
possible for any child of his age. Because of his brightness, he was
treated as an older child before his tonsil operation, and what was
about to be done was explained to him, and he underwent the
anesthesia in a perfectly natural manner. His convalescence was
unusually rapid, and at no time did he show the slightest indication of
any neurosis. From careful observation I can truthfully say that A
would pass the severest tests, and show no abnormality.

The other physician wrote:

At the time I examined A in 1917 I found no neuropathic stigmata.
In fact, he impressed me as a boy who was rather well developed
physically. By physically I mean inclusive of his nervous system.

A's parents rate him as "well balanced." The present writer would rate
him as far above the average child of his years in nervous stability.

Organic condition. Physical examinations reveal no defect except a
serious degree of "progressive myopia." To correct this, glasses are worn
and the use of eyes is limited.

Medical history. A has always been healthy. He has never been subject to
a chronic disorder. He sleeps well and has a keep appetite for food. As an
infant there was never any trouble in feeding him. He cried very little, and
was easy "to care for." When he was 3 years 6 months old he was almost
run over by an automobile, but escaped with a twisted ankle. After that, for
about a year, he had a series of boils. At the age of 5 years A was threatened
with a mastoid infection and the drum of his right ear was pierced,
liberating a large quantity of pus. Hearing was not, however, impaired.
Adenoids and tonsils were removed at the age of 6 years. These had never
been especially troublesome, but the parents decided on the operation
because A breathed through the mouth. He has not had "children's diseases,"
and except for the incidents narrated, his medical history is negative.

MISCELLANEOUS CHARACTERISTICS

Diversions. At the age of 5 to 6 years A had much difficulty in playing
with children of his own age because he could not be satisfied with play
involving merely sensory stimulation and diffuse motor activity. He always
tried to diver the play to some planned end, to organize it, in ways not
appreciated by others of his age. When he was 6 years old, boys of 12 to 14
years of age were preferred by A as playmates, and he would join them
whenever they would accept his company. However, he had and continued
to have chums of approximately his own age.

At the age of 6 years 6 months A's favorite diversions were reading,
playing games of intellectual skill (like geographical Lotto), and playing in
sand (building). At the age of 8 years 8 months his favorite diversions were
reading, chess, and pinochle.

Imaginary land. At the age of 3 to 6 years A had an imaginary land which
he called "Center Land." This fantasy appears to have started when his
brother was born. When this event occurred A asked just how it happened.

His mother thereupon gave him the real physiological facts. To these he
made no immediate comment. Several days later he said he had no doubt
his brother did come into the world in just that way, but that he, A, did not.
He, A, originated in Center Land, where he chose his father and mother.
Thereafter, the imaginary land developed rapidly. In this land children
stayed up all night. They could play with fire whenever they wished. He
lived there in a hundred story house, with an elevator he could run by
himself. Two playmates, "Katharine" and another child, lived there also. By
the age of 6, this imaginary country had almost ceased to engage him, and
at the age of 9 he no longer thinks of it.

Religious experiences. Between the ages of 6 and 8 years (Mental Ages
12 to 15 years) A became very religious. Prayer was regarded as extremely
sacred, and God was much reverenced. Now, at the age of 9 years (Mental
Age beyond the limits of ordinary maturity), he is no longer seen to devote
himself to these observations.

Career ideas. At the age of 6 years 6 months A wanted to become "an eye
doctor." "I like to tend to mother's eye. I like to tend to people's eyes." At
the age of 8 years 8 months, in answer to the question, "What will you be
when you grow up?" A replied, "I will do something with arithmetic in it;
whatever has the most mathematics in it."

Reading interests. To the question, "What do you like to read?" A gave
the following responses:

(Age 6 years 6 months) "True books, like The Fall of Jerusalem— that's
the best one, and Burgess Animal Books, Burgess Bird Books, Our First
Flag, The Arabian Nights."

(Age 8 years 8 months) "Books about people who really lived."

A has always preferred books of fact to books of fancy—"true books," as
he called them; but now he enjoys fairy tales more than he did when he was
younger. This may be because the fact behind the fancy now makes a
stronger appeal. The following list represents six months' reading, from the
age of 7 years 0 months to 7 years 6 months, some of the books being read
to A, to reduce eyestrain. [4]

On Plymouth Rock S. A. Drake
Four Great Americans J. Baldwin
Stories of New York A. T. Lovering
The Children's City E. Singleton
The Burgess Bird Book Thornton Burgess
The Burgess Animal Book
The Empire State J. W. Redway
Around the World with the Children F. G. Carpenter
East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon G. W. Dasent
Miles Standish H. W. Longfellow
The Wreck of the Hesperus H. W. Longfellow
Fables Bulfinch
Aesop's Fables
Tales and Teachings from the
Pentateuch M. M. Joseph
The Little Gray Grandmother Carolyn S. Bailey
Stories of the Bible Louise M. Pleasanton
The Pied Piper of Hamelin R. Browning
Tanglewood Tales N. Hawthorne
First Jungle Book R. Kipling
Second Jungle Book R. Kipling
Poems J. W. Riley
Poems Eugene Field
Poems R. L. Stevenson

The Wonder Book of Knowledge
The Blue Bird M. Maeterlinck
Historic Boyhoods R. S. Holland
The Friendly Stars M. E. Martin

This list gives an idea of the reading preferences of A, at the age of 7
years. Within the year following, the preference for biography and
autobiography developed.

Interest in astronomy. Because other very young children of more than
180 IQ known to the present writer had been especially interested in
astronomy—particularly Child E—it was desired to observe what would be
the reaction of A if knowledge of astronomy were made accessible to him.
Books which had interested Child E at the age of 6 to 7 years were therefore
made accessible to A. He at once became interested in the heavenly bodies
and their movements.

Tendency to classify and diagram. A's love of classifying— first noted at
the age of about 12 months—is a conspicuous characteristic. He classifies
events, objects, names, numbers, and other data of experience. He can think
in terms of diagrams and sometimes draws a diagram to clarify or condense
his meaning.

Lightning calculation. A's keenest intellectual interest is probably in
numbers, and he has responded very readily to his father's instruction in
short-cut methods of calculation. By March, 1922, he could very quickly
square any number up to 100; multiply any two numbers of a sum not to
exceed 200; square any number up to 1000 ending in 5 such as 865, 935,
etc.); square any number up to 10,000, ending in 55 or in 555; solve
problems in proportion, such as 9 : 21 :: 21 : x, 8 ÷ 42 :: x ÷ 21, 8 : 9 :: 10 :
x, subtract the square of one number ending in 5 from the square of another
number ending in 5, where the difference between the two numbers is 10, or

20, or 30 (e.g., 2255² or 2245² or 3345² or 3325²). Also at that age he could
calculate series of operations, thus: "Take 2, square it, square that, divide by
4, cube it, add 17, take the square root, add 7, square it, square it, give the
result," his calculations taking about five seconds each.

EDITOR'S SUPPLEMENT

The author's original write-up of Child A ends with the above, written
early in 1923. From records in the author's files the following further data
concerning later development may be added:

December 26, 1923 AGE: 9 years 6 months SCHOOL GRADE: Sixth
TEST RECORD: Given Stanford-Binet by L. S. H. with Mental Age of 16-
11. This would give IQ 178, but the comment is made, "Can no longer be
measured by Stanford-Binet." On this day also given Army Alpha, with a
score of 128 points, this being the score assigned to chronological age 17
years 8 months.

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS:
Standing height 54.2 inches
Sitting height 27.9 inches
Weight 74.3 pounds
Head circumference 21.5 inches
Right grip 14, 17, 18
Left grip 14, 12, 14

TEACHERS' REPORTS. (Private school, September 22-December 19,
1924) "A's reports show that he has attained high credit in mathematics and
history; low credit in French, shopwork, art, music, and physical training;
average credit in other subjects. His written work shows improvement.

"He presents the usual problem of the unadjusted. There is now more
alertness in his manner, but still a lack of the will to do work because it is a
group demand. Something more of maturity has come to him with his
greater freedom. He has started the manual-training problem with some
sense of self-discipline.

"If he will now attack his work with the mental grip of which he must be
capable, and give to the group the benefit of his ability, it will be a joy to
have him among us."

December 22, 1924

AGE: 10 years 6 months
SCHOOL GRADE: Seventh
TEST RECORD: On Stanford-Binet, passed 4 of the 6 Superior
Adult Tests, failing on Tests 1 and 4. Alpha score, 166 points.

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS:
Standing height 56.2 inches
Sitting height 29.4 inches
Weight 80.5 pounds
Head circumference 21.5 inches
Right grip 18, 18, 16
Left grip 19, 17, 15

December 22, 1925

AGE: 11 years 6 months
SCHOOL GRADE: Eighth
TEST RECORD: Passed all tests on Superior Adult level,
Stanford-Binet. Took two forms of Army Alpha. Form 7, 162
points, and on Form 5, 168 points.

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS: Norm
Standing height 58.1 inches 56.7 inches
Sitting height 29.4 inches
Weight 88.8 pounds 75.5 pounds
Head circumference 21.7 inches

November 18, 1926

AGE: 12 years 5 months
TEST RECORD: Score on Army Alpha, 175 points
PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS: Norm
Standing height 60.0 inches 57.8 inches
(in shoes)
Sitting height 30.0 inches
Weight (without coat) 93.0 pounds 84.6 pounds

January 12, 1929

AGE: 14 years 7 months
SCHOOL GRADE: Third Year High School
TEST RECORD: Score on Army Alpha, 194 points
PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS: Norm
Standing height 64.2 inches 62.2 inches
Sitting height 32.5 inches
Weight (clothed) 118 pounds 98.9 pounds
(stripped) 114 pounds

October, 1929, to February, 1930

SCHOOL GRADES:
English Literature C+

English Composition C
German B-
Geometry B+
Trigonometry B+
Science B+

January and June, 1931

AGE: 16 years 6 months to 17 years SCHOOL GRADE: Now a
freshman in college TEST RECORD: Was given CAVD test, Levels
M, N, O, P, Q, at two different sittings—one in January, the other in
June. Score 422 points. (According to available information 400
points is twelfth-grade college entrance score in high-type colleges,
while 421 points is the upper quartile score of candidates for
advanced degrees in Teachers College, Columbia University, the
median being 415.)

January 20, 1932

At the age of 17 years 7 months, in the third year of college, he
scored 204 points on Army Alpha, Form 8, a score made only by the
top one per cent of college juniors, seniors, and graduate students.

November 23, 1939

Notice was received of A's marriage.

[1] Demonstration test before a class of teachers.

[2] The score of 95 points on Army Alpha, Form 7, on February 22, 1923,
corresponds to a mental level of 16 years, 0 months by Stanford-Binet. This
(if translatable into IQ) would result in an IQ of 184.

[3] Measurements were made without clothing, by Dr. Herman Schwartz.

[4] The Burgess books had been read often before.

CHAPTER FIVE CHILD B

Child B is a girl, born November 25, 1912. She was discovered in a private
school in the course of a systematic survey made by Dr. E. H. Malherbe,
who was at the time a graduate student at Teachers College, Columbia
University. To Dr. Malherbe the present writer is indebted for introduction
to this child, and also for data on first tests as well as for other information.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Child B is descended from colonial settlers in this country. Her ancestors
came chiefly from the British Isles, as set forth in her family history. Her
parents are not related by blood so far as can be known.

The paternal grandfather was of English descent; the paternal
grandmother of Irish descent. No dependent or incompetent relatives of the
father are known. All are self-sustaining.

The maternal grandfather was of Irish-Spanish blood. The maternal
grandmother was of Irish descent. No incompetent or dependent relatives
are known.

Father. Child B's father was born in Vermont and was 42 years old when
B was born. He is a high school graduate and a graduate of the United
States Military Academy at West Point. He passed the entrance
examinations for the latter institution at the age of 16 years and was at that

time the youngest student ever admitted to the Academy. He has held posts
of extraordinary trust in the pursuit of his profession, and is at the time of
this writing an officer of high rank in the United States Army.

Mother. Child B's mother is a graduate of a Catholic parochial high
school and of the College of Mount St. Vincent. She was married at an early
age and her career has been that of housewife and mother, no profession
having been followed previous to marriage. Although she is the mother of
seven children and mistress of a large household, B's mother found time to
attend courses in law and economics at Columbia University while the
family lived in New York. She was 39 years old when B was born.

Noteworthy relatives. Relatives of note in the paternal branch include B's
great-grandfather, who was a physician, founder of the Vermont Academy
of Medicine in the early years of the nineteenth century, and a professor of
surgery there. There are also among relatives an admiral of the United
States Navy, [1] a physician of wide reputation, a commander of the United
States Navy, [2] and a practical tin- and coppersmith who was an inventor.
This family branch as a whole finds its average level of achievement in the
professions.

The maternal branch includes a woman of extraordinary business ability,
a priest who was a scholar and organizer of marked ability, and a mining
engineer of unusual achievement. The performance level of the family lies,
on the average, in business and the professions.

Immediate family. B is the sixth born of seven siblings. Of these children,
two—the brother born two years before B and the brother born five years
after B—have had mental tests. The older brother was measured in the
course of the mental survey made by Dr. Malherbe. His IQ (S-B) at the age
of 10 years 6 months was 167. This is not a full measure of his brother, as
he passed many tests at the highest levels of performance provided by the

scale. A still older brother passed the entrance examinations for the
Columbia College, from which may be inferred intelligence above the
average. The younger brother's IQ (S-B) at the age of 6 years 10 months
was 138.

PRESCHOOL HISTORY

The preschool history of B has been elicited from the parents. She cut her
first tooth at 7 months. She began to talk at 9 months of age and to walk at
15 months. As soon as she was able to walk out with her nurse or her
mother, at about the age of 24 months, B began to notice the letters on
billboards and to spell out words. By the time she was in the third year of
life she could read fluently in simple books. (The brother whose IQ is
referred to above as 167 did not read until he was about 4 years 6 months of
age.)

SCHOOL HISTORY

B has always attended private schools. She began her school life in
kindergarten, at the age of 3 years, and attended the same school until the
age of nearly 9 years. At the age of 8 years 4 months she had reached only
the fourth grade, whereas in the battery of educational tests given as a part
of the school survey she passed at that age the seventh-grade standards for
public schools.

In appraising the great discrepancy between school progress and ability
in this case, it is necessary to bear in mind that children in some private
schools are highly selected as regards intellect. The median IQ in this
particular school was shown by the survey to be much above 100; so that B
was not so hopelessly misplaced in the fourth grade there as would have
been the case had she attended public school. The fact of competition with
selected children reduces the discrepancy, although it is still very great.

At the age of 8 years 9 months, B entered a private school in Washington,
D. C. Here she was placed in the sixth grade, "skipping" the fifth grade. Her
school reports have always been very excellent, "almost always E in every
subject."

In the autumn of 1922 B entered the seventh grade, aged 9 years 9
months. She was the youngest pupil in a class of about 20 children, and
held first rank. "She leads in every regular subject except catechism,
geography, and history." B "likes all subjects except catechism, giving first
place, at the age of 9 years, to arithmetic. Her school marks for 1922-1923
are as follows, the marks indicating as is usual: 100, perfect; 90, very good;
80, good; 70, fair; 60, deficient."

B'S MARKS, GRADE VII. AGE 9 YEARS 10 MONTHS.

SUBJECT 1922 1922 1923 1923
Oct. 31 Dec. 15 Jan. 31 Mar. 27
Catechism 95 90 80 94
Grammar 92 94 85 90
Composition 87 88 85
Spelling 93 95 100 98
Letter writing 85 85 80
American history 85 80 88 90
Geography 94 87 90 94
Arithmetic 90 90 100 90
Oral French 95 95 96 95
Penmanship D C 75
Reading 90 91 85
Choral singing 80 80 95
Drawing 90 90 90
Plain sewing 80 85 85

Rules of observance 90 100 97 94
Bible history 94 90 86 93

At the age of 11 years B entered high school and is doing good work
there, but without much stimulus of competition, as there are but a few
pupils in her grade.

Unlike several of the children who have an IQ of more than 180, B has
never been a school problem. She has always been a "good mixer" with
children of her school grade, and has taken part in their activities. Being a
very large, strong child, she has not been so much "out of it" in motor skill
as to be conspicuous among older schoolmates. As evidences of unusual
manual dexterity the following may be mentioned: at the age of 5 years B
knitted on steel needles a pair of socks which were worn by her little
brother; at 6 years she made edible rice puddings; at 7 years of age she
made cookies.

TRAITS OF CHARACTER

No one among parents and teachers has mentioned any character trait
considered faulty. The virtues most frequently mentioned and emphasized
are modesty, reliability, self-direction, poise, good humor, amiability, and
"being a good sport."

JUDGMENT OF TEACHERS

It is remarkable that no adverse comments have been offered by any of
B's teachers. All teachers have rated B high in character and intellect. The
chief error in judgment lies in not ranking her as high as she really stands.
This error arises partly from the fact that teachers in the private schools B
attended deal with selected children whom they may come to think of as

representing the average of child ability. The judgments of B's teachers may
be quoted as follows:

Remembered in our kindergarten chiefly for her vivid imagination.
From the head mistress of the school.

One of the most popular children in the school. From a teacher.

It is some time since I had B as a pupil, but I am glad to tell you
my impressions of the child as I remember her.

She was a very quiet, unassuming member of the class. She had
remarkable powers of concentration, always finished her work well in
advance of the others and then found work for herself until the class
was ready to go on with a new subject.

With the children in both work and play she made no effort to lead
them, and although they recognized the fact that her work was
superior to theirs, they showed no resentment toward B because she
never made them feel her superiority.

B showed a mental poise that I have rarely, if ever, found in a child.
It was not so much a matter of a sudden keen grasp of a subject,
which might or might not be permanent. She seemed to have the
power, which is usually met only in mature minds, of weighing,
reasoning, and then placing for permanent use the matter with which
she was dealing. [3]

Always B appealed to me as a normal child, with unusual mental
poise. She was not at all uncanny or tiresomely intelligent. From a
former classroom teacher.

MENTAL MEASUREMENTS

Measurements of general intelligence of B have been made as follows:

DATE BIRTHDAY STANFORD ARMY ALPHA
AGE -BINET POINTS
OF B MA IQ B Norm
Mar. 3, 1921 8-3 15-8 189
Apr. 8, 1922 9-4 17-6 188 84 (Form 5) 0
Dec. 29, 1924 12-1 142 (Form 5)

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS

B was measured at the age of 9 years 4 months and again at the age of 12
years 1 month, in light indoor clothing, with the following results:

Height and weight.

[PART 1 OF 2]

DATE WT. (LBS.) HEIGHT (IN.)
B Norm [4] B Norm [5]
April 8, 1922 106.0 61.5 56.0 52.0
December 29, 1924 123.0 82.8 61.6 57.7

[PART 2 OF 2]

HEIGHT (IN.) HT.-WT. COEFF. CRANIAL CIR. (IN.)
B Norm [5] B Norm B
56.0 52.0 1.88 1.18 22.4
61.6 57.7 1.99 1.44 22.5

B greatly surpasses Badlwin's norms (making the usual allowance for
heels and clothing).

Grip measurements. Measured with Smedley's dynamometer, B's hand
grip scores as follows:

DATE GRIP (KG.)
Right Hand Left Hand
April 8, 1922 13.0 11.0
December 29, 1924 20.0 18.0

Superior size is therefore accompanied by superior strength.

MISCELLANEOUS CHARACTERISTICS

Diversions. At the age of 9 years B listed her favorite diversions thus:
"All sorts of outdoor games; then reading; then drawing; then playing with
dolls, sometimes."

Imaginary land. "When I was 8 years old my imaginary countries were
generally of grownupness, where I figured as chief actress and queen."

Career ideas. At the age of 9 years B was asked, "What will you be when
you grow up?" B responded promptly, "A doctor." Then she added, "I will
learn to sing, too. Perhaps I'll sing to the patients. There are so many things
to do. I'll try to combine several things." Now, at the age of 12 [[1925]], she
is ambitious to become "a celebrated authoress, actress, artist, and
musician."

Reading interests. When asked how many books she had read (April 8,
1922), B replied, "Oh, hundreds and hundreds. We have plenty of books." It
is characteristic of her that she reads over and over again a book that
especially pleases her. Thus she had read nearly all of Louisa Alcott's books
twice each, and had read Lady Luck—at that date her favorite book—
several times. She had read a great many books written for boys, and

remarked, in trying to describe her preferences, "I like boys' books best.
They have more in them than girls' books."

Tendency to organize other children. B is the only one of the children
here reported who shows any success or interest in leading or organizing
fellow children. She organizes "clubs" and games. When shown the Civil
War code, in the course of mental tests, she remarked, "I must remember
that, for it will be fine for my Clip-Clap-Club."

[1] Rear Admiral John W. Phillip. (Callahan, E. W. List of Officers of the
United States Navy and of the Marine Corps. Hamersley & Co., New York;
1901.)

[2] Commander E. T. Woodward.

[3] At this time B's intelligence was about that of the average adult,
according to mental tests, though the teacher made this comment without
having that knowledge.

[4] Baldwin's norms for children 9 years 6 months old. [Transcriber's
note: The second row is clearly from a different, and likely the
corresponding, age norm].

[5] Without shoes.

CHAPTER SIX CHILD C

Child C is a boy, born June 15, 1913. He was brought to the writer's
attention by the principal of Public School 157, Manhattan, who wrote as
follows, requesting an examination in the laboratory at Teachers College,
Columbia University:

I have in the 5A grade of this school a boy . . . who seems to be
somewhat of an infant prodigy. His verbal memory, especially, is
phenomenal, but he is underdeveloped on the physical side, takes no
interest in Manual Work, and does not like to play with other
children.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Child C is descended, in both lines, from German Jews. His parents are
not related by blood.

The paternal grandfather was a successful businessman. The paternal
grandmother was a competent housewife. A paternal uncle is a judge in
New York City. No incompetent relative in this branch is known; on the
other hand, there is no one of great eminence.

On the maternal side, one of C's mother's brothers is a physician, a cousin
is a writer, and another cousin is a judge. No incompetent relatives are
known in this branch.

Father. C's father is an accountant. He did not graduate from elementary
school but went to work at an early age. He was 40 years old when C was
born.

Mother. C's mother is a high school graduate. She was 35 years old when
C was born. She is a housewife, and had no paid occupation before
marriage. C is an only child, never having had any siblings.

PRESCHOOL HISTORY

The following information was gathered from C's mother. The child cut
his first tooth at the age of 9 months. He began to walk at the age of 1 year
3 months, and to talk fluently at the age of 1 year 4 months. He learned to
read almost as soon as he talked, and at the age of 3 years could read simple
matter.

When he was 4 years old, C went one day into a store with his father.
While the latter was making his purchases the child took a book from the
shelf and began to scan it. The shopkeeper noticed the child looking
attentively at the book and said, for a joke, "Boy, if you will read me that
book, I'll give it to you." Instantly C began to read fluently and carried the
book away from the astonished merchant.

On another occasion, when he was about 5 years old, a woman noticed C
searching about the house and said to him, "Are you hungry?" His reply
was, "Yes, I'm hungry for a book."

Apparently C has never had an imaginary land. His favorite recreation
has always been reading.

SCHOOL HISTORY

C's school life began at the age of 6 years. He did not attend
kindergarten. His teachers recognized him as "out of the ordinary"—but not
in any appreciative way. They thought him "queer" and "odd." In spite of
perfect work, he was advanced only a little more than the usual rate, being
placed in Grade 5B at the age of 9 years 5 months. His obvious
misplacement and unhappiness here caused the principal of the school to
seek advice regarding C's education.

After mental tests had revealed the mental level of a superior adult, C
was invited to enter the Special Opportunity Class then just organized at
Public School 165, Manhattan. Here he was associated with twenty-five
classmates of his own age whose IQ's ranged from 150 to 175, the median
of the group being about 164 IQ.

In this class C gradually became adjusted to the work in such a way that
at the end of the school year (1923), when asked whether he would prefer to
stay in the Special Opportunity Class or go on to high school, he
unhesitatingly chose to stay with the special class. "It will be more
interesting," he said. He therefore finished elementary school at the age of
12 years, although at 10 he was judged by his teachers to be fully prepared
in knowledge to enter senior high school. There is no doubt that he could
have been made ready to enter college at the age of 12 years.

When asked at the age of 9 what he would be when he grew up, the
following conversation took place:

Q. What do you think is the most interesting vocation? What
would you like to be when you grow up?
A. Well, the answer to those two questions is not the same one.
Q. Then tell us first what you think is the most interesting
vocation.
A. Science, especially astronomy.

Q. And what vocation would you like to follow when you grow
up?
A. To be a medical doctor.
Q. But why not be what is most interesting?
A. Because a person cannot make much money being an astronomer.
I never heard of anyone at the Lick Observatory earning
fifty thousand dollars a year.
Q. But do medical doctors earn fifty thousand dollars a year?
A. It is possible for one to do it. Some of them do.
Q. Do you think being a medical doctor is the most lucrative
occupation?
A. No. It would be more lucrative to get into Standard Oil.
Q. Then why not go into Standard Oil?
A. Because it isn't so interesting as being a medical doctor.
Q. Which is the more useful occupation—medical doctor or
astronomer?
A. Medical doctor. Because a man does not care much for a
blazing star a million miles away if his wife is sick. Anyone
cares more for a person two feet away than for a thing a
trillion miles away.

The ambition to become a medical doctor has persisted for three years
and gives an impression of permanency. [1]

Scores of anecdotes could be cited to illustrate the interests and the fine
intelligence of this boy. In walking through the halls of the college with
him, on one occasion when he had come for a mental test, the present writer
saw what seemed to be an exhibition of Chinese costumes in a glass case,
and called C's attention to it, saying, "Look at this exhibition of Chinese
work." C looked closely at the exhibit for several moments without
comment, and then said, "Well, I believe it is Japanese work, isn't it?" He

then proceeded to point out certain minute differences which are found
between the work of Japanese and Chinese and which were later verified by
an authority on the subject.

When he went with his class to visit a new high school building in the
city, he was missed as the others began to move from one corridor to
another. After search, he was found in the chemical laboratory copying in a
notebook the names of all the chemicals in the bottles as they appeared on
the labels.

In the Opportunity Class C was appreciated by these children of more
than 150 IQ as he had never been by the unselected children in the regular
classes. They recognized his encyclopedic knowledge and respected it.
They eventually elected him to two posts of responsibility among them.
These were totally new experiences for C.

Another new experience for the boy was that of being equaled by another
child in an intellectual performance. Although C led the special class in
marks, as would be expected, he was nevertheless occasionally equaled or
surpassed in one or two subjects in the month's record. He learned for the
first time how to adjust himself to successful competitors in his own
particular field.

TRAITS OF CHARACTER

A few faulty character traits in C have been noted by teachers. One
teacher said, "He is somewhat of a prig." This impression appears to have
been based partly on his lack of desire to play with children of his own age
and partly on his use of "long words." Soon after C entered the Special
Opportunity Class for gifted children, another boy equaled him in an
assignment and put out his hand to C, saying cordially, "Let's shake." C had
never had the experience of being equaled by a fellow pupil and he turned

away, refusing to shake hands. However, he has now learned to react most
cordially to those who equal him, though he bitterly dislikes to be equaled
or passed in mental work.

Never in any sense a leader or guide among the unselected children of the
school from which he came, C was soon elected to the position of monitor
by the children of median IQ 164. They were heard to say: "C is just; C can
make us behave." One child (IQ 164) exclaimed in admiration, "C knows
everything."

On the other hand, C arouses some feelings of jealousy and antagonism
as well as admiration because he does not hesitate to contradict erroneous
statements or to rectify imperfections in what others say or do. He is not
very tactful in human relationships.

The virtues most frequently ascribed to C by those who know him well
are reliability, honesty, bravery, and loyalty. He is a stickler for the exact; no
statement is right unless it is exactly right. It is easy to see how this trait
might antagonize average children of C's age, and even teachers and others
in authority.

MENTAL MEASUREMENTS

Measurements of general intelligence of C have been made as follows:

DATE BIRTHDAY STANFORD-BINET ARMY ALPHA POINTS
AGE OF C MA IQ On October 30, 1922,
Sept. 26, 1922 9-3 17-7 190 he scored 146 points
April 18, 1923 9-10 18-6 188 (Form 9)

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS

Measurements of C's physique have been made as follows:

DATE WT. HT. CRANIAL
(LBS.) (STAND., IN.) CIR. (IN.)
Sept. 26, 1923 60.5 53.9 . . .
Jan. 8, 1924 . . . . . . 20.7

C is one of the few of the bright children studied who does not exceed
Baldwin's norms in physique. However, at the age of 11 years 7 months he
was 57 inches tall and weighed 69.9 pounds. His appetite for food has never
been very satisfactory, but in spite of this his general health has been good.

EDITOR'S SUPPLEMENT

The author's original write-up of Child C terminated at this point, in
1923. But during the following 16 years she remained in constant contact
with C, interviewing him and testing him periodically, and in many ways
sponsoring his secondary, collegiate, and professional education. Many
pages of these records are in her files, accompanied by collections of C's
work, newspaper notices, correspondence, photographs, and data from
further interviews with the parents. It seems best to summarize these
records chronologically, and with some brevity, since it would not be at all
feasible to reproduce the material in full.

October 15, 1923

C filled out an "Interest Blank" at P. S. 165, Manhattan, where he was
then in the eighth grade, at the age of 10 years 4 months. He was at this
time, or had been, class monitor and editor of the class paper. "Likes and
dislikes" were expressed, strongest "preference" of subjects, and judgment
of "what is easiest."

Liked very much were literature, reading, spelling, mathematics, French,
games and sports, and geography.

Most disliked were painting, water colors, etc.; penmanship; composition.

"Easiest" and also "best liked" was English literature.

Preferred kind of reading was encyclopedias, biography, current events,
and history.

Things most like to do were studying, general reading, sedentary games,
playing alone.

Most disliked things to do were using tools or working with apparatus
and machinery, drawing, dancing, practicing music.

[[This dislike for manual activities remained with C. In later years,
although his drawings in science courses were admirable, he made an
unsatisfactory laboratory assistant when set to using the typewriter or
mimeograph, or to drawing graphs and charts not for his own use.]]

FIG. 2. A SKETCH BY c.

[The sketch is a bit of a doodle, headed by the word "GOSSIP,"
followed by the first row, which begins with a pair of shoes set toe-to-
toe (the phrase, "OF SHOES" is set to the right of them), and a large
steam ship ("AND SHIPS", to the left). The next row consists of a
stick of wax (labeled "WAX", with "AND SEALING WAX" above
it). The last row beings with an open head of cabbage ("AND
CABBAGES" to the right), and has a crown at the end ("AND
KINGS", is set to the left of it).]

FIG. 3. A PAGE FROM ONE OF C'S NOTEBOOKS.

[This figure shows two biological diagrams of what appears to be a
cross-section of the mucus membrane of the esophagus. The

following regions of the first are labeled (in descending order): tunica
mucosa; tela submucosa; tunica muscularis; and tunica adventitia.
The following areas of these regions are labeled (also in descending
order): papilla of tunica propria; epitheum, tunica propria; lamina
muscularis mucosae; ducts of deep oesophageal gland; blood vesses
of submucuous layer; portion of myenteric plexus, showing ganglion
cells; smooth muscle; striated muscle; and branch of vagus nerve. It
conforms with modern diagrams of the esophagus.]

[The second diagram appears to be a cross-section of the intestinal
wall, and is horizontally oriented. The left region is labeled "gastric
pit," and the right region, "Tubule of gland." Areas of the left region
are labeled "Lumen," "Mucus (goblet) epithelial cells," and "Tunica
propria." The right region has labels of "parietal cells," "chief cells"
and also a separate cross-sectional picture labeled "tubule cut
transversely." It conforms with modern diagrams of this area of the
intestinal wall.]

February, 1924

At this time the Special Opportunity Class teacher (P. S. 165, Manhattan)
rated C, on a school information blank, for a long array of "physical,
mental, social, and moral traits," using a 7-step rating scale (1 being the
highest scale).

Ratings of 1 were given for—

Truthfulness Common sense
Desire to know General intelligence
Originality

Ratings of 2 or 3 were given for—

Prudence and forethought Conscientiousness
Self-confidence Permanency of moods
Will power and persever- Desire to excel
ance Cheerfulness and optimism
Freedom from vanity and Leadership
egotism Sensitiveness to approval or
Sympathy and tenderness disapproval

Ratings of below 3 (average or below) were given for—

Health Fondness for large groups
Physical energy Popularity with other children
Musical appreciation Generosity and unselfishness
Appreciation of beauty Mechanical ingenuity
Sense of humor

September 15, 1924

At this time the author (L. S. H.), who had known C for two years,
independently rated him on this same array of traits by the same rating scale
technique.

Ratings of 1 were given for—

Prudence and forethought Sympathy and tenderness
Self-confidence Conscientiousness
Will power and persever- Truthfulness
ance Desire to know
Appreciation of beauty Originality
Sense of humor Common sense
Desire to excel General intelligence

Ratings of 2 or 3 were given for—

Cheerfulness and optimism Sensitiveness to approval or
Permanency of moods disapproval
Leadership Freedom from vanity or ego-
Popularity with other chil- tism
dren Mechanical ingenuity

Ratings of below 3 (average or less) were given for—

Health Generosity and unselfishness
Physical energy Fondness for large groups
Musical appreciation

The only striking differences between the two sets of ratings are in sense
of humor and appreciation of beauty, in which C was rated low by the
teacher and high by the author. It appears to the Editor, who also has a more
or less intimate acquaintance with C, that a composite of these ratings,
made when the child was 11 years old, gave an adequate portrayal of him as
an adult of 27.

April 18, 1925

At the age of 11 years 10 months, C was again given the Stanford-Binet
examination by L. S. H. His score was 18 years 6 months, and he was
recorded as being "no longer measured" by this test.

January 16, 1926

At this time C was in a private high school, being then 12 years 7 months
old.

On these data his score in Army Alpha (Form 5) was 195 points.

He was given an early form of the IER Test for Superior Adults, CAVD,
and the score is given as 43.5 (perhaps this should be 435). The comment of
the scorer in the Institute of Educational Research was: "This puts the boy
well into the college graduate class. He excels about 75 per cent of the Yale
Law freshmen."

January 26, 1927

C was now age 13 years 7 months, and he was in the second year of high
school.

He was given the IER Scale CAVD for Superior Adults in two
installments, beginning January 30 and finishing February 13. The score
was 435 points, and the comment is, "As good as best Yale Law School
freshmen and as high as top 4 per cent to 5 per cent of Teachers College
candidates for M. A. degree."

Also in January, 1927, in the psychological laboratory of Barnard
College, C was given by the present Editor an array of tests for which
norms were available for Barnard freshmen, from the work of F. E.
Carothers (Psychological Examination of College Students). The scores
made are in the following tabulation expressed in terms of the PE of the
distribution of 100 Barnard freshmen.

SCORES MADE BY C AT AGE of 13 YEARS 7 MONTHS IN
TERMS OF PE OF
DISTRIBUTION OF 100 BARNARD FRESHMEN

Unless otherwise indicated, the score is "plus."

TEST C's SCORE

Word Building (AEIRLP) 3.22 PE
Completion (Trabue A) 3.09
Directions (Woodworth-Wells) 2.78
Word Recall (Mulhall) 2.72
Analogies (Woodworth-Wells) 1.66
Logical Recall (Proverbs) 0.49
Naming Opposites (Woodworth-Wells) 0.16
Substitution (Digit-Form) 0.07
Color Naming (Woodworth-Wells) -0.06
Cancellation (Digits) -0.15
Word Recognition (Mulhall) -0.27
Logical Recognition (Proverbs) -0.64
Number Checking -0.81
Verb-Object Associations -0.86

On those of the above subtests most nearly like the content of present
general intelligence examinations, C is clearly above the standard for the
freshmen group, being in fact at the very top of the list, about 3 PE above
average.

Most of the things on which C scored (slightly) below average are simple
and more or less mechanical. This result may perhaps be confirmed by his
score in Stenquist Assembling Test, Series I, given on the same day. His T-
score was 58, placing him only a little above average (67th centile) among
13-year-old children. It will be recalled that C was uniformly rated low in
"mechanical ability" and also expressed a lack of interest in "working with
machinery."

On this day C was also given the Rosanoff High Standard Frequency Test
(Word Association) based on Class A words only. The available standards
(Rosanoff) and also C's score are given in the following:

Fifth grade, total value 15
First year high school 100
First year college 375
Master's degree 600
Starred men of science 800
C's score 823

August 23, 1931

At the age of 18 years 2 months, C was in his third year of college
(Columbia). On this date he was again given IER Intelligence
Scale CAVD, Levels M, N, O, P, Q, and his score was 446 points,
which is as high as any score recorded on this scale.

December 26, 1932

At the age of 19 years 6 months, in the fourth year of college, C scored
210 points on Army Alpha, Form 8, a score equaled only by the top 1 per
cent of college seniors.

LATER SCHOOL HISTORY

Subsequent to the Special Opportunity Class, in 1923, in P. S. 165,
Manhattan, C completed his high school work, first in a private school and
later in a public high school (George Washington) in New York City.
During these years he received various academic honors and prizes, or
medals, for proficiency.

In the high school from which he was graduated in 1929, he was vice-
president of the French Club. He won a city-wide contest in French
composition, for which he received a medal. He was elected to Arista, the
high school honor society, and ranked third in his class upon graduation,

with an average grade of 94 (the two better were 96 and 94.5). In
connection with his high school work he was awarded a state scholarship of
$150.

Upon graduating from high school, C applied for and competed for a
Pulitzer scholarship, and he was awarded a scholarship as the highest-
ranking boy among the competitors. This enabled him to enter Columbia
College, to which he was admitted in 1929.

He was graduated from Columbia, taking the premedical course, in 1933,
being elected to Phi Beta Kappa. During the previous year he also won a
current events contest conducted by a metropolitan newspaper, with a prize
of $150.

C was admitted to the New York University Medical College, from which
he was graduated with the degree of M.D. He is now (1940) serving his
internship in hospitals in New York City.

[1] C is now, 17 years after the recording of this comment, engaged in the
profession of medicine. EDITOR

CHAPTER SEVEN CHILD D

Child D is a boy, born March 9, 1910. [1] He was first described by Terman,
who tested him in 1917. D, like E, was brought to the attention of the writer
by the principal of the Horace Mann Kindergarten (Teachers College,
Columbia University) as being a child of remarkable endowment. He was at
that time 7 years 4 months old and had a Mental Age of 13 years 7 months,
with an IQ of 184 (S-B).

FAMILY BACKGROUND

D is descended from Russian Jews in the paternal branch and from
English Jews in the maternal branch.

Father. D's father immigrated to America at an early age. He is a high
school graduate and was a student of engineering but abandoned these
studies in the third year to do newspaper work, and later entered the
advertising business in a large city. His leisure is spent in writing, and he
has published a number of books, including three novels and a
philosophical drama dealing with religion. His first book, a novel, was
published when he was 21 years old. He was 28 when D was born.

Mother. D's mother went to school for only a few weeks and has been
largely self-taught. Before marriage she was statistician and registrar in a
large philanthropic organization. She has published stories, reviews, and

poems, and a book on education. She has always taken part personally in
the education of D. She was 26 years old when D was born. D is an only
child.

Noteworthy relatives. Noteworthy relatives beyond the first degree of
kinship include the following: a chief rabbi of Moscow, who was exiled for
aiding the Nihilists; a distinguished lawyer; a man who by his own efforts
became a millionaire; a concert pianist; a composer and virtuoso; a writer;
and "a relative decorated for science in Poland."

The maternal great-grandfather was a famous rabbi who compiled and
published a Jewish calendar covering a period of 414 years. This calendar
contains, in regular order, the exact period of every new moon's appearance,
the sabbaths, festivals with scriptural portions for each, and the equinoxes
of the solar year according to the prescribed and authorized Jewish laws and
corresponding to dates in the common era. The tabulations have been
carefully compiled from various works of ancient rabbinical astronomers,
with annotations in Hebrew and English.

This rabbi was also the great-grandfother of the four first cousins of D,
whose intelligence quotients have been taken, and who rated 156, 150, 130,
and 122, respectively. A second cousin in the maternal line yielded at the
age of 6 years an IQ of 157.

PRESCHOOL HISTORY

D cut his first tooth at 4 months of age. He could say words at 8 months
and talked in sentences at 11 months. In November, 1910 (8 months), he
said "little boy" when his shadow appeared on the wall. D could stand,
holding to chairs, at 9 months of age, and he walked alone at 11 to 12
months. At the age of 18 months, while sitting on his mother's lap as she sat
before a typewriter, he learned to read by looking at the letters. The records

kept by the mother indicate that he "learned to read and count in 1911." One
such record reads, "October 11, counts all day long."

At 8 months of age D strung in succession 5 yellow and 5 red balls and
then began on blue, when the activity was interrupted. In March, 1912, he
was using words to express relationships, such as "will" and "shall"
(correctly), "but," "and," "my," "mine." At 2 years 6 months his vocabulary
(incomplete) was 1690 words.

D's earliest memory goes back to 2 years of age, when he saw a rat and
thought it was "a little brownie." An example of the quality of the questions
asked by D in the first 36 months of life is one he asked in October, 1911
(19 months): "Has every door two knobs?" "Why?" His mother reports: "He
was always asking unexpected questions."

This child was not placed in school at the usual age because he did not fit
into the school organization. At the time he should have entered
kindergarten D could read fluently and could perform complicated
arithmetical processes. His intellectual interests were far beyond those of
even the highly selected children of a private kindergarten. Therefore, his
parents kept him out of school and obtained the companionship of other
children for him by sending him to a playground.

D was first seen by the present writer [[L. S. H.]] while he was attending
this playground, in the year 1916-1917. It is very interesting to note how D
made social contacts with the other children while pursuing his own
interests. For instance, he published a playground newspaper called "The
Weekly Post." [2] He composted, edited, and typed this paper, issued at
intervals, and it had a regular playground circulation.

TRAITS OF CHARACTER

No faulty traits of character have been ascribed to D by parents or
teachers interviewed. He was rated for character by Terman's method under
Terman's direction, with a result of 1.93 from parents' estimates and 1.90
from teachers' estimates (the median score, for comparison with average
children, being 3.00). D is thus rated by parents and teachers alike as well
above the average in character. The desirable traits most often mentioned
are refusal to lie, loyalty to standards once adopted, readiness to admit just
criticisms, unselfishness, and amiability.

MENTAL MEASUREMENTS

General intelligence tests of D show the following results:

DATE BIRTHDAY STANFORD- ARMY ALPHA THORNDIKE
TEST
AGE BINET POINTS FOR FRESHMEN
OF D (POINTS)
MA IQ D Norm D Norm

Aug., 1917, 7-4 13-7 184
Jan. 29, 1921 10-11 Passed all 185 —
for Super. (Form 5)
June, 1922 12-3 Adult. 106 70-80

It is thus seen how greatly D suprasses the average child in mental tests.
In the five years which have elapsed since D's first test there has been no
tendencey to become mediocre. At the age of 7 years he showed an IQ of
184; at the age of 11 years he exceeded by a wide margin on Army Alpha
the median score for postgraduate students in first-rate universities; at 12
years he far exceeded the median score of college freshmen on Thorndike's
test for that group. The validity of these scores is consistently borne out by
the school history.

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS

The following measurements, as of May, 1922, were made in the
gymnasium of the high school attended by D: [3]

WEIGHT (LBS.) HEIGHT (IN.) HT.-WT. COEFF.
D NORM D NORM D NORM
76.0 82.8 64.0 57.7 1.19 1.44

D's health has always been excellent and no physical defects are known
to his parents. He is rated as very stable nervously. His slenderness has been
rated as a defect by one examiner; although he greatly exceeds the norm in
height, he falls below in weight. He is therefore very tall and slender in
appearance, which is characteristic of his father and uncles.

MISCELLANEOUS CHARACTERISTICS

Diversions. At the age of 7 years D's favorite amusements were skating,
"Mechano," reading, playing ball, writing, tabulating, solitaire, chess, and
numerical calculation in all its forms. As development has proceeded, he
has continued most of these recreations, turning more and more, however,
to games of intellectual skill. He likes other children and likes to be with
them; he has established relations with them by editing newspapers for
them, teaching them about nature, and the like. Play in the sense of mere
purposeless sensorimotor activity has not been enjoyed by him.

Imaginary land. From the age of about 4 years to about the age of 7, D
was greatly interested in an imaginary land which he called "Borningtown."
He spent many hours peopling Borningtown, laying out roads, drawing
maps of its terrain, composing and recording its language (Bornish), and
writing its history and literature. He composed a lengthy dictionary—scores
of pages—of the Bornish language. The origin of the words "Borningtown"

and "Bornish" is not known. It seems possible that D's imaginary land may
have arisen out of the mystery of being born.

Gift for music. D has had piano lessons for several years, and he has
displayed remarkable ability to deal with the mathematical aspects of
music. A sample is shown of his musical composition, illustrating his
understanding of musical symbols and his ability to interpret through this
medium. He composed music before he had any instruction in playing
musical instruments. He read certain booklets which came with Ampico and
decided to compose. He can compose music which he cannot himself play.

FIG 4. PART OF A COMPOSITION BY D AT AGE 8 YEARS 7 MONTHS.

[The composition is titled "Op. 1, Dog's Dance," in A Major, with a
"Tempo 75," "Moderato," in 8/8 time. The composition is marked by
16th-note flourishes, eighth-note triplets, each stave occasionally
briefly changing from their original clef to opposite clef (e.g., from
treble to bass clef or vice versa) and back again, a dedication
("Dedicaded [sic] to 'Brutus' my aunt's dog,"), and the following
directions to the pianist, mirroring the dog's activity, appearing under
the bass clef: "Asleep" (1st measure), "Bell rings" (2nd measure),
"Gets up" and "barks" (3rd measure) "scampers" (4th measure),
"scampers back" (6th measure), "rests" (measures 7 & 8), "Hears
footsteps" (9th measure), "trots" (end of 10th measure), "Ball is
thrown" and "Scampers after it" (11th measure), "Ball stops" (13th
measure), "He foosle-woosles it" (14th measure), "Trots back" and
"Drops it" (15th measure), "Regrets it" and "Trots" (16th measure),
and "Drops it" (17th measure). There are very few errors in notation
for a hand-written composition of this complexity; the errors that are
made appear to be simple oversights, such as using quarter-notes in a

triplet instead of eighth notes, using a half note when only a quarter
beat remains in the measure, and the like.]

Gifts for form and color in drawing. D's talent for color, for drawing and
design, has been marked from the time he could wield a pencil. His
drawings, paintings, and designs would fill a book by themselves. A sample
of his original work at the age of 10 years is reproduced.

FIG. 5. DRAWN BY D AT AGE 9 YEARS 9 MONTHS.

[This is a drawing of a small bird. The beak is somewhat elongated,
the legs straight, and the eye quite large, appearing similar to
simplified / stylized animals on a crest.]

This conventionalized bird is a fragment from his decoration for the chest
in which he kept his "scientific work" at that time. This oblong chest he
painted Chinese red, with three figures on the front. These were the
conventionalized bird here shown, a conventionalized nest with eggs, and a
conventionalized butterfly— all painted in striking combinations of yellow,
blue, green, and red.

D loves color, and one of his favorite playthings has been a sample folder
of silk buttonhole twists of three hundred shades. Between the ages of 8 and
9 years he would go over and over these, classifying the colors in various
ways, scoring them for beauty, and renaming them to satisfy his
appreciation of them. Some of these names will give an idea of his
appreciation:

spotted pale dark darking green darkling green regular green shame
blue paper white spoiled pink apron blue soft light pink beau yellow
meadow beauty pink visitor's green cat black alien white royalest red
feeling blue

One of his favorite games (aged 8 to 9 years) was to assign a numerical
value to each of the 300 shades and then to list them for "highest honors."
"Royalest red" nearly always won in these contests.

Origination of new concepts and new words. From earliest childhood D
has felt a need for concepts and for words to express them that are not to be
found in dictionaries. His occupation in this field he calls "wordical work."
Some examples are recorded by his mother in the following note dated
December, 1916.

Was having his dinner and being nearly finished said he didn't care
to eat any more, as he had a pain in his actum pelopthis. He explained
that his actum pelopthis, actum quotatus, serbalopsis, and boobalicta
are parts of the body where you sometimes have queer feelings; they
don't serve any purpose. He said he also had a place called the
boobalunksis, or source of headaches; that the hair usually springs out
from around the herkadone; that the perpalensis is the place where
socks end, and the bogalegus is the place where legs and tummy
come together. He also named one other part, the cobaliscus or
smerbalooble, whose function is not explained. The definitions are
exactly as he gave them in each instance.

On February 23, 1917, his mother wrote:

He has not referred to these places since. I do not know where he
got the idea for such names, unless possibly from The Water Babies.
He would probably refer them to some Bornish source.

The invention and classification of the Bornish language already referred
to is another example of D's "wordical work." He has also invented
hundreds of words which have not been included as Bornish. An example of

his hand-writing, illustrative of words he has invented, classified, and
recorded for pleasure, is here shown.

FIG 6. ONE OF D'S VERBAL INVENTIONS.

[The word defined is written as "Ob(b)iquicki(e)us" (the "e" is
circled, perhaps suggesting a later revision to combine the "o" and
"e") The definition which follows is: "Obiquickeous is a cube
sensibilitant word. One of the most important words. It is an adj. and
a noun."]

Invention of games. D has invented many games. To illustrate this aspect
of his mental capacity, there are his designs for three-handed and four-
handed checkers. [4] D held that these would be better games than two-
handed checkers because they are more complicated. A description of the
games invented by D, together with his mathematical calculations
concerning the chances and probabilities in each, would fill many pages.

Calculation and mathematical ingenuity. It is difficult to say that D is
more gifted in one mental function or group of functions than in others, for
his ability is so extraordinary in all performances that without means of
measurement one cannot tell in which he deviates farthest from the average.

However, it is to be observed that the quantitative aspects of experience
have always played a very striking role in all his performances. Even in
dealing with color he turned to mathematics and made his values
quantitative. Throughout childhood he spent hours playing with numerical
relationships. These calculations cover hundreds of pages. There is
reproduced here a sample of such work, chosen at random from scores of
like material. There is no doubt in the mind of the present writer [[L. S. H.]]
that D could, by practice with short-cut methods, easily become a lightning

calculator. By age of 12 years D had finished college entrance requirements
in arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry, all with high marks.

FIG. 7. Playing with numbers, Child D, age 7, to find what number
under 100 has the greatest number of factors, counts up factors in
each and awards "highest honors" to 96.

[This figure lists the numbers 86-100, and shows the numbers
factored. The winning numbers he included are 96 (6 [factors]), 48
(5), 24 (4), and 16 (4). It appears that he ranked the "winning"
numbers not according to the actual numbers of the places (i.e., 1st,
2nd, 3rd, and 4th places), but rather by the order of the primes
representing them, i.e., 2 is first place, 3 is second place, 5 third, and
7 fourth. Additionally, the notes "H. C. F" and "L C. M." are to the
left of the 96 and 16, respectively, likely indicating "highest common
factor" and "lowest common multiple" of the factors of the "winning"
numbers.]

Tendency to classify and diagram. To classify the data of experience has
always been one of D's chief interests. One such tabulation was of parts of
speech in various stories and poems. [5] Figure 8 is a sample taken from
many pages of reclassification of birds. The caption, "Proper Scientific
Name," represents the name considered by D to be better than those now
recognized by ornithologists. His classifications of words, numbers, colors,
musical notes, objects, and so forth would fill a large volume. He often
constructs diagrams to clarify or condense meaning.

FIG. 8. A SAMPLE OF D'S CLASSIFICATIONS
[PART 1 OF 2, Columns 1-3].

Classification of birds seen in summer 1918. Classified in Feb.,
1919. "Proper Scientific Name" is the improved name given by D—.

Found Name Genus or, Scientific
Here (Popular) [Species,] etc. N a m e

* Towhee Species Erythopthalmus
X Wh.-eyed towhee Sub-Species E. Alleni
X Green-tailed " Genus Oreospiza
X Blue Grosbeak Species Caerulea
* Indigo Bunting " Cyanea
X Painted " " Ciris
X Lark Bunting " Calamospiza
Melanocorys
* Barn Swallow " Erythrogastra
* Tree " Genus Iridoprocne
* Red-eyed Vireo Species Olivacea
Wood Warblers Family Mniotiltidae
* Black & White
Warbler Species Varia
* Yellow Warbler Species Astiva
* Sh.-Billed
Marsh Wren Genus Cistothorus
* Red-br. Nuthatch Species Canadensis

FIG. 8. A SAMPLE OF D'S CLASSIFICATIONS
[PART 2 OF 2, Columns 1-4 ("Scientific name" repeated)].

Scientific Name Proper Scientific name Equal

Erythopthalmus Pipilo Eryth. **?
E. Alleni P. Leucophtalmus ***
Oreospiza Pipilo **?
Caerulea Cyanea ***
Cyanea Caerulea ***

Ciris Pictus **?
Calamospiza Melanocorys Melanospiza Leucoptera ***
Erythrogastra Leucurus ***
Iridoprocne Hirundo ***
Olivacea Erythropthalmus Yes
Mniotiltidae Dendroicidae **?
Varia Striata **?
Astiva Xantho or Auro Yes
Cistothorus Telmatotytes ?
Canadensis Borealis Yes
[no previous columns] Erythrogastra **?

Interest in science. By the age of 10 years D's chief interest had come to
center in science and it continued to center there. His classifications of
moths, birds, and the like and his observations of their life cycles are
"monumental." There are volumes of these recorded observations as in
Figure 9.

FIG 9. ONE OF D'S RECORDS OF OBSERVATIONS. LIFE CYCLES OF BIRDS.

[Here, the species of birds are listed in a column, with months of
the year listed and spread out horizontally, with the first, 15th, and
last days of the month underneath each month, and sometimes the
10th and 20th also. The species include: Holbcel's Grebe; Horned
Grebe; Pied Billed Grebe; Loon; Loon Black-Thr.; Loon Red-Thr.;
Puffin; Black Guillenot; Murre; Murre Brunnich's; Razor-billed Ank;
Dovekie; Skua; Jaeger Pomarine; Jaeger, Parasitic; Jaeger, Long-
tailed; Gull, Ivory; Gull, Kittawake; Gull, Glaucous; Gull, Iceland;
Gull, Kumliens; Gull, Gr. Bl.-Backed; Gull, Herring; Gull, Ring-
Bileed; Gull, Laughing; Gull, Bonaparte's; Gull, Little-Casual; Gull,
Sabine; Tern, Gull-Billed; Tern, Caspian; Tern, Royal; Tern, Cabot's;

Tern, Trudeau's; Tern, Forster's; Tern, Common; Tern, Arctic; Tern,
Roseate; Tern, Least; Tern, Sooty; Tern, Black. Each bird has a line or
lines to the right of its name, corresponding to the times of year.]

Figures 10 and 11 illustrate his interest in physical science. They have
been taken from his notebooks and state problems which occurred
spontaneously to him and for which he tried experimentally to find
solutions. During a series of experiments "to determine the path of a tack,"
it is reported that "the house was full of tacks" which had been used in
attempting solutions.

FIG. 10. COPY OF WORK DONE BY D "FOR FUN," MARCH 28, 1921, AGED 11 YEARS 1
MONTH.

of the problem: "Determine the appearance of a finger, F, to two
eyes, E#R# and E#L#, focussed on a pole R at point P#S# along lines
E#R#R and E#L#R."

[Diagram of solution.]

Thru [sic] R pass plane PL // to the plane of the eyes. Draw a
line from E#L# (which is nearer to F than E#R#) to F, cutting
PL in O. Draw E#R#O; thru F pass a plane // to PL and crossing
E#R#O in A. Thru A pass F' // F.

F' and F are the positions of F to E#R# and E#L#.

D.

So it can be shown that 2 other eyes would see F in positions F and
F''.

.'. 4 eyes focused on R see F as F, F, F' and F''.

D.

FIG. 11. THE PATH OF A TACK. WORK DONE BY D AT AGE 11 YEARS.

Discussion

of the determination of the course of a freed tack, T, connected
with other tacks by rubber bands.

A. Fig. 1.

[Diagram including points T, T'; band B; and ray L.]

When connected to a tack T' by band B.
Draw T[,] T'[,] or L.
T freed will travel along L, answer.

B. Fig. 2.

[Diagram including points T, T', T''; bands B, B'; and ray L.]

When connected to 2 tacks T' and T'' by 2 bands B and B'.
Answer: Along L, the bisector of T' and TTT''.

C. Fig. 3.

[Diagram including points T, T', T''; band B; and ray L.]

The same as B, but only 1 band B.
Answer same as to B.

D. Fig. 4.

[Diagram including points T, T#1#, T', T''; and ray L.]

When connected to 3 tacks by any number of bands.
Draw T'T#1#, and treat as in B and C.

D.

SCHOOL HISTORY

In the September following his ninth birthday D entered upon formal
instruction in the junior high school. In the autumn following his tenth
birthday he entered senior high school, from which he was graduated at the
age of 12 years, with a scholastic record which won for him two
scholarships.

He was admitted to a large Eastern college at the age of 12 years 6
months (1922-1923), and made a superior record throughout the course. It
was very interesting to see that D continued to discover means of obtaining
social contacts in spite of the great difficulties due to his extreme youth and
his intellectual deviation. Thus it is not easy to plan how a 12-year-old boy
might successfully participate in college athletics when the median age of
college freshmen is over 18 years, but this problem was not too difficult for
D. He presented himself to compete for the post of coxswain on the
freshmen crew where, other things, being equal, light weight is an
advantage.

He was graduated from college, with Phi Beta Kappa honors, in 1926, at
the age of 16 years 2 months. At that time he was ambitious for a career in
science.

EDITOR'S SUPPLEMENT

D undertook graduate work, with distinction, in the field of chemistry. He
became an industrial chemist with an important position in the research

phases of the motion-picture industry. Word has been received of his death
in September, 1938.

[1] This child was described in some detail in Chapter IX of Gifted
Children, 1926, and the earlier part of the present account is taken from that
chapter. In the later part additional items are given, taken from the author's
1924 manuscript, and there are a few editorial additions.

[2] A facsimile of a page from this paper is reproduced on page 244 of
the author's book, Gifted Children (The Macmillan Company, New York;
1926).

[3] A note shows that on March 16, 1926, at just 16 years of age, D's
height was 71.5 inches and his weight 115 pounds, stripped. EDITOR

[4] See Gifted Children, pages 246-247.

[5] Ibid., page 245.

CHAPTER EIGHT CHILD E

Child E when first seen was a boy 8 years 4 months of age. He was born
June 17, 1908, and the first psychological measurements were made
November 4, 1916. The circumstances that led to acquaintance with him
were as follows:

A child of exceptional intelligence was desired for demonstration before
a class at Teachers College, Columbia University, engaged in the study of
the psychology and treatment of exceptional children. [1] E was suggested
because of his remarkable school record. The consent of the parents was
secured and the psychological examination was made before a class of
about thirty students.

This was not, of course, the ideal circumstance under which to perform a
mental test for scientific record. The presumption would be that the
audience would tend to reduce the child's performance, so that whatever
error there might be from this source would be in the direction of making
the child appear less exceptional than he really was. Of course no one knew
beforehand that such a phenomenal record was about to be made; for had
such an unusual result been expected this child would have been kept for
examination under more favorable laboratory conditions. [2] For an account
of this testing, see under "Mental measurements," [this chapter.]

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Little or nothing is known of E's paternal relatives. His father was
separated from them before age of recollection.

Of E's maternal ancestry fairly complete genealogical records are
available. [3] Five persons bearing the surname of the mother settled in
New England before 1650. These were probably all related to each other.
The individual who was E's direct ancestor first appeared in New England
in 1639 and settled at Cambridge, Massachusetts. This family attained great
distinction in the six generations recorded in the New England genealogy. A
son of the first ancestor in America was a royal councilor and the greatest
merchant of his day in New England. A grandson was royal governor of
Massachusetts, and later of New Jersey; he was also a patron of learning. A
great-grandson was chief justice and lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia. A
great-great-grandson was a royal councilor of Nova Scotia; some of his
children settled again in England, of whom a son was a distinguished naval
officer, attaining the rank of rear admiral in the British navy. These
genealogical records, and other records of New England families which
intermarried with this family, have not been brought up to date.

The maternal surname appears first about 1176 in the records of England,
and was apparently Norman-French in origin. The remote male ancestor [4]
from whom the mother of E derives the middle part of her maiden name
was born in Providence, Rhode Island, March 11, 1753, a descendant of
early colonial settlers in America. He was graduated from Rhode Island
College (now Brown University) in 1773 and later took a medical degree at
the University of Pennsylvania. In 1783 he was appointed Professor of
Materia Medica and Botany at Brown. In 1819 he was elected a delegate
from the Rhode Island Medical Society, of which he was vice president, to
the convention which formulated the National Pharmacopoeia. He took an
active part in the organization and proceedings of the Rhode Island Society
for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry. In 1824, with his son,

William, he published The Farmer's Guide, "a comprehensive work on
husbandry and gardening." He participated in the Proceedings of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and delivered many lectures on
botany. He died at the age of 81 years, leaving among descendants a large
proportion of persons in the learned professions.

Father. E's father, while still a college undergraduate, produced a Latin
play which was performed in a Boston theater. Since graduation from
college he has maintained a keen interest in educational matters. He
organized a special library of insurance in Boston which is now used as a
reference library all over the world. He is at present [[1939]] engaged in
business; has written several books; is a university lecturer on insurance;
has served on many important city commissions. Unusual mental
endowment is clearly indicated by the fact that he rose entirely by his own
direction and effort to a post of honor in an intricate field of knowledge. He
was 45 years old when E was born.

Mother. E's mother was a qualified physician and a specialist in
bacteriology. For some years she held a position as bacteriologist in one of
the municipal departments of New York City. After the birth of her son she
devoted a great deal of attention to his education and welfare, keeping
records of his development, supervising his health, and acting as his
teacher. She often accompanied him to school, sometimes registered for
courses along with him, or herself took courses calculated to make her more
useful in his training. She gave an exceptional amount of attention to his
formal educational program and cultivated with him numerous
extracurricular intellectual activities. During E's college career the two were
often seen together on the campus.

EARLY HISTORY [5]

E was his parents' fourth child, three girls having been born before him,
all having died. Birth was difficult. He was bottle fed. His parents were both
in middle life at the time of his birth. He cut his first tooth at 8 months—a
lateral incisor. He walked at thirteen months.

Up to the age of 2 years E did not say a word. He then began to talk, and
before he was 3 years old was able to read such books as Peter Rabbit.
Conversation with him was carried on in German, French, Italian, and
English equally. When he did begin to talk he could say in these four
languages all the words he knew.

Health. E's health has been exceptionally good from infancy. He has had
no disorders or diseases except measles, and an occasional attack of
indigestion. He is exceptionally free from colds.

Physical measurements. The figures given below as averages are for a
boy of 8 years 4 months who is the same height as E. The average height
for a boy of this age is 49.7 inches. The measurements here given for E
were transcribed from the gymnasium records of the school he was then
attending.

CHILD E AVERAGE FOR MEASUREMENTS OCTOBER AGE 8 YEARS 4 MONTHS 30,
1916 AT HEIGHT 54.3 INCHES

Weight 89.3 pounds 70.5 pounds
Height 54.3 inches 54.3 pounds
Girth of chest 31.8 inches 25.6 inches
Girth of chest,
expanded 32.4 inches 26.8 inches
Lung capacity 100 cubic inches 112.0 cubic inches
Strength, right
forearm 30.9 pounds 39.7 pounds

Strength, left
forearm 22.0 pounds 37.5 pounds

It will thus be seen that E is considerably larger than the average boy of
his age, though of less lung capacity and forearm strength.

Other characteristics. E has clear, well-molded features. He does not like
physical exercise of any kind but has had special attention along this line,
such as lessons in swimming, dancing, and horseback riding. He sleeps
eleven hours and goes to sleep immediately upon going to bed.

SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT

E went to kindergarten from the age of 3 years to the age of 5 years.
From 5 to 6 he was out of school on account of school organization (he
could not be accepted in the first grade). From 6 to 7 years he attended an
open-air, ungraded school and did the work of the second to the fourth
grades. From 7 to 8 years he was in the fourth grade in regular school
classes, and at the time of first observation by the writer, when he was 8
years old, he was in the sixth grade.

He was thus three full years accelerated in school grading, according to
age-grade norms, but was still three years retarded in school according to
his Mental Age. (Terman makes special note of the fact that superior
children are almost invariably retarded in school grading according to
Mental Age.) His mother stated that under private tutors E had at this time
covered the work of the seventh and nearly all the work of the eighth grade.
His school standing, on his last report preceding this initial account, was as
follows (the highest attainable rating is 1, the lowest, 4):

Courtesy 1 Composition 2 Penmanship 3
Promptness 1 Grammar or Industrial Arts 1 [7]

System 1 Language 2 Fine Arts 4 [8]
Spelling 2 Mathematics 3 [6] Music 2
Reading or Geography 1 Physical Educa-
Literature 1 History 1 tion 4
Science 1

In addition to his regular school work E, by the time he was 8 years old,
had covered the following special work in language and mathematics, either
with a tutor or with his mother:

Mathematics: Algebra as far as equations; geometry.

Latin: Partial knowledge of the four declensions (he has been
taught by the direct, informal method, and reads easy Latin).

Greek: Worked out the alphabet for himself from an astronomical
chart, between the ages of 5 and 6 years.

French: Equal to about two years in the ordinary school.

German: Ordinary conversation.

Spanish: Attended class with his mother—reads and understands.

Italian: Reading knowledge and simple conversation.

Portugese: Asked his mother to take this course at the Columbia
Summer School because he could not be registered himself.

Hebrew: A beginning.

Anglo-Saxon: A beginning.

Astronomy: He has worked out all the constellations from
MacCready, and displays a very great interest in this subject.

One evening this winter he noticed a new planet near the
Twins. He said it was Saturn but his mother thought it was
Mars. E went home, worked the position out from the chart
and found it to be Saturn.

Miscellaneous: He has a great interest in nature, wherever found,
and is already able to use Apgar intelligently.

His writing is not equal to his other accomplishments. He is very
slow at it and for this reason dictates most of his "home work" to a
stenographer.

History is his chief and absorbing interest among school subjects.

MENTAL MEASUREMENTS

At the time E was first tested, at Teachers College, Columbia
University, in November, 1916, the Stanford revision of the
Binet-Simon measuring scale was used for the determination of
the child's mental level.

General intelligence. The examiner [[L. S. H.]] began with the "ball-in-
the-field" test. E responded at once with the superior solution, thus giving a
preliminary cue to the quality of his mind, and the examiner proceeded
immediately with the other tests at the 12-year level of intellect. E passed
all the 12-year tests with facility and ease, giving responses of excellent
quality. From the 12-year level the examiner then worked forward in all the
higher levels through Superior Adult. This is, of course, a long examination,
and in view of the actual age of the child it was deemed best to give the

tests at two separate sittings, when it was seen that he would cover the
whole upper range of the scale. The examination was therefore
accomplished in two sittings of about fifty minutes each. The final record of
E shows that he measures on the scale as follows:

Levels 1 year
to 7 years YEARS MONTHS

8
9
10
12 12
14 16
Adult 15
Superior Adult 12
—- ——
Total 15 7

Since his actual age is 8 years 4 months and his Mental Age is 15 years 7
months, his IQ is 187. On the curve of the distribution of intellect he stands
eleven times the probable error (11 PE) removed from the norm, a position
occupied by but one child in more than a million. He stands as far removed
from the average in the direction of superiority as an idiot stands removed
from the average in the direction of inferiority.

An analysis of his performance shows that E had extraordinary
appreciation of the exact use of words and of the shades of difference
between words. He gave correct meanings for 64 words out of the 100 in
the vocabulary test. His vocabulary thus includes 11,520 words. The score
of the Average Adult is 65 words. Thus he just missed scoring on this
Average Adult test. Samples of his definitions are as follows:

scorch—is what happens to a thing when exposed to great heat.
quake—is a kind of movement, unintended.
ramble—is a walk taken for pleasure.
nerve—is a thing you feel by—for instance, cold.
majesty—is a word used to address a king—your majesty.
Mars—is a planet.
peculiarity—is something you do that nobody else does.
mosaic—is a picture made by many small pieces of marble.
bewail—is to be extremely sorrowful.
tolerate—is to allow others to do what you don't like yourself.
lotus—is a kind of flower.
harpy—is a kind of half-bird, half-woman, referred to in Virgil.
fen—is a kind of marsh.
laity—is not clergy.
ambergris—it comes from a whale.
straw—the stalk of a cereal plant.
lecture—someone giving a very long talk about something to an
audience.

E also has a prodigious ability for comprehending and formulating
abstract ideas, and for working with symbols. He gave the differences
between the abstract concepts under Average Adult as follows:

a—laziness and idleness. Laziness is that you don't want to work;
idleness is that you can't, for a while.

b—evolution and revolution. Evolution is making things from
the beginning; revolution is changing them.

c—poverty and misery. Poverty is when you don't have anything;
misery is how you feel when someone insults you.

d—character and reputation. Character is what he really is;
reputation is what they think he is.

E succeeded in reversing the clock hands three times without any error in
less than a minute for each trial. He was able to reproduce the thought from
the selection beginning "Many opinions have been given about the value of
life" as well as a Superior Adult. He solved the three mental arithmetic
problems under XIV, 5, in less than a minute each, absolutely without error.
These performances serve to illustrate his precocious power over symbols
and over abstractions.

His attention, concentration, and capacity for sustained effort are
illustrated by the fact that he was able to repeat five digits backwards twice
out of three trials absolutely without error, before a class of thirty adults.
His memory span for digits repeated forward is at least 8. (He was not tried
with more than 8 digits.)

During the examination he showed neither embarrassment nor any
tendency to "show off." He was alert, interested, and gave his attention
strictly to the business in hand. He always knew when he had failed on a
test, and gave up with great reluctance. For example, he was unable to solve
the problems under XVIII, 6, in the time allotted; but he carried these data
away in his head, and held to them tenaciously till he had solved the
problems. In several instances after he had given his reply he recast it in
better form. In short, he exemplified in remarkable degree all the
characteristics which Binet finally chose as symptomatic of intellectual
power; i.e., (1) the ability to make and maintain a given direction; (2) the
capacity to make adaptations for the purpose of obtaining a desired end; and
(3) the power of auto-criticism.

Special tests. Following the procedure described by Seashore, and using
the set of forks recommended by him, E was tested for pitch discrimination,

being given seven trials with the whole series of forks. His record was as
follows, ## meaning a correct answer and — meaning a false one.

VIBRATION DIFFERENCES
30 23 17 12 8 5 3 2 1 .5
Series
1 ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##
2 ## ## — ## ## ## ## ## — —
3 ## ## ## ## ## — ## — — ##
4 ## ## ## ## ## — ## — ## —
5 ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## — —
6 ## ## ## ## ## — ## ## ## —
7 ## ## ## ## ## — ## — ## ##

His threshold for pitch discrimination would thus seem to be not greater
than five vibrations, and would probably be found to be as low as three if a
more complete test were possible. This is a very good record, according to
Seashore's standards.

E gave free associations to the first 50 words of the Kent-Rosanoff list of
words, both stimulus and response words being oral. The stimulus words
and responses follow:

STIMULUS RESPONSE STIMULUS RESPONSE STIMULUS
RESPONSE table dinner smooth surface needle slim dark night
command army red color music soft chair cushion sleep fast sickness
fatal sweet sugar anger sick man tall whistle blew carpet bagger deep
ocean woman lady girl pretty soft couch cold coal high mountain
eating dinner slow train working people mountain snowcapped wish I
sour lemon house brick river Hudson earth big black dog white color
trouble great mutton beef beautiful dress soldier brave comfort your
window glass cabbage green hand dirty rough surface hard surface

short man citizen U. S. eagle swift fruit orange foot bare stomach
ache butterfly moth spider black

At once after giving some of these responses E explained why he had
given them. Thus he explained that "carpet bagger" had to do "with Civil
War history." After giving "beef" in response to "mutton" he smiled and
said, "That's a joke, isn't it?" When asked why he thought it a joke he
replied that he thought very few people would give that answer. After the
test he was told that 97 people in a thousand gave "beef" in response to
"mutton," and he at once said, "Ten per cent, that's not so very many."

It was impossible, for lack of time, to give E the complete list of 100
words usually given in this test. Using the 50 as a basis for calculation, 78
per cent of the responses are "common responses" in the Kent-Rosanoff
sense of the word, a number of common responses which children do not
usually show until after the age of 10 years. His "median of community" (a
measure not yet standardized for age levels) is 1.4 per cent.

E was given the Pintner form of the Knox Cube Test, and achieved 11 of
the 12 lines arranged by Pintner. The average record for the 16-year-old is
only 8 lines, and this is the highest level for which this test is yet
standardized.

The usual "tapping" test was given, tapping continuously with the right
hand, with the stylus, for one minute. The record was 239 taps only, which
is lower than the average 8-year-old record.

Given three minutes in which to make up words out of the letters
A-E-I-R-L-P, E made the following: a, rip, pie, lie, ale.

He was given thirty minutes in which to put together the pieces in the
Stenquist Construction Box II, and was not able to put any of the pieces

together. He began at one end of the box, examined each set of materials in
turn, tried to put them together in an indiscriminate way, put them back, and
went on to the next set of materials. He remarked, "I don't seem to be able
to put any of them together. It seems that all I can do is found out what each
of the things is for." He recognized that various sets of pieces were "a
mousetrap," "a lock," "a bell," etc., but made a zero score from the point of
view of construction. At the end of twenty minutes he gave up and turned
away from the materials.

It is interesting to compare the child's record in construction tests and his
comments regarding these tests, with his school record in industrial arts and
fine arts. E receives the best possible rating in industrial arts because he has
keen insight into processes and can explain how to construct a mechanism
or perform an operation clearly and minutely, though he is unable to carry
out his own instructions. For instance, he can tell exactly how to make a
boat, but he cannot make the boat himself. There is thus an interesting
distinction here between "constructive ability" and "manual dexterity."
Similarly, in fine arts E has many ideas for decorative schemes, but he is
unable to execute these ideas with his hands.

SOCIAL HABITS, TASTES, ETC.

E does not care to play, and would never do so unless forced. He is very
impersonal and agreeable in his attitude toward other children. His chief
diversion is reading and his favorite book at the age of 8 is Ivanhoe. He has
no hobbies at this age. In the spring of 1916, after careful and thoughtful
preparation, he was confirmed in the Episcopal church. His desire is to be a
clergyman and to become a missionary. When asked what he would
consider the most fun in life, he replied "To have statistics of my imaginary
country." This country is on Venus. It is inhabited by people and has a navy

like ours. E does not volunteer much information about his interests. All
these items had to be elicited by questioning.

LATER MENTAL MEASUREMENTS

In the spring of 1920 E took the Thorndike Mental Tests for Freshmen,
for entrance to Columbia College. An official letter from the Director of
Admissions at Columbia College states that, "In the Freshmen Tests he was
number two, out of 483 entering Columbia College." He was at this time 12
years 0 months old; the median age of his competitors was about 18 years.

ON September 29, 1921, E was examined by means of the Army Alpha
(Forms 5 and 6, Examiner L. S. H.) for the purpose of recording his mental
development. On Alpha, Form 5, he made a score of 194 points, finishing
several of the tests, without error, before the time limit. On Form 6, which
was taken subsequently, on the same afternoon, his score was 201 points;
and with these, too, some of the tests were finished in about two thirds of
the time allowed, without error. As the method of scoring Alpha does not
provide for a time bonus, this cannot be taken into account in the formal
score.

In April, 1927, at the request of the writer [[L. S. H.]] E took the tests of
the IER Intelligence Scale CAVD, Levels M-Q. This series of tests is
described in a recent publication. [9] Briefly it may be said here that this
instrument was chosen for the purpose in hand because it is the most
thorough method available for approximating in quantitative terms the
intelligence of the best among college graduates.

E's score on this test, at Levels M-Q, was 441 points. The score of the
average adult is not yet known, but the median score of college graduates in
professional schools of first-rate standards is 415 points, with an upper

quartile at 421 points. The best scores yet made by college graduates hover
about 440 points. [10]

Thus E rates plus 4 PE in relation to college graduates in first-rate
professional schools, ranking with the best minds revealed in any group so
far tested. These groups may each be expected to include some of the best
intellects existing. The comparative groups are, of course, older than E.
Some of them are composed of persons over 30 years of age on the average,
while all are past 20 years. E was 18 years 9 months of age on the date
when he took the test, in comparison with these groups. The number of
years lived in an intellectual environment, other things being equal,
probably affects results to some extent in favor of those who have lived
longer.

A score of 441 points on the IER Scale corresponds to a score of about
116 points on the more widely known Thorndike Tests for College
Freshmen. The top one per cent of college graduates make a score of 108 or
better on the latter test. E, therefore, surely rates at least in the top one
quarter of one per cent of college graduates. [[E, it will be noted, was at this
time at the average age of college freshmen.]]

At the age of 8 years E rated plus 11 PE in general intelligence (by
Stanford-Binet) as compared with the generality of 8-year-olds. It seems
likely that in these later measurements he rated at about the same status, in
relation to the generality of 18-year-olds, since his status is plus 4.3 PE in
relation to highly selected groups of college graduates.

E, at the age of 18, was probably mature—or nearly mature—
intellectually. However, in view of recent findings in regard to the growth
of intelligence among pupils in high schools, we cannot be sure that at this
age he has quite reached the maximum of possible accretions of power from
inner growth. [11]

LATER PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS

On September 29, 1921, E's physical measurements were as follows:

Standing height 64.2 inches
Sitting height 31.7 inches
Weight (summer clothing) 166 pounds

At this time his health continued to be excellent; in fact, he has never had
a serious illness of any kind.

E was measured again in October, 1926. By this time he had probably
achieved his maximum stature. His age was then 18 years 4 months. He was
still in excellent health, the only illness in the intervening five years being a
"light case" of scarlet fever. At this time the measurements were:

Standing height 6 feet 1 inch
Weight (stripped) 194.75 pounds

LATER SCHOLASTIC RECORDS

In the spring of 1917 E finished the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth
grade work at the Horace Mann School, New York City. He was then just 9
years old. Thereafter he attended the Friends Seminary, New York City, and
was graduated from the high school there in the spring of 1920, with an
excellent record and excess credits, at the age of 11 years 10 months.

By this time E had also passed the comprehensive examinations of the
College Entrance Board for Harvard College. The official communication
from Harvard authorities, making statement to this effect, has been seen by
the writer. E's maternal ancestors had attended Harvard (one of them having
graduated from there at the age of 18 years, according to records), but E
expressed a desire to attend Columbia and received permission to take the

mental tests with the applicants of 1920. He was admitted to Columbia
College with the freshmen of 1920, with 14 points of advance credit toward
a B.A. degree.

There is at hand an official statement of E's academic status on June 1,
1921, at the age of not quite 13 years. He had then 46 points of academic
credit toward a B.A. degree in Columbia College. During his freshman year
he made 32 points, maintaining consistently a grade of B, except in two
subjects. In physical education his rating was C, and in contemporary
civilization he made A the first semester. [12]

E attended the summer session of 1921 at Columbia, making five credit
points, all A grade, and in September, 1921, was a sophomore with many
points of credit in advance of minimum sophomore status. In addition to
having passed the comprehensive examinations for college entrance, he had
passed the examinations in trigonometry, solid geometry, chemistry, and
physics, and was at this time 13 years 3 months of age.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITES

E was of course a conspicuous freshman because of his extreme youth,
and he was hazed by the sophomores for refusing to wear a prescribed
necktie. One of the New York newspapers commented on his conduct under
hazing as follows:

He has demonstrated that he is nevertheless a regular fellow. He
did it first by bringing about a conflict in which he himself was the
much buffeted prize of battle, and then by glorying in his bruises
instead of making them the basis of a grievance. He is a good sport as
well as a good scholar, and being both he ought to go far.

E also participated in the class play, given in 1921, humorously
consenting to impersonate himself.

Manual work had no more charm for him at this date than it had when he
was 8 years old. That he can work with his hands and with materials when
motivated is suggested by an incident connected with the Liberty Bond
drive. His teacher relates that E wanted to pay for his own bond; so he made
jelly, working at it until very good jelly was made, and sold it for the
purpose specified.

In recent years E has developed a keen interest in detective stories.

TEACHERS' COMMENTS

Comments from E's teachers during the last five years up to this date
[[1921]] are indicative of their estimates:

The regular course of study has been so easy that he has, in several
subjects, notably English and history, accomplished a great amount of
voluntary work outside the course.

An excellent mixer with other students.

His weekly visits have been a pleasure and anticipation, and his
ability to understand without English the spoken Latin and the
authors as I have read them aloud to him has been extraordinary.

Has done very remarkable work in science, particularly in theory.

I predict for him a great scholastic record in college.

I consider it a privilege to have had something to do with
teaching him.

Possesses a power in Latin that few persons ten years his
senior can boast.

Has shown devotion to the best interests of the school.

SUMMARY UP TO 1921

In the five years which have elapsed since E was first tested mentally he
has shown no tendency to become mediocre. His gifts have not grown less;
he maintains his superior status in mental tests. As for achievement, he has
passed during this interval from the sixth grade of the elementary school,
half through the second year of college. Average children, the country over,
born when this child was born, and measuring 100 IQ when he measured
187 IQ, are now in the seventh grade of the elementary schools.

E still wishes to be a clergyman and to go abroad as a missionary. To this
end he interests himself especially in history, the languages, and
anthropology.

It is an interesting theoretical question as to how far human intelligence
may vary from the norm in the direction of superiority. The case of this
child has been placed on record largely because it seems probable that such
cases represent very nearly the extreme possible limit of variation in the
human species as it now exists.

At 8 years of age his IQ stood at plus 11 PE (1 PE being, according to
Terman, equal to 8 IQ [13] ). The probabilities are usually regarded as slight
that cases beyond 5 PE will occur. Perhaps the range in human intellect is
much greater than probabilities would lead us to guess.

Since the initial report of this child's qualities, readers have occasionally
asked with what meaning the word "prodigious" was used in reference to

him. It was used in the dictionary sense of "wonderful," "extraordinary."

In these reports there is no intention to approve or to disapprove the
educational regimen pursued. Who knows what should be the educational
treatment of a child standing at 11 PE in intellect? The sole intention is to
record the identification and development of a deviation so extreme that the
chances are theoretically almost nil that it would occur at all.

EVENTUAL SCHOLASTIC RECORDS

In June, 1923, E was graduated from Columbia College, with the degree
of B.A. He took general honors, Phi Beta Kappa honors, and the English
Seminary Prize, awarded by the Society for Promoting Religion and
Learning "for the best essay in sermon form on an assigned topic." He was
within eleven days of his fifteenth birthday when he was graduated. He was
elected to Phi Beta Kappa at the age of 14 years, probably the youngest
person ever elected to that organization.

E was graduated with excess credit (8 points) toward the M.A. degree.
This degree was awarded him in June, 1924, when he was not quite 16
years of age, more than enough work for it having been accomplished. He
was matriculated for the Ph.D. degree before he was 16 years old, and by
the age of 18 years 9 months had practically finished all the requirements
for that degree except completing the dissertation. The dissertation topic
had been then approved, in the field of history, and E was at work on the
material.

In October, 1926 (aged 18 years 4 months), E entered upon his
professional studies for the ministry in the theological seminary of his
choice. Since the age of 15 he had done special work at the seminary. He
had read prayers in one of the city churches as a lay reader since the age of

16 and was at this time a candidate for ordination as deacon, but this
ordination could not take place before the twenty-first birthday.

In the initial report of E it will be found that he had decided before he
was 5 years old to be clergyman. It now appeared that his professional
course toward that end would be completed in 1929.

FIG. 12. A MEMORANDUM FROM E.

Professional course will be finished in 1929.

The subject of the thesis on which I am now working, is definitely
approved and published (decided June, 1925); the other requirements
are practically finished.

__Apollonius, [Diocetes?] of Egypt__ (3rd century B.C. Egyptian
history, 1923)

Worked on order of Pliny's letters (1924-25)

At present reading Greek papyri.

Making my [illegible] in Modern European History, worked on
Irish constitutional history (1924-1925)

RESEARCHES OF E

When E was 10 years old he made an original contribution in connection
with the Pentateuch, and was made a member of The Oriental Society of
Research in Jerusalem.

At 13 years of age E was first admitted to the Bodleian Library, at
Oxford, for purposes of research.

In 1923 E presented his M.A. essay—"Appolonius, Diocetes of
Egypt"—which pertains to Egyptian history of the third century
B.C. and is on file in the Library of Columbia University.

E has also done research (1924-1925) on the order of Pliny's letters; on
Irish constitutional history (1924-1925); and was in 1926 and 1927 reading
Greek papyri.

The subject of his dissertation to be submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements of the Ph.D. was reported as "Feudal Estates in Byzantine
Egypt." [14]

SUMMARY OF DEVELOPMENT

A summary of E's development over the period from 1916 to 1927, given
in the table [below], shows clearly that the superior magnitudes, both of
mental caliber and of physical size, so markedly present at the age of 8
years, are maintained as growth terminates.

CHILD E NORMS FOR PRIVATE
SCHOOLS [15]
Born June 17, 1908, as
shown by birth certificate
and hospital records.

November 4, 1916
Height 54.3 inches 49.5 inches
Weight 89.3 pounds 54.2 pounds
Intellect IQ 187 (S-B) IQ 100 (S-B)
Scholastic status 6th grade, 3d grade,
elementary elementary

September 29, 1921
Height 64.2 inches 58.2 inches
Weight 166.0 pounds 89.5 pounds
Intellect 194 points, Army 47 points,
Alpha, Form 5 Alpha Army

Scholastic 4th semester, 8th grade,
status college elementary
school

October 26, 1926
Height 73 inches 67 inches
Weight 194.7 pounds 150 pounds

April 1, 1927
Intellect 441 points, IER Not yet known
Tests
Scholastic status B.A. 1923 Has left
M.A. 1924 school to
Ph.D. candidate go to work
Also finishing
first year in
Theological
Seminary

EDITOR'S SUPPLEMENT

Although no follow-up inquiry has been made since the year 1927, a few
items gleaned from clippings found in the author's files are relevant. These
are newspaper accounts, chiefly in connection with E's being ordained as
deacon, and later elevated to the Protestant Episcopal priesthood. These
articles recite that E—

Received his B.A. at the age of 15 years.

Received his M.A. degree the following year.

Was ordained deacon on December 21, 1929, at the age of 21.

Received his Ph.D. the following year at the age of 22.

Also received the degree Bachelor of Sacred Theology, in June, 1929.

Was elevated to the priesthood in the Protestant Episcopal Church at the
age of 24 (June 19, 1932) at a special ordination service at the Cathedral of
St. John the Divine, New York City.

As a graduate student too young for the priesthood, he had held a
fellowship in the General Theological Seminary, teaching Greek and
history.

There is also an announcement of his marriage in September, 1939.

See also Editor's Note on publications, foot[note 14].

[1] See Preface, [paragraphs 2-5.]

[2] EDITOR'S NOTE. This child was observed by Leta S. Hollingworth
over a period of nearly a quarter century. She published three accounts of
his development, and the present chapter is in the main a composite of these
three reports, to which are added such supplementary items as are available.
The articles referred to are as follows:

Garrison, Burke, and Hollingworth. "The Psychology of a Prodigious
Child." Journal of Applied Psychology (June, 1917).

Hollingworth, Garrison, and Burke. "Subsequent History of E———
Five Years after the Initial Report." Journal of Applied
Psychology (June, 1922).

Hollingworth, Leta S. "Subsequent History of E——— Ten Years after
the Initial Report." Journal of Applied Psychology (October, 1927).

[3] Bartlett, J. G. "The Belcher Families in New England." New England
History and General Register, Vol. 60, pages 125-136, 243-256, 358-364.

Belcher, Jonathan. "The Belcher Papers." Collection of the
Massachusetts Historical Society, Vols. 6 and 7.

Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, Vol. 1 (1887).
(Jonathan Belcher.)

[4] Drowne, Henry R. "Family Record of Solomon Drowne." New York
Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 5, No. 35, pages 171-172.
New York; 1904.

Drowne, Henry T. Genealogy of the Family of Solomon Drowne, M. D.,
of Providence, Rhode Island, with Notice of His Ancestors; 1646-1879.
Providence Press Company, Providence, Rhode Island; 1879.

[5] Developmental history and history of personal health were elicited
from the mother, who, being a physician, is especially competent to speak
on these points. The family history and the facts concerning his extra-school
linguistic achievements were also given by the mother.

[6] Private tutors grade E as 1 in mathematics.

[7] In industrial arts credit is given for knowing industrial processes, as
well as for ability to carry out the processes.

[8] In fine arts credit is given for manual dexterity only.

[9] Thorndike, E. L. The Measurement of Intelligence. Bureau of
Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York; 1927.

[10] I am indebted to Dr. Ella Woodyard and to Professor Ralph B.
Spence of Teachers College, Columbia University, for this information.

[11] Thorndike, E. L. "On the Improvement of Intelligence Scores from
Fourteen to Eighteen." Journal of Educational Psychology (1923).

[12] It is worth saying that in contemporary civilization the final
examination had been objectively standardized by Dr. B. D. Wood, expert in
educational measurement, and did not depend on the estimate of instructors.
"E's score on the objective examinations of both terms was in the highest
tenth of the highest percentile" (B. D. W.). The instructor's estimate, as well
as the result of the objective examination, enters into the term grade and,
indicated above, in this course; so that the final grade in the second
semester is but B.

[13] See note [1, preface].

[14] EDITOR'S NOTE. This dissertation was published in 1931 by the
Columbia University Press under the title Large Estates of Byzantine Egypt.

Among later publications, of which there is record in the files, are:

"National Elements in the Career of St. Athanasius," Church
History, pages 3-11 (December, 1933).

"Dura—An Ancient City of the East," Natural History (The
Journal of the American Museum of Natural History), Vol. XXXIV,
No. 8, pages 685-701 (December, 1934).

Militant in Earth. Pages 255. Oxford University Press, New York; 1940.
A book which "shows how Christianity has presented a spiritual and social
front against opposing phases of civilization, whatever they may have been
during 2000 years."

[15] Norms for height, weight, and scholastic status are taken from B. T.
Baldwin, as established at Horace Mann School, Francis Parker School, and
the elementary and high schools of the University of Chicago.

CHAPTER NINE CHILD F

Child F was a boy whose ability was identified as the result of a mental
survey made with group tests in P.S. 14, Manhattan. [1] His score in these
tests was unbelievable, and he was summoned for testing with the idea that
he must have been coached. An individual Stanford-Binet test, however,
showed a phenomenal record similar to all other tests given him, including
an Army Alpha. He was referred to a Special Opportunity Class at that time
being organized in P.S. 165, Manhattan.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Although detailed study of F's ancestry is available, a brief summary of
the facts appears to be all that is here needed, for the ancestry throws little
light on the boy's extraordinary mental ability.

F's paternal grandfather was of Scottish parentage, born in Canada. He
was a reasonably successful worker in the printing trade, appears to have
been well balanced and socially adjusted, and showed no exceptional traits.
He had little education and no special interests. He died of apoplexy at 51
years of age.

F's paternal grandmother, born in Albany, New York, had a public school
education (probably). She is still living [[1924]], clerking in a store after her

husband's death. She appears to have no special interests outside her home
life; is said to be quick and nervous, easily excited, and prone to worry.

F's maternal grandfather was born in New York State, of German
parentage. He is still alive [[1924]], at the age of 70, and is very active. His
education was limited, but he is an excellent reader and is well informed.
He is fond of music, is an active churchman and a choir leader. He is said to
be quick-tempered, impulsive, and affectionate. He mixes well with people,
and has some leadership qualities. He has always worked as a paper hanger
and painter, his business being on a small scale.

F's maternal grandmother was born in New York State; the nationality of
her parents is not recorded. She had a public school education. Her interests
are limited to home and Red Cross activities. She is friendly and sociable,
impulsive, affectionate in disposition, and has a keen sense of humor.

F has several uncles and aunts, none of whom presents any qualities of
striking interest. All appear to be normally effective and well adjusted,
competent on a small-town scale, enjoying their homes, and taking part in
local activities and organizations.

F has one brother, younger than himself, born April 2, 1920. He was
given a Stanford-Binet examination, May 13, 1924, by Leta S.
Hollingworth, being then 4 years 1 month of age. His Mental Age was 6-0,
yielding an IQ of 147. This brother has strong musical inclinations, was a
choir boy, and subsequently took instruction in singing.

Father. The father of Child F was born in Albany, New York. He had a
high school education and business college training. He has always done
clerical and office work, especially bookkeeping. He is fond of athletics,
reads only newspapers and magazines, is quick, alert, and active, has an
even temperament, is seldom worried. He has no interest in clubs or

organized activities. Seems to take an interest in his children. (In later years
the father lost the balance and evenness of temperament here reported and
became unemployed much of the time. He died in March, 1935, at the age
of 41, "apparently accidentally drowned.")

Mother. The mother of F went to high school for two years and earned a
teacher's certificate. She taught two years in rural schools but disliked this
work and had no patience with children. She liked music, however, and
studied piano and voice for a short time, but now pays little attention to it.
She has always regretted going to high school, believing that if she had
devoted that time to music, she might have had some success in it. Her
interests are limited to home affairs. She says she has few friends and does
not mix well with people. She appears calm and does not worry, is sensible
in her dealings with her children, takes no part in organized activities, but
always sends the children to Sunday School. She is a very good home
manager, and runs things effectively on small resources.

PRESCHOOL HISTORY

F was born in upper New York State, November 14, 1914. The period of
gestation was of normal length; at birth he weighed according to the father
9 pounds, according to the mother 11.5 pounds. No records of early infancy
were kept, so that many such details are given from memory, either by the
father or by the mother. The child was the mother's first-born. She reports
that much of the infant's weight at birth was due to his enormous head,
which necessitated instrument birth. Birth was difficult, the mother was
severely injured, and the child's head "was so distorted from the instruments
that it was weeks before it could be molded into normal shape."

F was bottle fed from birth to one year. His first teeth appeared at about
10 months. He talked (short sentences) at about 12 months, learned to walk
alone (several steps) at 14 months, learned to read at between 4 and 5 years

of age. His childhood illnesses were measles, whooping cough, chicken
pox, and scarlet fever, all between 6 and 8 years of age. Cried little as a
baby. His mother says "he was a lovely baby to take care of." No sensory
defects or signs of physical weakness. Adenoids were present, to be
removed shortly after the initial interview in 1924 (age 10 years). He sleeps
soundly.

EARLY SCHOOL HISTORY

F started school at the age of 5 years 10 months, in a two-room rural
school in upstate New York in the town where he was born. He could
already read well at that time; it was first noticed that he could read when
he was "around 5 years of age." Riding in streetcars, he would take words
apart and put them together again. He had learned the letters before his third
year.

At school he was received in the first grade. It was soon found that he
was memorizing his reader and the teacher gave him a more advanced
book. This school was a practically ungraded one; the first four grades were
together in one room, and grades five to eight were in the other room. The
teacher did not know what to do with F; so he was allowed to go into the
second room and listen, in an orderly manner, to the fifth to eighth grades.

When he entered New York City schools at the age of 7 years 10 months,
the rural teacher gave F a transfer for the fifth grade. The mother presented
the letter of transfer to the Manhattan principal, who pooh-poohed the idea
that the boy could belong in the fifth grade at that age. He refused to accept
the recommendation from the ungraded school and placed F in the third or
fourth grade. After the first week the boy's teacher reported that he did not
belong in that grade. When the principal insisted that F could not go into the
fifth grade, the boy himself spoke up and said if they would give him an
examination they would see that he could do it. The principal ordered him

to keep still and not to talk so much. He was, however, eventually placed in
the fifth grade in the year in which his eighth birthday occurred. At the end
of that year he was promoted to Grade 6A, then into 6B, and he was shortly
after received into the Special Opportunity Class at P.S. 165.

He had always been fond of school up to this time, although he later
developed a distaste for it and became a chronic truant. He spent much of
his time helping the teachers, carrying books, and running errands, in order
to keep occupied. When his mother requested his transfer to the Special
Opportunity Class, the principal of the school he was attending, at first
refused, saying that he liked to have bright pupils in his classes too. After
futilely arguing for half an hour, the mother finally threatened to move to
another part of town, thus forcing a transfer, whereupon the principal
relented and gave the transfer. F said he liked the new school because he
was allowed there to say what he thought.

In his early school years he once won a prize, which was to be a book.
Several books, supposedly of interest to boys, were offered him from which
to choose. He looked them over and then said if it made no difference to the
teacher, he would rather have a dictionary instead. This volume was given
him, and it was used constantly thereafter.

EARLY TEST SCORES

In March, 1924, at the age of 9 years 4 months, F was given a mental
test, using Army Alpha, by L. M. Potter. He was then in Grade 6B, P.S. 14,
Manhattan. His score was recorded as 124 points. But there is also a copy
of an Army Alpha Test, Form 7, given F in the fall of 1924 upon his
entrance to P.S. 165, on which the score is 163 points.

On April 14, 1924, at the age of 9 years 5 months, F was given a
Stanford-Binet test by M. V. Cobb, in P.S. 165, Manhattan. His Mental Age

shown at that time was 15-2, and an IQ of 162 was reported. Strength of
grip measures were also recorded as of May 15, 1924. These were made by
Leta S. Hollingworth, three trials for each hand. The records were (median
of three), right, 10.5; left, 9.

On April 22, 1925, at the age of 10 years 5 months, F was given a
Stanford-Binet examination by Leta S. Hollingworth as a demonstration
before a class of 60 adults. His Mental Age was 19-0, and the IQ is recorded
as "over 182, unmeasured by the scale."

On May 8, 1926, at the age of 11 years 6 months, F was again tested with
the Stanford-Binet [[by L. S. H.]]. He passed at this time all the Superior
Adult tests and was thus unmeasured. He was at this time in his first year of
senior high school.

January 7, 1933, at the age of 18-2, while a college freshman, his score
on Army Alpha, Form 8, was 198 points.

Music tests. F showed no active musical interests but became very fond
of listening to good music, being particularly fond of string quartets. As was
the case in every field to which his interests turned, he quickly acquired a
fund of information about it which he took pleasure in exhibiting.

F was given the Seashore Music Tests four times [[by L. S. H.]] over a
period of 11 years. Perhaps the record of these successive examinations will
have some intrinsic interest, and such a tabulation is here provided.

SEASHORE TESTS OF MUSICAL TALENT SCORE
(Per Cent Correct)

MAY 7, DECEMBER JUNE JUNE
1924 23, 1924; 18, 1925; 14, 1935;

9 YEARS 10 YEARS, 10 YEARS 20 YEARS
6 MONTHS 1 MONTH 7 MONTHS 7 MONTHS

Pitch 79 82 78 81
Intensity 76 — 94 94
Time 71 62 — 70
Tonal memory 80 — 88 98
Consonance 64 — 74 76
Rhythm 72 — 88 86

Character rating. After six months' acquaintance, on September 14,
1924, when F was about 10 years old, he was rated by Leta S. Hollingworth
for various estimated traits on a 7-point rating scale as follows:

Extraordinarily good (Grade 1) Prudence and foresight, will power
and perseverance, appreciation of beauty, sense of humor,
sensitiveness to approval or disapproval, desire to excel, freedom
from vanity and egotism, conscientiousness, desire to know,
originality, common sense, general intelligence.

Decidedly superior (Grade 2)
Self-confidence, musical appreciation, leadership, popularity
with other children, sympathy and tenderness, truthfulness.

Rather superior (Grade 3)
Cheerfulness and optimism, permanency of moods, generosity
and unselfishness, mechanical ingenuity.

Average (Grade 4)
Health, amount of physical energy.

Rather weak (Grade 5)
Fondness for large groups.

Although there is no formal record of the fact, it is known that fifteen
years later this rater would have made different judgments on most of these
traits not relating to strictly cognitive characteristics. Other judges
acquainted with F rather unanimously disagreed with the high ratings here
accorded such traits as prudence and forethought, will power and
perseverance, sensitiveness to approval or disapproval, freedom from vanity
or egotism, common sense, leadership, popularity, sympathy and
tenderness, truthfulness, generosity and unselfishness, and these ratings are
as a matter of fact inconsistent with F's subsequent history.

HOME RATING

On May 6, 1924, the home of F was visited by a social worker trained in
the use of the Whittier Scale for Home Rating. The rating was reported as
21, with a possible score of 25. Neighborhood was average, in a fair section
of New York City. Details were as follows:

Necessities. Father bookkeeper with steady, small salary, adequate
only for necessities. Food and clothing of good quality, conditions
neat and clean but plain. Heat, light, sleeping facilities fair. Grade 4.

Neatness. Sanitary conditions good; rooms well kept and clean;
apartment rear, second floor, little view. Considering the equipment,
household run in an efficient manner. Grade 4.

Size. Four small rooms and bath for two adults and two children.
Conditions crowded. Grade 4.

Parental condition. Parents socially adaptable; there appears to be
harmony in home; parents have too few outside interests. Mother
practically always at home; father at home evenings. Grade 5.

Parental supervision. Parents keenly interested in development of
children. Their own education is limited, which is a handicap in
directing and educating the children. Little need of discipline in
home, though mother is lax about carrying out threats. Parental
example good. Grade 4.

MISCELLANEOUS CHARACTERISTICS

Play interests. F preferred playmates of his own age and sex. He would
spend hours at a time "using marbles for soldiers and working out military
formations." Being with older children in school, he was somewhat
backward in joining in their outdoor games.

Reading interests. From 6 to 10 years of age F read a great variety of
books, "particularly geography and history" and "averaging probably 20
hours weekly." He was especially interested in dictionaries and
encyclopedias; would always look up new words in detail. Most of his
leisure time was preferably spent in reading.

LATER EDUCATIONAL CAREER

As already recorded, F was transferred in 1924, at the age of 10 years, to
the Special Opportunity Class in P.S. 165, Manhattan, then being organized
for experimental purposes connected with the education of children of rare
intelligence. He graduated from this class into senior high school. He and
another boy (Child C, Chapter 6) led this highly selected group of children
in achievement tests. As he was at this time, Leta S. Hollingworth wrote of
him:

I have never met with a more interesting child than he was, and the
same creativeness and inexorable logic which characterized him then
have always continued.

He entered, after a brief experience in a progressive private school, a
public high school in New York City, in 1925. His high school career was a
checkered one, typical in some respects of his later educational history. For
one thing, he was a constant truant, and he refused to do the required work
in physical education. He had always been averse to physical activity and
loathed manual work to the end of his career. He said that the gymnasium
work always left him feeling "worse," gave him colds, and was of no use to
him. Perhaps his subsequent medical history throws some light on the
reasons for these observations.

His truant hours were spent partly in the public library, where he read
continuously in technical volumes in a great variety of fields and
accumulated an amazing fund of general information and esoteric lore. Law,
theology, history, science, and literature were some of his favorite fields.

When not in the library, he would usually be at a chess club to which he
had been granted access and where he had learned the game. He rapidly
developed into an expert chess and bridge player, and in Eastern chess
tournaments is said to have achieved the ranking of seventh in the national
list. He always managed to appear at high school to take the necessary
examinations, and passed all his subjects with good standing and even with
phenomenal records. But his inexplicable truancy and his refusal to do the
required work in physical education baffled the educational authorities.
They finally refused to graduate him with his class— although his record
was among the best—until he had redeemed himself by doing the
gymnasium work in a fifth year. In 1930 he did this, and also carried some
additional courses and thus was allowed to finish high school, requiring

longer than the conventional period for this because of his refusal to
accommodate his own interests and ideas to the regular routine.

In spite of irregular attendance, F took some part in high school
activities. His main activities, of the extracurricular sort, were chess club,
chess team, poetry club, debating society, mathematics club, board of
publications, program committee. He was executive member of the
debating society and of the law society, vice president of the poster club,
and two or three times section president. His record, of course, shows no
athletic history and no physical activities engaged in.

For the four years following 1930 F continued to frequent the public
library, the chess club, and the bridge games. At one time a patron friend
made it financially possible for him to enter college at the College of the
City of New York. He quit before the end of the first term, again because he
hated the required gymnasium work and said he always got a cold and felt
bad after such exercise. Although he was again and again urged by people
who knew his ability not to waste it at chess and bridge, he showed no
apparent interest in going on with college. He replied that he could always
make a living some way or other. Uncongenial home circumstances and the
general unemployment situation prevailing at the time perhaps heightened
this indisposition and lack of ambition. While other boys who had been in
the same grade school and high school classes with him were finding part-
time employment and working their way through college, F was contented
with his chess games, with an occasional bit of money won at cards, and
with his hours in the public library.

In 1934 he was asked to take the CAVD tests by the Institute of
Educational Research at Teachers College, Columbia University, to help
determine the highest scores to be expected on this scale. He and another
boy, both selected because of their known phenomenal range of information

and intellectual alertness, "went through the ceiling" on this scale, thus
again confirming the earlier records of his mental level so far as intelligence
was concerned. On the same occasion he was given the Coöperative
General Culture Test, by Dr. Lorge. In this his score exceeded that of
superior college graduates.

In September, 1934, F was again persuaded, through financial assistance
practically forced upon him, and after much urging and long discussion, to
try college. He enrolled in Columbia College, once more a freshman. He
carried a heavy program, tried to do certain outside jobs as assistant
provided for him, and probably overworked. He had declined one patron's
offer to give him a stipulated sum of money for the year if he would abstain
from chess for that period. In fact, only vigorous prodding led him to go to
college at all at this time, even with the way opened for him.

The outcome appeared to be another fiasco. In January, as the
examination period drew near, he became ill, developed pneumonia, and for
the second time withdrew from college before completing a term of work.
In this instance his illness appeared to justify the act.

In the autumn of 1935, having been nursed back to reasonable health
through patrons interested in his case, he was urged by them to make a fresh
start and to try the University of Chicago plan, under which students could
progress as rapidly as they were able to satisfy the requirements through
comprehensive examinations. He entered the University of Chicago that
fall, for the third time a college freshman, agreeing to do this without any
great enthusiasm of his own but as part of what was called an "educational
experiment."

Of his record on entrance the following comment was made by the chief
examiner:

The examiners have called my attention to a freak case in our
records for the incoming students. . . . His performance seems almost
unbelievable. On the freshman classification tests his performance
was as follows: first in the vocabulary test; first in the reading test;
second in the Intelligence Test of the American Council; third in the
English placement test; third in the physical science placement test . .
. in the freshman class of about 750 students.

In addition, he also took four Comprehensives with the following
grades: Biological Science, A; Humanities, B; Social Sciences, A;
Physical Sciences, D.

The year at Chicago was not without episode. F was held up by two
gunmen, engineered the capture of one of these, and was advised to
disappear for a time during the excitement. Impetuously, and without
resources except the provisions made by his sponsor for his own
subsistence, he married a young Jewish girl. But the "Chicago Plan" kept its
word, and by the end of the year F had passed all the Comprehensives
required to give him his B.A. degree. In doing this he acquired a good deal
of newspaper and popular magazine notoriety, and his photograph, and that
of his young wife, were often reproduced in the public prints.

Although he fancied he would like to be a lawyer, F finally decided to go
in for graduate work. Some uncertainties prevailed in connection with his
acceptance by some of the graduate schools because, although he had been
three times a college freshman (a point never brought out in the newspaper
accounts of his educational progress), he had completed but one year of
college residence.

Eventually he was awarded a graduate fellowship in Teachers College,
Columbia University, for study toward the Ph.D. degree in education, and
he completed a year of work there, accomplishing, in addition to the class

work, a minor experimental study, a report of which was subsequently
published. For the following year he was appointed Assistant in Psychology
at Barnard College. At the last moment, just before the beginning of the
new term, he decided to shift to law, which was one of his boyish
ambitions. He was enabled to return to Chicago for this purpose.

Chess, bridge, and racing continued to intrude themselves into his
activities, although he was pledged to abstain from them. His marital affairs
did not run smoothly; contrary to his promises he incurred additional
indebtedness; but he continued to carry on his law studies with passable
records. Then he suddenly became seriously ill and was discovered to have
an inoperable abdominal cancer. Again his educational career was
interrupted and he returned to New York for care and treatment. Before
another year was over, in December, 1938, he died of this affliction, at the
age of 24 years.

In spite of a brilliant mental endowment, early discovery, much
educational encouragement, and material assistance, a Bachelor's degree
and a few chess prizes and bridge victories represent F's final achievement.
The chief causes of this relative failure to make the most of his
potentialities appeared externally in the form of character traits. His parents
said of him that it was never necessary to stimulate his desire to learn; they
also reported him to be "willful and head-strong." These unpropitious traits
were as a matter of fact apparent in his early school days. They became
magnified as he was given freer opportunity for self-expression and activity.
We know so little about the identification and genesis of character traits that
the case makes little or no contribution to our understanding in this
direction. It is not known how early the physical disability that finally
terminated the picture had been operating; it may even have been at the
bottom of what appeared socially as a personality defect.

[1] This chapter was written by H. L. H.

CHAPTER TEN CHILD G

Child G is a boy, born in Brooklyn, New York, May 26, 1923. Records of
his test scores that are available date from 1930, at which time he was 6
years 6 months old. A record of his development has been kept by his
parents, who take an unusual interest in educational problems. They have
freely and intelligently coöperated in the frequent objective examination of
G, and have consulted with teachers concerning problems of adjustment and
educational development.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

G is of Hebrew parentage, and all four of his grandparents attended
Hebrew school. His paternal grandfather was a tailor, his maternal
grandfather an installment dealer. G's father is a lawyer; in an Army Alpha
test he made a score of 178 points. His mother, before her marriage, was a
typist and stenographer. There are among the relatives a doctor, a lawyer, a
rabbi, a college professor. A cousin stood highest in a city-wide
achievement test given to public school pupils in New York City. His only
brother, younger than he and the only sibling, has an IQ of 150-155 (see
[below, [G'S BROTHER'S RECORD]).

EDUCATIONAL HISTORY

In January, 1934, Edna W. McElwee published a preliminary account of
G's school achievement up to that time. [1] A few months later G's father
published an account of the boy's reading interests. [2] Data recorded in
these two reports have been made use of in the present chapter. [3]

G learned to read before going to school, but at this time his parents did
not realize that he was exceptional. After a term in kindergarten he was
promoted to Grade 1A, after a few weeks to 1B, and then to 2A. At the end
of the term he was placed in 3A. Then he was doubly promoted each term
for a time, entering the 6A grade at the age of 8 years 6 months. The
principal reported:

He absorbed information easily and quickly and, regardless of the
grade in which he was placed or the length of time he had been in the
grade, his work and his ratings were always much beyond those of his
classmates.

During these early years G preferred being alone with his books to
playing with other children. His parents intelligently sought advice on the
correction of this and encouraged him, successfully, to play with other
children, first with those younger than he, and then with children of his own
age. He made a ready adaptation, and in time had a group of boys with
whom he played and who were sometimes invited by his father to
accompany them on Saturday afternoon excursions. He developed an
interest in all sorts of ball games and became a good swimmer.

G read widely, and his parents from the beginning exercised some
supervision over the character of the books provided for him, and they read
to him at bedtime, about an hour daily. There were included in his reading
not only a large selection of children's books and stories but also books of
history, mythology, biography, poetry, science and art.

The Saturday excursions to places of interest were a regular institution,
and these interests were readily tied to G's reading. Among the places thus
visited were the zoo, botanical gardens, aquarium, navy yard, fleet, airport,
museums, art galleries, Hall of Fame, numerous factories and industrial
plants, fire department, public utilities, observatories. Plays and concerts
were attended, and good taste in music was encouraged. Educational use
was made of radio programs. G learned to play the violin and joined the
school orchestra. At his own request he was given private instruction in
Hebrew and made good progress.

At an early age—7 or 8 years—G became interested in chemistry, and
was provided with a chemical outfit for his own use. With this he busied
himself a great deal, and he kept his classmates provided with ink of his
own manufacture. He has collected both stamps and coins and also Popular
Science magazines.

There is in the files a large collection of his remarks in childhood,
recorded by his parents. They show early thoughtfulness, curiosity, and
judicious discrimination.

Of G's later educational experience Miss McElwee wrote as follows: "At
eight and a half years of age he was transferred to P.S. 208, Brooklyn,
where he entered the 6A group of the Individual Progress class, which had
been organized for superior children. The method of instruction had been
modified and the course of study enriched to meet the needs of the pupils. .
. . Tests of educational achievement given in October, 1931, soon after he
entered the class, showed that his grade placement was 7.4 and his
achievement quotient 86. Similar tests given in May, 1932, indicated that
his grade placement was then 10.3 and his achievement quotient 97. In
those seven months he had completed three years of work. . . . By January,
1933, he had gained another year and a half, and was maintaining his

achievement quotient. In other words, at 9 years of age he was doing as
well as a junior in high school."

His father wrote to the school at this time:

We are happy to tell you that G is full of his school work and is
very contented with the present curriculum. Inasmuch as he has
always complained until this term of lack of work at school and
always considered his school work a necessary evil, we feel very
grateful to you for his increased interest and happiness.

EARLY MENTAL TESTS

The first recorded measurement of G's mental ability is found in a report
from the Educational Clinic of the College of the City of New York, where
he had been taken by his father for a private examination. The report is
made by Elise S. Mustor, Assistant Director, as of January, 1930. G was
then 6 years 7 months old. His Mental Age was found to be 10-9, and his IQ
is reported as 163. This report also gives numerous other details which may
be summarized in the following tabulation.

REPORT OF G, JANUARY, 1930

Chronological Age 6-7
Mental Age 10-9
Intelligence Quotient 163
Height (with shoes) 48.5 inches
(About 3 inches above the
median for his age)
Height 59 pounds
(About 5 pounds above the
median for his height)

Reading comprehension Median of 5th Grade
Arithmetic reasoning Median of 4B Grade
Arithmetic fundamentals Median of 3A Grade
Perception of form and physi- Ranges from 7th- to
cal relationships 12th-year level
Auditory rote memory 10-year level
Vocabulary 10-year level

Physical condition: Well nourished. Tonsils and adenoids removed.
Breathing unobstructed. Teeth good. No defects of heart, lungs, acuity
of vision or hearing.

At the clinic his social responses were good. He was well poised
and unassuming; showed very fine effort and application.

LATER TEST RECORDS

1931. G was given a Stanford-Binet examination by Leta S.
Hollingworth in May, 1931, within a few days of his eighth birthday. He
achieved an IQ of 192. The following comment is included in the record:

The increase over the IQ obtained at the age of 6 is not unusual for
a very young, very bright child, although it would be very unusual for
an average child. I shall be glad to test G again when he is about 12
years old, and when he is 16 years old. Also his little brother.

1933. On April 5, 1933, at the age of 9 years 10 months, G was again
tested by Leta S. Hollingworth, perhaps as a class demonstration. He was
then in Grade 7B and his IQ is recorded as 176 plus. The following
comment is made:

Children of G's present age can no longer be reliably measured in
terms of IQ by any existing test if they have previously scored above
185 IQ. . . . The IQ of 176 plus merely informs us that the test has
begun to "run down" in his case. . . . Next time we test him we shall
have to use a test scoring in points only, which will place him on the
centile scale for adults. . . . His physical measurements correspond
closely to the norms for boys of about 11 years.

1934. There is in the files a Stanford-Binet record of G taken by Leta s.
Hollingworth, March 19, 1934. His age was then 10 years 10 months and he
was in Grade 8B in P.S. 208, Brooklyn. He passed without error all the tests
in the scale (Average Adult and Superior Adult).

Miscellaneous records. In the McElwee report already cited the following
scores are recorded, on a variety of scales, covering a two-year period
(1931-1933).

DATE TEST AGE SCORE

May 5, 1931 Stanford-Binet 8-0 192

Oct. 7, 1931 Porteus Maze 8-5 12 years
Healy Picture Completion 13 years
Porteus Form and Assemblying 8 years
Thorndike-McCall Reading: Form B 6B Grade
Stanford Achievement Test: Form A,
Arithmetic Computation 8A Grade
Trabue Language Completion, Alpha 15-10 years

May 18, 1932 Elementary Reading, Los Angeles,
Form 3 9-0 12A Grade
Arithmetic Fundamentals, Los

Angeles, Form 4 9A Grade
Woody-McCall Spelling, List 5 9B Grade
Trabue Language Completion, Beta 16-4 years

Jan. 6, 1933 New Stanford Achievement Test
Form V 9-8 18 years

Apr. 12, 1933 Powers General Science Test: Form A (25 per cent of
first-year high school pupils exceed this score 9-11 62 points at end of
one year instruction in general science.)

Apr. 26, 1933 Kent-Rosanoff Association Test 9-11 9 Individual
Reactions Woody-Cady Questionnaire indicates supersensitiveness—
thinks people look at him, make remarks about him, find too much
fault with him, etc.

The New Stanford Achievement Test score of 18 years of Educational
Age, achieved at the Chronological Age of 9 years 8 months, broken down
into detailed sections, was as follows:

EDUCATIONAL AGE
Paragraph Meaning 17-8
Word Meaning 18-8
Dictation 16-0
Language Usage 17-2
Literature 16-8
History and Civics 19-2
Geography 20-4
Physiology and Hygiene 18-5
Arithmetic Reasoning 19-2
Aritmentic Computation 17-8

Average 17 years 11 months

The examiner remarks: "Using the IQ of 192, his Mental Age would now
be 18 years 5 months. This would give him an Achievement Quotient of
97.3 per cent."

TRAITS OF CHARACTER

At the age of 10 years G was described by his school supervisor and
parents as prudent and self-reliant, with will power, desire for knowledge,
wish to excel, and originality. He was conscientious, truthful, cheerful,
sympathetic, and had a sense of humor. He was modest about himself and
his achievements, did not like bragging, and reproved his younger brother
for such conduct. At this time he wore glasses for an error of refraction, had
"a slight speech impediment and a nervous mannerism." He always wanted
to do things as well as possible. He set out to improve his poor penmanship
by learning manuscript writing. He was full of questions about scientific
aspects of the things and processes he saw about him. He had a reliable and
alert memory, even for incidental observations.

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS

The physical measurements referred to in the 1933 mental test
["LATER TEST RECORDS, 1933"] are as follows:

G NORMS

Standing height (in
stocking feet) 53.8 inches 53.6
Sitting height 27.7 inches
Weight (ordinary indoor
clothing except coat) 78 pounds 66.9

Right grip 14, 11, 10 kg.
Left grip 9, 9, 9 kg.

On August 2, 1937, there is a record of height and weight at the age of 14
years 2 months, as follows:

G NORMS

Height (stocking feet) 63.7 inches 61.0
Sitting height 33 inches
Weight (no coat or shoes) 121.5 pounds 94.9

HIGH SCHOOL RECORD

By February, 1937, G was finishing his sixth term in Erasmus Hall High
School, Brooklyn. In the first five terms his work had averaged 90-95.
Regents' marks to that date were:

French, two years 95
Plane Geometry 100
Intermediate Algebra 98
European History 91

In June of 1935 he had won first prize in "an algebra contest for the
entire grade of his school." During the first four terms he had ranked fifth in
scholarship and in the fifth term he tied for second place. A letter from his
father records that:

In June, 1934, he scored 174 on the Terman Group Intelligence test
which was given to 27,573 boys and girls, graduates of the
elementary schools, public and parochial, who applied for admission
to the high schools in New York City, this score being the highest
reached, and was referred to, though of course not by name, in John

L. Tildsley's "The Mounting Waste of the American Secondary
School," at page 3 thereof.

A letter from G dated July 5, 1938, records his graduation from high
school at the age of 15 years. He there says:

At present my interest lies along abstract lines; mathematics,
chemistry, and physics are my favorite subjects. The occupation I
would like most to enter when my schooling shall be finished would
be mathematics. However, I see no chance for a job in this field for
research work as there is in, say, chemistry. Hence I feel uncertain as
to whether I shall make mathematics my life work or whether I
should specialize in one field or another of chemistry, my second
love.

There is a copy of the principal's statement "In Re Qualifications of G,
Candidate for Scholarship," at the close of his high school career. It is worth
quoting here as a record of the judged characteristics of this 15-year-old boy
whose thoughtful letter, just quoted from, shows his serious concern over
the theoretical and practical possibilities of the various fields of his interest.

PRINCIPAL'S STATEMENT IN RE QUALIFICATIONS OF G, CANDIDATE FOR
SCHOLARSHIP

Native ability. Intelligence Quotient 174 on Terman Test given
at Erasmus Hall, the highest ever reached here; ranks fourth
in a grade of 712 in scholarship.

Personality. Pleasant and helpful; well liked and respected by
students and faculty; always agreeable, willing, eager to
help others.

Loyalty. Loyalty is unquestioned; fine home background
contributes to high ideals; his good example has inspired
loyalty in others.

Coöperation. Has given much time to clubs, to tutoring students,
and to giving clerical assistance in offices.

Integrity. Commended highly by teachers for uprightness.

Leadership. An active leader in many school activities; has strong
initiative and unusual resourcefulness.

Thoroughness. Class and extracurricular work characterized by
unusual care and thoroughness; carried through many long-term
assignments with a minimum of supervision.

Originality. Outstanding characteristic; while working in his grade
adviser's office he devised a new and superior arrangement for
finding the official classes of any one of 800 students in the grade.

Partial list of activities and honors. Program Committee, five
terms; Office Service, seven terms; Little Symphony, two terms;
Orchestra, five terms; Arista, four terms; Junior Arista, three terms;
String Ensemble, two terms; "Dutchman" Staff; "XYZ" Mathematics
Tutoring Club, three terms; prize, Geometry Contest; prize, Safety
Essay contest; medal, Algebra contest.

Comments by teachers. "Very efficient and reliable." "Very good
assistant." "Fine work on Arista Membership Committee." "Fine boy,
earnest, and willing worker." "Brilliant mind." "Diligent worker."

In June, 1938, upon graduation from high school, G was awarded a
scholarship in Harvard University, which he entered in the ensuing

academic year.

G'S BROTHER'S RECORD

A brother younger than G and his only sibling was tested at the age of 5
years 6 months at the Educational Clinic, College of the City of New York.
His IQ (S-B) was 151. Other scores were:

Goodenough Drawing 6.0 years
Porteus Maze 5-6
Pintner-Patterson Performance 6-6
Stenquist Mechanical Assembly 6-0
Gates Primary Reading Scale 1B Grade
Stanford Achievement: Arithmetic 1B Grade

This child was also measured by Leta S. Hollingworth in February, 1933,
when he was at age 6-10, and the Stanford-Binet IQ was 152. Other
measures made at that time were:

Standing height 50.75 inches
Sitting height 27.75 inches
Weight 78.25 pounds
Found "left-handed"

A letter from the father dated June 24, 1938, reports that G's brother
"graduated from public school this week (age 11 years 6 months). He was
awarded one of two history medals given in a class of 134. In the Terman
Group Test given to about 1000 applicants he scored 153, which is the
fourth in the group. The first one in the group was 156."

[1] McElwee, Edna Willis. "Seymour, a Boy with 192 IQ." Journal of
Juvenile Research, Vol. XVIII (January, 1934), pages 28-35.

[2] "The Reading of a Gifted Child." By his Father. Journal of Juvenile
Research, Vol. XVIII, No. 2 (April 1934), pages 107-111.

[3] This chapter was written by H. L. H.

CHAPTER ELEVEN CHILD H

Child H, at the time this account is written, [1] is a girl of 17 years, but the
data on record terminate with her tenth year. She was born March 25, 1924,
in New York City. Her parents have kept a diary of her development, and an
aunt with special educational interests has made various observations and
records of her and has also familiarized herself with the parents' records.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Her grandparents on both sides were Austrian Hebrews. The maternal
grandfather was a rabbi and did some writing. The maternal grandmother is
said to have shown some unusual mental alertness, a surprising and almost
untutored aptness in numerical calculation. At 65 years of age she learned to
play bridge very well, and in her old age continued to show lively interests.

Parents. H's father is a newspaper reporter. He attended college for three
years. He was 29 when H was born. Her mother is a high school graduate
and before marriage was a stenographer. She was 28 when H was born.

PRESCHOOL HISTORY

H is reported as a healthy child, of average stability. She is a first-born
child. She began to walk at 14 months and to talk at 16 months, according
to the parents. She cut her first tooth at 9.5 months. H did not learn to read
until after she was 4 years old. At this age she was fond of play and her

playmates were children ranging in age from 3 to 9 years. Her favorite
recreations were sedentary—drawing, painting, mosaic blocks, and the like.

At 2 years of age she was given a box of wooden beads for stringing.
"She very quickly learned the art of holding the string in the right hand and
the bead in the left, and became very much absorbed in her work. Suddenly
she looked up and said, 'Beads, onions.'" The record continues:
"Alternatives seem a preferred mode of expression at present, so that she
wants 'soup, not peas'; her hands are 'clean, not dirty.'"

At 2 years 10 months, upon seeing a picture of a little girl mailing a
letter, she told herself the following story:

Once upon a time there was a little girl and she wanted to mail a
letter. She went out and looked for a letter box and found one near the
drug store. She mailed the letter and it came to Wawarsing and Sheve
received it." (Sheve was an aunt living at Wawarsing.)

Storytelling and writing plays and verses became a favorite pastime in
later childhood.

At this time H had imaginary companions. "For several days Mr. Parkey
(an invented character) was her very close friend. She played with him,
conversed with him, loved him, killed him, and brought him to life again."
She also invented new names for her dolls—Flossie became "Woozie" and
Alice became "Katch."

At 2 years 11 months she asked the meaning of the words "excitement,"
"guarantee," and "neatness." She constantly asked about the meaning of
words. She sang songs to herself, such as "Go into the next room, where
there's no steam heat." At this age she asked how babies are made. "Where

do they come from? How do they come out? Why? Will a baby grow in my
belly when I'm a big lady?"

At 3 years she wanted to know if people "wear out" like brushes and
combs. She purchased for an imaginary house "an extrola," "a gate-legged
table," "a gate-legged bookcase," and "gate-legged chairs."

At 3 years 0 months, waiting for her cereal to cool, a lump of butter put
into it is slowly melting. H remarks, her eyes on the butter, "Now it's a baby
—baby died—no more baby."

And noting the snow, she said, "My muffler is as white as the snow." She
looks again at snow and muffler. "No, it's a different white."

There is on record a vocabulary compiled by the mother when H was 3
years old (May 23, 1927). It was based on a count of "all the words used by
H regardless of whether she could tell exactly what they mean. Tenses of
verbs are given but no plurals of nouns." The list includes about 1400
words, approximately classifiable as follows:

Nouns 745 Pronouns 17
Verbs 401 Prepositions 15
Adjectives 161 Conjunctions 5
Adverbs 63 Interjections 9

MENTAL MEASUREMENTS

March 24, 1927. Age 3 years. Stanford-Binet examination given by Dr.
Ella Woodyard, with the following results: Mental Age, 5-6; IQ, 183.

March 8, 1930. Age 5 years 11 months. Stanford-Binet examination
given by Leta S. Hollingworth, with the following results: Mental Age, 8-9;
IQ, 148. At this time H was in Grade 1A.

April 21, 1933. Age 9 years 1 month. Stanford-Binet examination given
by Alice M. Holmes, with the following results: Mental Age, 17-2; IQ, 189.

At this age she was in Grades 5A and 6B, P.S. 206, Manhattan, and is
described as "a quiet and unassuming person, but most responsive. She
would like to be with children her own mental age, for then she would get a
mental stimulus and a social life that seems to be denied her now."

In this same month (April, 1933) the New Stanford Achievement Test:
Advanced Battery: Form V, given by Alice M. Holmes, showed scores as
follows:

Paragraph Meaning 109 Geography 105
Word Meaning 103 Physiology and Hygiene 90
Dictation 87 Arithmetic Reasoning 94
Language Usage 91 Arithmetic Computation 110
Literature 91 Average score 97.8
History and Civics 98

September 11, 1934. Age 10 years 6 months. H was given Army Alpha,
Form 8, by Leta S. Hollingworth. Her score was 135 points, which is
median for college sophomores. H was then in Grade 7B. It is noted that
"This result is just what would have been predicted from tests made by us
when H was 3 years old."

November 9-17, 1934. Age 10 years 7 months. During this week H was
given a number of tests by Leta S. Hollingworth, with the following results:

Stanford-Binet: Mental Age: 18-6; IQ, over 174, "unmeasured
by the test."

Intelligence Scale CAVD
Levels I-M Score 394
Levels M-Q Score 392

Coöperative General Science Test for College Students: Score,
17; Percentile, 11.

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS

March 8, 1930

H NORM

Standing height 47 inches 45.2
Sitting height 24 inches
Weight 48.25 pounds 41.7

April 21, 1933

H NORM

Standing height 54.5 inches 51.1
Weight 66.5 pounds 57.5

INTELLECTUAL ABILITY

There is a collection of many records showing H's reactions and opinions
from infancy up to the age of 9 or 10. These contain apt comments, sage
remarks, and discriminating judgments. They reveal a lively intellectual
curiosity and a socialized attitude.

H's parents have preserved copies of poems and short plays that H has
written. A collection of the "best ones," selections written between 5.5 and

8.5 years of age, covers seventeen typewritten pages. Among them are the
following.

If I had Aladdin's lamp, you see,
I'd give one wish to you and me.
And then we'd wish for every toy,
That every child should have some joy.
Age 5 years 6 months

On the clover fields he roams,
In the mountains,
At the homes,
Makes the trees and flowers grow,
And manufactures pure, white snow.
—God—
Age 8 years 6 months

There was an old soldier
He was all dressed in brown
This soldier had an honor—
He was known all over town.

This old soldier had a misfortune,
That was known too.
His beard it covered his medal,
And people couldn't see through.
Age 8 years 6 months

There are in the collection brief stories, continued tales, short verses,
longer poems, dialogues, and plays divided into scenes, with appropriate
stage instructions.

From after the tenth year there is an undated poem, submitted to the
examiner September 19, 1939, by the aunt of H. This poem, entitled "The
Gospel of Intolerance," won a prize in a poetry contest. Of it the aunt
writes:

It was fished out from the wastebasket by my sister. To the
question why she had thrown away the "Gospel of Intolerance," H
answered that she did not think it was worth keeping, that she had no
particular idea in mind when writing it, and that she was just
practicing on the typewriter and thought of the phrase "They said no,"
and then the rest just came by itself. Incidentally, H has never read the
Bible.

"The Gospel of Intolerance" occupies a full single-spaced typewritten
page. It begins as follows:

The Gospel of Intolerance

They said no
And who shall but hear the whisper of command shall without
question don his uniform and go out upon the field of
death in obedience
And who shall lie asleep in the sun must be roused
And who shall sit in lavender chairs eating of the earth shall
drop his spoon
And who shall lie with the woman shall turn from his passion
And all this shall be done without words as the answer to the
whisper of that which is calling and that which is in
command
And he who shall stuff his ears with cotton must needs be
twice called

[1] By H. L. H.

CHAPTER TWELVE CHILD I

This child, a girl, was born in Palo Alto, California, June 17, 1929. She is
the daughter of one of the male children studied by Terman and reported in
Genetic Studies [of] Genius. She was first observed when, in September,
1937, she entered a special class for "rapid learners" established by Leta S.
Hollingworth at Speyer School, P.S. 500, Manhattan. [1] This experimental
group was made up of fifty children chosen from the public schools of the
city on the basis of intelligence, and their range in IQ was from 130 to 200.
Of these fifty selected children, Child I was one of three whose IQ's
exceeded 180.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Child I's paternal grandfather was still living in 1939, aged 69. He had a
Normal School education (South Dakota) and was teacher, farmer, and
small-town merchant. His education was superior to that usually achieved
by farm boys. His special interests were church, travel, and repair work on
his own properties. He is described by his son as stubborn, thrifty, and
industrious, with uncompromising attitudes toward worldliness.

I's paternal grandmother died when I's father was 9 years old. She had
been a teacher of music and kindergarten, and a housewife. She was
educated in a Normal School and a Conservatory of Music. She was an
active leader in her community, established her own kindergarten, and was

socially and musically active in local ways. Her home was in South Dakota
and her father was first Land Commissioner of Dakota Territory. He had led
a group of homesteaders into that region about 1860. He was politically and
educationally active—Commissioner of Immigration, Commissioner of
Education, in the Territory.

No mentally defective or otherwise generally incompetent relatives on
the father's side are known. The great-grandmother of I, on her father's side,
is said to have been a relative of Phillips Brooks.

I's maternal grandfather was born in Texas of ancestry half French-
Huguenot and the rest German-English. He was a high school graduate. He
was in later life a merchant and real estate operator and active in
community affairs.

I's maternal grandmother was born in Oklahoma, her ancestry being
French-Huguenot, Welsh, and Irish. In education she lacked a half year of
completing the work for her B.A. in the University of New Mexico. After
her marriage she devoted herself to her home and family. She was talented
in dramatics and was active in local church, club, and lodge affairs.

Father. I's father was born March 21, 1909, in South Dakota. He is
mainly of English descent. He has the degree of B.A. and also of M.A. from
Stanford University, and he was a candidate for the degree of Ph.D. in
Public Law in an Eastern university at the time of this inquiry. He was for
eight years a college instructor, and later was connected with a government
department at Washington, D. C. He has been active in his profession, has
written in the field of government, and is a member of various academic
societies. He was one of the 1000 children described by Terman in Genetic
Studies [of] Genius. He has been self-supporting since the age of 19.

Mother. I's mother was graduated from high school in New Mexico and
attended the University of Kansas for one year. She then transferred to the
University of New Mexico, receiving her B.A. degree in 1930. Two years
before (1928), when she was 20 years old, she married I's father, and
continued her college course. After graduation she managed her home and
also took some graduate courses. In high school she was class poet and in
the Honor Society four years. In her college years she was active in sorority
life and on publications. Her major interests were debating, dramatics, and
student government. At the University of Kansas she was on the Dean's
Honor Roll (1925-1926). At New Mexico she held various scholastic
offices and was awarded several honors.

In more recent years I's mother has taken an active part in the League of
Women Voters and in the Faculty Wives' Club in the college where her
husband has been teaching.

PRESCHOOL HISTORY

The following data have been supplied by Child I's parents, who kept a
baby-book record of her development:

Length of pregnancy, 8.5 months. Weight at birth, 8 pounds.
Breast fed to 2.5 months, then bottle fed to 18 months.

First teeth appeared at 5 months and first permanent teeth at
5 years. Walked alone (several steps) at 10.5 months.
Talked in short sentences at from 18 months to 2 years.

Childhood illnesses—measles, whooping cough, mumps, chicken
pox, colds.

EARLY EDUCATIONAL HISTORY

At the age of about 2 years Child I had been observed in the
Institute of Child Development (Teachers College, Columbia
University) and reported as being hyperactive and of high intelligence.

At the age of 3 or 4 years she was used as a demonstration case before a
class in psychology in the University and the Mental Age of 7 was assigned
to her at that time.

Shortly after, she attended a kindergarten in the neighborhood of her
home where "they gave her extra work—French and dancing." She liked
this school. At the age of 5 years she entered kindergarten at P.S. 193,
Manhattan, for half-day sessions only, although she wished to go all day.

At the age of 6 years she was entered in the first grade at P.S. 186,
Manhattan, and in the second term was "skipped" to Grade 2A. "She spent
her spare time aimlessly drawing, and was allowed to bring library books to
school. Some of the time she sat with folded hands when her work was
finished, and she resented this."

MENTAL MEASUREMENTS

January 14, 1937, was the date of I's first examination, at the age of 7
years 7 months, and her Stanford-Binet IQ was 184.

In September, 1937, at the age of 8 years 3 months, she was given
Intelligence Examination CAVD, Levels H-M. Her score was 361 points.
The comment recorded by the examiner (Leta S. Hollingworth) is: "Median
seventh-grade child is close to this mark." Child I had at this time just come
from a school in which she had been placed in the third grade.

Records are available of several achievement tests Child I took at
different dates. Representative results are to be found in two Stanford

Achievement tests given in December, 1937, and in June, 1938. In the first
of these she averaged an age rating of 12-3 and a grade of 6.3; in the
second, her age rating was 13-5 and her grade 7.6. In six months she had
advanced a year and two months in Educational Age and had made a similar
advance in grade status. The following table gives the detailed results of
these two examinations.

AGE AGE GRADE GRADE
SUBJECT DECEMBER, JUNE DECEMBER, JUNE,
1937 1938 1937 1938

Paragraph Meaning 13-7 15-8 7.8 9.7
Word Meaning 12-11 15-4 7.2 9.3
Dictation 9-11 11-7 4.1 5.7
Language 14-4 15-4 8.4 9.3
Literature 11-11 15-6 6.1 9.5
History and Civics 13-1 13-7 7.4 7.8
Geography 12-4 14-8 6.6 8.7
Physiology and Hygiene 12-11 13-5 7.2 7.6
Arithmetic Reasoning 11-8 11-3 5.8 5.4
Arithmetic Computation 10-5 11-0 4.4 5.1

Average score 12-2 13-5 6.5 7.8

Child I left this experimental school a year after admission, when her
father was appointed to a position in another state, to which the family
moved. In the new school she was placed in the fifth grade, on the ground
that she might make better social adjustments there, although her
achievements were clearly already better than those of average sixth-grade
pupils. It is unfortunate that no follow-up of this child has been possible.
Her record and the variety of her abilities were striking. She was one of the
most outstanding and best-liked pupils in the group at Speyer School. In

addition to her remarkable intelligence she possessed desirable supporting
traits which led the teachers to predict that she might "go farther" than any
other child in the selected group of fifty "rapid learners."

The fairly complete account of I's background and early development has
been here provided in the hope that it may be made of use by investigators
at some later time.

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS AND HEALTH

Measurements, as of January 16, 1939, age 9 years 6 months, were as
follows:

CHILD I NORM

Height 58.5 inches 52
Weight 96 pounds 61.5
Chest circumference 29 inches
Head circumference 21.1 inches
Eye color brown
Hair color dark brown

Tonsils and adenoids caused trouble in 1933 and were removed in 1934.
No visual defects noted. Occasional headaches "usually from reading or
remaining long periods indoors." Hearing excellent. Nutrition excellent. No
symptoms of general weakness.

Parents report I to be "at least very excitable," and that she shows
"impulsive actions and extreme eagerness."

No sleep difficulties; no muscular twitching; no special fears.
Sleeps nine hours, fairly soundly.

MISCELLANEOUS CHARACTERISTICS

Her superior ability was first noticed by people from the University, at 15
months, because of comprehension beyond that expected at such an age."

She is interested in music and wrote the school song at Speyer. She has
been very much interested in nature study and science since her second or
third year, and "in her relationship to the world and the cosmos." Has asked
questions frequently concerning origins and creation.

She has shown no special interests in mechanics, drawing, or painting,
but from her second year she has had active interests in recitation and in the
dramatization of nursery rhymes, etc.

She has played with imaginary companions. She began making up
rhymes at an early age. "She reasons logically and has a strong sense of
justice."

A neatly bound volume of typed pages, prepared by I as a Christmas
present, 1937, for Leta S. Hollingworth, is entitled "First Poems." There are
in the collection a dozen short verses or longer poems, each dated by I's age
at the time of composition. The ages range from 4.5 to 8 years. A few
samples follow.

STARS

The stars are shining bright tonight
I wonder why they shine so bright
I guess to make it light at night.
Age 5 years

THE CAVE MAN

The cave man was a hunter,
A hunter brave and bold.
He wore the skins of those he killed
To keep him from the cold.
And many ages later, when he had passed away,
Men found in caves the sharpened stones
That he used every day.
Age 7 years 5 months

FLOWERS
Red and yellow tulips blooming on the lawn,
Blooming in the woodland, trampled by the fawn,
Little yellow dandelions hiding in the meadows,
Given to the cow to eat every time she bellows.
Pretty red roses upon a bush
Like a little lady bursting with a blush.
White and purple lilacs on a bush of olive green
As a birthday present were given to the queen.
Age 7 years 5 months

SEARCHING
A wandering stranger am I
I believe in nothing but the great powers of the gods,
The whole world have I searched for their wisdom.
But such wisdom found have I not.

Though I have searched the world over
Not a trace of such can be found.

I have searched on the hilltops, in the valleys—
I wonder if such things there are in this wide world of wonder.

The rocks have I broken
To find this great wisdom
But the wonderous marvels are not to be found.
Age 8 years

[1] This chapter was written by H. L. H.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHILD J

Early in 1937 the principal of P.S. 107, The Bronx, New York City, referred
one of her pupils to the Bureau of Educational Guidance of Teachers
College, Columbia University. [1] This child was J, a girl then about 7 years
6 months old, born May 18, 1929. She was at this time in Grade 5A, and the
principal and teachers had concluded that she was so superior in mental
level that the ordinary school program could offer her no challenge.

Examinations by the psychologists of the Bureau showed clearly enough
the correctness of this judgment. At the age of 7 years 10 months, March
22, 1937, her Mental Age by Stanford-Binet was 15-5. Since she met with
success on the Superior Adult level, no actual upper limit of her ability was
established. She was reported, therefore, as having an IQ of 197 or better,
and was recommended for admission to the experimental class for quick
learners in Speyer School, P.S. 500, Manhattan, which she entered.

In connection with these tests at the Bureau of Child Guidance a most
instructive and detailed report was made by the psychologist (Edna Mann).
Most of the items of the following description of J at this age are drawn
from this report, which fills three single-spaced typewritten pages.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Both parents graduated from college. The father is an instructor in
English in a large Eastern university. In the interests of educational research
he took, on April 20, 1939, IER Intelligence Scale CAVD, Levels M-Q. His
score was 445 points, which the examiner, Leta S. Hollingworth, reports "is
included in the top 1 per cent of college graduates and indicates an IQ of
not less than 180 in childhood."

The mother of J is a graduate of a large Midwestern university and a
former schoolteacher. She also took the CAVD test at the same time that her
husband did, making a score of 436 points. This, the examiner reported, "is
included in the top 5 per cent of college graduates and indicates an IQ of
not less than 170 in childhood."

J has one sister, four years younger than herself, born May 1, 1933. This
sister was given a Stanford-Binet test under distracting conditions following
a trolley-car accident. Of the outcome, the examiner (Dr. M. C. Pritchard)
notes: "This was not a good test and perhaps should not even be included. . .
. Several times she asked to leave the room to see how her mother was. She
was obviously distracted throughout." Nevertheless, the Mental Age found
was 9-2 at Chronological Age 7-0 (IQ 131). In "the routine test given to
pupils in 1A grades of the public schools" this sister is reported to have had
a score of 143 (presumably IQ, by some group test).

CHILDHOOD CHARACTERISTICS

At the age of 7 years 10 months J is described as poised, competent, self-
controlled, and with social and intellectual maturity strikingly advanced.
She had clear speech, excellent diction, fertile and pointedly expressed
ideas. She was a rather thin child, with clear complexion and very bright
blue eyes, and was neatly dressed. Teeth were described as "slightly
protruding."

In the test she was interested and coöperative. Her conversation revealed
a rich cultural background. She disliked the necessity in school of repeated
drills in things she already knew, and she did not need or wish repeated
instructions for the tests, even when standard practice called for them.

She was well-read, and discussed with discrimination plays, books, and
radio programs. At 3 years of age she had been reading books. At 5 she
learned to write her name so that she could take out a library card. At 7
years 10 months she had read six Shakespearean plays. She read all kinds of
books, and used dictionaries and encyclopedias independently. She was at
that time composing, with a playmate, a "Jingles Book."

At this age she liked to play with children two or three years older than
herself. She played vigorously and for several hours a day at many outdoor
sports; she did not need to do school homework.

Her manner was natural, free from conceit and from exhibitionism of her
abilities. She had good habits of work and enjoyed the challenge of the
mental tests. Her vocabulary, language responses, and abstract thinking
were clearly on an adult level. She is credited by the examiner with
remarkable degrees of mental control, concentration, constructive visual
imagery, and manipulation of mathematical and verbal concepts, rote
memory, and inductive reasoning.

On a standardized test of reading ability she exhibited a Reading Age of
14 years 5 months at this time (7 years 10 months). Her writing was
reported as excellent.

Her earlier educational progress reflects her extraordinary ability. In her
first six months at school she completed four terms of work. She was one
term in Grade 3A, and then in one term passed through 3B, 4A, and 4B.

J's parents had from the beginning given intelligent attention to her
adjustments in school and to her friendships. She had been wisely guided,
motivated to make friends rather than to be in constant leadership, and she
was well liked and accepted by her classmates.

At this early age the psychological examiner was able confidently to
predict: "In view of her exceptional intelligence, her apparently good
health, her apparently excellent social adjustment, she can be expected to
attain distinction and to win leadership in higher educational and
professional fields."

LATER MENTAL TESTS

J was given a second Stanford-Binet test by Dr. M. C. Pritchard within
three days of her tenth birthday, on May 15, 1939, using the 1937 Revision,
Form L. A Mental Age of 20 years was achieved which, if her limit had
been reached, would have meant an IQ of 200—very like the 197 plus
attaned at the earlier Chronological Age.

On February 17, 1938, at the age of 9 years 9 months, J had also taken
IER Intelligence Scale CAVD, Levels I to M, making a score of 384 points.

Several records are available on the New Stanford Achievement Tests
given, a different form each time, to the pupils in the experimental class at
Speyer School at intervals of six months. Annual tests at the close of each
school year, for a period of three years, may be used here to show J's ability
and progress in these respects. Such scores are as follows:

EDUCATIONAL AGE

FUNCTION FORM W FORM Y FORM X FORM W
June 16, June 1, May 31, May 18,

1937 1938 1939 1940

Paragraph Meaning 17-0 18-5 Unmeasured Unmeasured
Word Meaning 15-9 16-10 17-2 17-8
Dictation 16-6 17-8 18-2 Unmeasured
Language Usage 16-5 19-2 18-11 Unmeasured
Literature 16-0 16-2 18-8 Unmeasured
History and Civics 12-6 12-10 15-11 17-4
Geography 11-11 16-2 17-4 18-5
Physiology and Hygiene 12-6 14-6 16-10 18-5
Arithmetic Reasoning 13-1 16-6 17-4 17-6
Arithmetic Computation 11-10 14-6 17-6 17-6
Average score 14-4 16-3 17-8 18-5

Grade status 8.4 Unmeasured Unmeasured Unmeasured

The first of these achievement tests was given shortly after J entered the
experimental class, from the fifth grade in a public school, at the age of
about 7 years 6 months. At that time her school achievement scores show
her to have been between eighth- and ninth-grade status, with an
Educational Age just about twice her Chronological Age. So far as
Educational Age is concerned, although the experimental program was half
concerned with enrichment activities rather than with the conventional
fundamentals, J advanced one year and eleven months during the first
school year there, one year and five months during the second year, and
nine months during the last year. By this time progress was practically
impossible because after the first year most of her scores were unmeasured
in grade status, being above the standards for tenth grade.

As a matter of mere achievement scores, J was ready for high school
work at the age of being received from the fifth grade into the experimental
classes at Speyer School.

There are in the files several poems written by J while she was in Speyer
School, before May, 1939; that is, before her tenth birthday. The following
may be given as a representative sample of these compositions.

A MARCH SNOWFALL
It's March, yet snow is falling fast,
And one may hear the wintry blast.
A budding tree, a sign of spring,
Will to me great gladness bring.
When crocuses have put their heads,
Above the softened garden beds,
And when in all the fields around
Lively little lambkins bound,
And green creeps up across the lawn
I'll be glad the snow has gone.

[1] This chapter was written by H. L. H.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHILD K

Child K is a boy, born December 19, 1922. He first came to the attention of
this series of researches in 1929 when his grandmother sought advice
concerning his education from Leta S. Hollingworth. [1]

FAMILY BACKGROUND

K's paternal grandparents are English and Scotch-Irish. The grandfather
is said to write poetry and the grandmother to compose music for the
verses.

K's maternal grandparents are of Jewish origin, both born in America.
The grandfather was a teacher, the grandmother was "in business." This
grandmother was the seventh of twelve children. The youngest of these is
said to be "a brilliant woman of executive ability." The eldest, at the age of
79, "reads all the papers, compares notes, etc." One of the brothers in this
group was a physician, another a lawyer. A cousin of K teaches in
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was called during the First
World War for special work in mathematics. This man's sister is an
arch[a]eologist married to an archaeologist. Three of K's grandmother's
sisters are teachers; another is an artist.

No mentally deficient or totally incompetent persons are known among
the ancestors.

K has two siblings, brothers younger than himself. Both are reported to
be "bright."

Father. K's father is an electrician, a graduate of high school and of
Cooper Union. He was born in Antigua and was 32 or 34 years old when K
was born. One of his sisters is a high school teacher in Brooklyn; another is
a nurse; another, a stenographer.

Mother. K's mother is recorded as of American-Jewish origin. She was
30 or 31 years old when K was born. She is a graduate of high school and
of Hunter College (A.B.), New York City, and holds a license to teach
music in the New York City schools. At the date of records she was actively
in service, teaching general subjects. She had taken three maternity leaves
of absence.

EARLY DEVELOPMENT

K's parents rate him as a child with excellent health, sturdy but nervous.
He may have had measles, but there were no other childhood illnesses
except occasional colds. When tiny, he would wake up with "great
imaginings." At a little older age he would cry "with high tension"; "he no
longer does this."

According to parents, K cut his first tooth at 6 months. He began to walk
at about 20 months and to talk at about 2 years. He learned to read at about
3 years. "While still a baby in his carriage he could read 'ice' and he would
read the billboards. Before 3 he would sit down with a book and read."

At 5 years of age K wanted to discriminate in meaning between "bluff,"
"joke," and "fake." He is "untiring in his attention to books. He will sit with
an American history, an English history, and Godey's History of American

Beginnings in Europe (which goes into Greece and Rome) and the
dictionary around him, and will work at these for hours."

At the age here reported K had no playmates. His younger brothers
played by themselves. K did not like to play. His favorite recreations were
reading and transferring pictures, and consulting almanacs and dictionaries.

He has a passion for accuracy. He has as yet made no collections, and has
no pets. He has no imaginary companions and no imaginary lands.

MENTAL MEASUREMENTS

On April 10, 1929, K was brought to Teachers College, Columbia
University, for mental testing. The Stanford-Binet and other methods were
employed. He was then 6 years 4 months old and had not yet entered
school. On the Stanford-Binet his Mental Age at that date was 9-1, giving
an IQ of 143. But the examiner added a note to the record to the effect that:
"It is predicted that this child will test much higher later, when examined
under standard conditions, alone with the examiner." The conditions under
which this test was taken are not recorded, but it was probably a class
demonstration.

On March 26, 1931, at the age of 8 years 3 months, K was again given a
Standard-Binet test by the same examiner. He was then in Grade 5A,
although only two years before he had not yet entered school. This time his
Mental Age was 14-8, giving him an IQ of close to 180. The earlier
prediction of an increase in IQ at a later age was fulfilled, under
standardized conditions.

Although K was in Grade 5A at this time, it is noted that "Writing is only
about third-grade ability." In this manual coördination K's score was nearer
to his Chronological Age than was his mental level. He was also given

Trabue Language Completion Scale A on this date, with a score of Grade
6.5, a full year ahead of his actual, though advanced, school placement.

Of such cases the examiner commented as follows:

The little boy scored a Mental Age of 14 years 8 months. Only one
or two eight-year-olds in a hundred thousand reach such a score.
These children are so far beyond the average that schools are not
equipped to handle them adequately. Experts in education do not
know what the best procedure is in regard to their placement in
school, but we hope to find out as time goes on. . . . I asked you to
bring the little boy again for purely professional reasons—to learn
how he is developing, how he conducts himself, and what his
interests are. We want to find out how to educate these children. . . .
Tell him I am sure he is going to have a good future if he learns to get
self-control. (I mention this last because you spoke of his having
emotional upsets.)

PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS

At the age of 6 years 4 months, K's standing height was 48.2 inches and
his weight was 50.5 pounds. (Norms 46.0 inches, and 44 pounds.)

At the age of 8 years 3 months, K's standing height was 53 inches; sitting
height, 28.2 inches; weight, 62 pounds. In the two-year interval K had
gained 5 inches in height and 12 pounds in weight. (Age norms 49.8 inches,
and 54.6 pounds.)

LATER EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS

There is little record in the files of the subsequent career of this boy and
no follow-up has been made possible. A letter from his mother, dated

December 30, 1933, reports that K "is now just eleven (birthday this month)
and will graduate from public school next month."

This would mean completion of the eighth grade at the age of 11 years.

There is also a letter from his mother dated December 10, 1937, at which
time K was [nearly] 15 years old. In the following month he was to be
graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School, New York City. Plans
were being made and advice sought concerning college. K had "gone
through high school an honor student. . . . His high school record is
outstanding. Regents marks, etc., exceptionally high."

[1] This chapter was written by H. L. H.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHILD L

This exceptionally gifted boy, born May 5, 1927, was a member from the
beginning of the experimental group for "rapid learners" established
February, 1936, in Speyer School by Leta S. Hollingworth. [1] In
achievement as measured by standard tests from time to time he led that
group of highly selected children, his IQ being 200. At the request of his
parents he had been recommended for admission to the project by the
principal of the public school he was then attending in Brooklyn (P.S. 35).

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Child L's ancestry is Austrian-Hebrew. Of his paternal relatives, an uncle
and a cousin are rabbis, and at the time this record was made a cousin was
professor of mathematics in the University of Krakow.

L's maternal grandfather was an Austrian merchant and also a learned
man, who is said to have written several books. The maternal grandmother
of L was active in local circles to which she belonged. At her death she left
money for L's college education. A maternal uncle is an architect. L's
mother's cousin is a physician.

No mentally defective or totally incompetent persons among L's
ancestors are known.

Father. Child L's father is a high school graduate. He was 33 years of age
when L was born. His trade is that of jeweler, but being unable to find work
in this line he has taken employment in a factory making airplane precision
instruments.

Mother. L's mother is a high school graduate. She was 29 years of age
when L, her only child, was born. She was a dressmaker before her
marriage.

EARLY HISTORY

L is rated by his parents as having "good health" and as being "well-
balanced." He cut his first tooth at 9 months, began to talk at 9 months,
according to his parents, and to walk at 15 months. He learned to read at 4
years. His playmates are several years older than he (10-12 years). L likes to
play. His favorite recreations are reading, chess, and checkers.

In January, 1935, at the age of 8 years 5 months, he was in Grade 5A1.
His school ratings had been A for every term and he had accomplished four
years' work in two years. The Otis Self-Administering Tests had been used
in the school and L had been credited with an IQ of 153—much lower than
that subsequently found to characterize him. It was at this time that he was
recommended for the group of "rapid learners" at Speyer School.

On September 28, 1936, at age 9 years 5 months, a Stanford-Binet test
given L by Donald MacMurray, a graduate student, showed him to have a
Mental Age of between 17-10 and 18-4, and an IQ of from 189 to 195.

On January 18, 1939, a Revised Stanford-Binet (1937 form) given L by
another graduate student showed him to have a Mental Age of 19-6, his
Chronological Age then being 10-8. The IQ thus determined was 183.

More dependable is a similar measure made May 5, 1937, by an expert in
the Guidance Laboratory at Teachers College (Rosalind Blum). At
Chronological Age 10-0, with the Revised Stanford-Binet (1937 Form 1)
L's score was Mental Age 19-11, IQ 199. Certain details in the report of this
test are worth reproduction here.

GUIDANCE LABORATORY REPORT OF L
Date of birth: May 6, 1927 CA 10-0
Date of test: May 5, 1937 MA 19-11
Test: Revised Binet, Form L IQ 199

L earned a basal age at Superior Adult I Level. At Superior
Adult II Level he successfully completed all the items except
interpretation of one of the proverbs. At Superior Adult III
Level one more test was passed—Orientation.

L was friendly and coöperative throughout the test. Although he
had never seen the examiner before, he made an excellent adjustment
to the testing situation. Throughout the test he indicated a genuine
desire to be as accurate as possible. All his responses were given in
great detail and he always told much more than was necessary in
order to earn credit.

Psychometrically L ranks in the top tenth of one per cent of the
population. His intellectual development is very superior. His level of
comprehension, vocabulary, memory, and verbal ability are
outstanding. He displayed excellent insight into his work and
spontaneously criticized his own performance. When difficult items
were presented, he frankly admitted that he could not respond
accurately. He was persistent in his efforts and devoted excellent
attention at all times. He has a good understanding of the limits of his
ability. . . .

It is impossible to recommend appropriate school placement for
this boy, since such ability as he possesses appears in about one out of
every million individuals. . . . His emotional, educational, and social
adjustments will always be difficult because of his advanced
intellectual development. . . .

L has acquired a wealth of information. We can be sure of one
thing—no matter where this boy attends school, no matter what the
teaching devices are, he will always learn new facts and instruct
himself. Such intellectual curiosity as this boy possesses will always
be satisfied because of his own drive to acquire both information and
skills.

A further picture of L's ability at an early age is given by his scores in
two CAVD Intelligence Scale records, made under the supervision of Leta
S. Hollingworth. The first of these was made by L in November-December,
1936, at the age of 9 years 6 months. His score (Levels M-Q) was 392
points, which is noted as "equivalent to a good score for tenth-grade pupils
who plan and are encouraged to go to a first-rate college."

The second CAVD score (Levels M-Q) was made in the spring of 1939,
at the age of 11 years 10 months. His score was 416 points—a score which
is median for Teachers College M.A. candidates and also for Yale Law
school freshmen. Such a score is at the 3d decile of scores made by Ph.D.
candidates at Teachers College, Columbia University. It was made by L
while he was still in the elementary grades.

ACHIEVEMENT AT SPEYER SCHOOL

A few records of scores on the New Stanford Achievement Test will
show the remarkable academic work of this boy from the age of 9 years 6
months to 12 years 6 months.

SUBJECT December 4, December 6, December 12, December 4,
1936 1937 1938 1939
Age Grade Age Grade Age Grade Age Grade
Paragraph Meaning 17-8 11.7 18-5 UM UM UM UM UM
Word Meaning 15-8 9.7 17-11 UM 17-8 UM 18-8 UM
Dictation 15-6 9.5 17-6 UM 17-8 UM 18-2 UM
Language Usage 15-9 9.8 16-10 UM 18-8 UM 19-2 UM
Literature 13-9 7.9 16-2 UM 16-6 UM 16-8 UM
History and Civics 14-4 8.4 15-0 9.0 16-5 UM UM UM
Geography 17-6 11.6 19-2 UM 17-8 UM UM UM
Physiology and Hygiene 15-4 9.3 19-2 UM UM UM UM UM
Arithmetic Reasoning 14-1 8.2 19-2 UM 17-8 UM UM UM
Arithmetic Computation 14-10 8.9 17-4 UM 17-11 UM UM UM

Average 15-6 9.5 17-6 UM 18-2 UM UM UM

At the time of the first of these achievement examinations, age 9 years 6
months, L's achievement already exceeded the status of high school
freshmen. After this his work could not be measured (UM) by grade
standards. Progress was still possible, however, in the subject in which his
initial scores were relatively lower. All but one of these were brought up to
an "unmeasurable" point during the second year. For such a child the time
spent on drill in the fundamentals would be sheer waste—and yet he is too
young to go to high school with children half again as old as he. In Speyer
School he entered actively into the enrichment program and was
intellectually easily the leader of the group.

The following chart shows, through scores in Modern School
Achievement Tests as of February 13, 1936, L's comparative status with
respect to normal expectations for his age and also with respect to the

average status of the class of gifted children which he had just joined in the
experimental school at Speyer.

FIG. 13. COMPARATIVE EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT.

[[The Y axis is labeled "Grade," while the X axis shows subjects.
Line 1 is L's scores, Line 2 is the Class Median, and Line 3 shows the
Average Scores at "L's" Age. L's scores are always higher than the
Class Median, which are always higher than the average scores. The
scores for these 3 are as follows (respectively): Comprehension, 9+,
6.5, 3.2; Reading Speed, 6, 5.5, 3.2; Spelling, 6.8, 5.6, 3.2; Language
Usage, 9+, 5.8, 3.2; Arithmetic Computation, 6.5, 4, 3.2; Arithmetic
Reasoning, 7.5, 4.5, 3.2; Health Knowledge, 8, 5.2, 3.2; Elementary
Science, 9+, 4.7, 3.2; History, Civics, 7, 3.7, 3.2; Geography, 8.6, 3.5,
3.2.]]

Young L's erudition was astonishing. His passion for scholarly accuracy
and thoroughness set a high standard for accomplishment. He was relatively
large, robust, and impressive, and was fondly dubbed "Professor." His
attitudes and abilities were appreciated by both pupils and teachers. He was
often allowed to lecture (for as long as an hour) on some special topic, such
as the history of timepieces, ancient theories of engine construction,
mathematics, and history. He constructed out of odds and ends (typewriter
ribbon spools, for example) a homemade clock of the pendular type to
illustrate some of the principles of chronometry, and this clock was set up
before the class during the enrichment unit on "Time and Time Keeping," to
demonstrate some of the principles of chronometry. His notebooks were
marvels of masterly exposition.

Being discontented with what he considered the inadequate treatment of
land travel in a class unit on "Transportation," he agreed that time was too
limited to do justice to everything. But he insisted that "at least they should

have covered ancient theory." As an extra and voluntary project "he brought
in elaborate drawings and accounts of the ancient theories of engines,
locomotives, etc."

Subsequent to a visit to the school by an assistant superintendent
associated with its work, L addressed to this dignitary the following
communication. He was at that time 10 years of age.

November 30, 1939

Dr. ——— ———
Assistant Superintendent
500 Park Avenue
New York, N. Y.

Dear Dr. ———:

Several of my classmates have informed me that you questioned them as
to the relationship of Archimides to our unit on "Music, Art, and
Literature." We are not confining ourselves to Music, Art, and Literature,
but are also studying the background that helped to produce this culture. We
feel that the only way that we can acquire a full view of this is to study
contemporary contributors to the advance of civilization. I, being greatly
interested in mathematics, volunteered to deliver a report on Archimides
who was famous for his mathematical research.

But this is not the only way Archimides is related to our unit on "Music,
Art, and Literature." In the act of writing any great piece of music a
knowledge of mathematics is essential. Also in any good work of art it
enters into the form of perspective without which a drawing is apt to be
void and lifeless. Therefore Archimides has been included in our unit.

I hope that you will soon visit our classroom again for all the children
enjoy the talks you often give them.

Respectfully yours
(Signed)

HIGH SCHOOL RECORD TO DATE OF WRITING

L entered Bronx Science High School in February, 1940. This high
school selects its students on the basis of a competitive examination. No
classification on the basis of ability is made after entrance to the school.

L's final grades for the first term, closing June, 1940, are:
English, 95; Social Studies, 99; Mathematics, 100; Science, 99;
Average, 98.25.

The judgment of his supervisors and teachers is shown by the following
quotations from comments about him, as of June, 1940. [2]

He is an excellent student. My only criticism of the boy is that he is
too mature. He should be more of a nuisance. As I see it, our problem
of adjustment here for L is to make him more of a real boy. Dr. M,
Administrative Assistant.

He is a wonderful boy, and that covers everything. Mr. C.,
Social Studies.

L is the best boy I have had in all of my teaching experience, and I
have taught in the New York City schools since 1913. He is the only
boy I ever gave 100 as a final mark.

He knows rules of trigonometry that he never has had in school.
Mr. W, Mathematics.

I first became acquainted with L when he walked into my office
last term and introduced himself. He said he was trying to make up
his mind between Science High School and Townsend Harris. He had
decided the most sensible way was for him to visit both schools and
then make his decision.

He is a most unusual youngster. We found he surpassed any child
in the class. I am going to discuss with his next term's teacher what
modifications can be made of the required work. It won't be a matter
of skipping anything. L needs to cover all the subject matter taught.
He can profit from experience in manipulative situations in the
laboratory. We may be able to arrange additional laboratory periods
which will give him an opportunity to work out his own problems.
His classmates look upon L as something of a genius. Mr. Z., Head of
Science Department.

L feels that the school he chose is a good one and is well suited to his
purposes, because the teachers are very good, the school teaches the
subjects he wants to learn, and he is not hampered by the excessive size of
the school. By way of improvement he suggests "More mathematics
equipment and class formed according to students' ratings, smartest ten, say,
in first class, etc."

In addition to his work in this school, and to his earlier school work, L
has gone to Hebrew school about nine hours a week for four years, and has
just been graduated therefrom with first honors. He reports many hobbies
and outside interests—such as making model airplanes, doing science
experiments at home, reading, using the microscope, collecting early
American Money and stamps. He does not do much outdoor playing—"Not
because I do not want to play outdoors but because I lack the time and the
companions. My favorite sport is swimming because it is both enjoyable

and good exercise. . . . I very seldom take part in any organized athletic
games except baseball for two reasons: first, I don't like to be disciplined
and, second, I do not like games where a person's brawn is more important
than a person's wit."

L and a friend have started a supply service in the high school, buying at
wholesale and selling to students at retail prices. For this privilege, 20 per
cent of the profits they turn into the General Organization carfare fund for
needy students.

L's chief criterion in choosing his outside activities is their educational
value. "By making model airplanes I can find out more about scientific
principles of flying. . . . Any experiments in science I make may help me to
advance my scientific knowledge. . . . I am doing some experimenting in
soilless gardening as a scientific hobby. . . . I believe that stamps should
have real interest behind them and not money value alone. . . . I do not play
any musical instruments although I was drafted into the high school glee
club by the music teacher. I would rather work on amateur radio if I had the
money. I like music but I can't make it." L wants to take stenography and
typing in night school. "It will come in handy in high school and when I get
to college I may be able to get a job with some professor."

LATER TESTS AND INVENTORIES

In connection with the inquiry into L's adjustments upon entering high
school, Dr. Pritchard has also given him several further tests and
inventories, the results of which are as follows.

On CAVD (Levels (M-Q) his score is now 427 points, which is in the 7th
decile of the Ph.D. Matriculants at Teachers College.

On the Strong Vocational Interest Blank L's A (high) interests coincided
with those of physicians, mathematics, chemists, psychologists, and
teachers of mathematics and physical science. His C (low) interests were on
"most occupations dealing with large groups of people: personnel manager,
social science high school teacher, purchasing agent, accountant, sales
manager, real estate salesman, life insurance salesman, office worker,
Y.M.C.A. secretary." His first choice for an occupation is mathematics
teacher on the college level. He dislikes any occupation where there is
"little opportunity to discover new facts."

On the Bernreuter "Personality Inventory" the following characteristics
were indicated: Emotional adjustment better than average, tends to be
alone, rarely asks for sympathy or encouragement, tends to ignore advice of
others, seldom worries, rarely substitutes daydreaming for action, tends to
dominate in face-to-face situations, to be wholesomely self-confident, well
adjusted to environment, solitary, independent, and non-social. The
following records were made on the Sones-Harry High School Achievement
Test:

Language and Literature, 83
The 99th-percentile score for students completing the
first-term high school English is 75. A score of 83 falls
at the 88th percentile on norms based on 943 graduates from
a large cosmopolitan city high school.

Mathematics, 64
The score at the 99th percentile for first-term mathematics
students is given as 36. A score of 64 exceeds the scores of
98 per cent of the 943 high school graduates cited above,
and 99 per cent of 1156 college entrants.

Natural Science, 61
The 99th-percentile score for students who have had one term
of high school science is 42. A score of 61 exceeds the
scores of 96 per cent of the high school graduates.

Social Studies, 64
The 99th-percentile score for students completing one term's
work in social science is 65. A score of 64 exceeds 90 per
cent of the scores of the high school graduates.

Total Score, 272 points
A total score of 272 points exceeds the score of 95 per cent
of the group of high school graduates from a cosmopolitan
city high school.

On his own initiative, L is investigating the possibilities of scholarships
with college work in mind. He says: "I spend between two or three hours a
night on homework. I don't need to do this, but I am aiming for a
scholarship and taking it very seriously."

[1] This chapter was written by H. L. H.

[2] This section is an abbreviation of an account courteously provided by
Dr. Miriam C. Pritchard, who made a follow-up study of L's first-term
adjustments in high school.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN SUMMARIES OF
HEREDITY AND EARLY BEHAVIOR

It is of course obvious that no very general conclusions can be drawn from
data relating to a dozen instances of exceptional mental endowment such as
those reported in this monograph. Such data may, however, be added to
information in process of accumulation from similar studies, the whole
providing a respectable basis for judgment. The facts concerning the group
of individuals presented in this book are, therefore, summarized in the form
of the following brief review. [1]

FAMILY HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

The racial and national ancestry of the twelve children whose records
have been presented in preceding pages may be chiefly a condition arising
from the population in which they were found. Comparison with results
from other population areas may serve to check certain implications
suggested herein. All these cases were found and studied in New York City
and about half of them in the public schools.

Among the ancestors whose origins are mentioned, in the endeavor to go
behind the simple statement of "American parents," the nationalities are
given as Jewish, 13; British, 9; German, 2; French, 2. In most cases the
ancestors are individually compound— as Austrian-Jew, German-
American, etc.

The activities of the more remote ancestors cover a wide range, from
farming and small-town storekeeping to the learned professions, large
business, and political activity. On the whole, the remote ancestors appear
to have been fairly successful people, with the majority of them in the
professions. No cases of mental deficiency or total incompetence are
recorded among them.

A few of these children were from families in economic distress. These
cases were largely instances in which the father was dead or incapacitated
and the mother was struggling to carry on with slender resources. But on
the whole, as in earlier cases cited from the literature of gifted children, the
socio-economic status was moderate.

The father's occupations are in 10 of the 12 cases in the professions. They
may be classified as:

Engineer 1 Lawyer 1
Army officer 1 College teacher 2
Accountant 2 Electrician 1
Journalist 2 Jeweler 1
Insurance 1

The occupations of the mothers, either before or after marriage, when
stated, were:

Advertising 1 Teacher 2
Housewife 3 Secretary 2
Statistician 1 Dressmaker 1
Scientist (M.D.) 1

All but 2 of the fathers are known to be high school graduates; 5 went
beyond this point in business or trade school; 4 are college graduates.