1. Kim Ung-Yong: Attended University at age 4, Ph.D at age 15; world's highest IQ
ThisKorean super-genius was born in 1962 and might just be the smartest guyalive today (he's recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records ashaving the highest IQ of anyone on the planet). By the age of four hewas already able to read in Japanese, Korean, German, and English. Athis fifth birthday, he solved complicated differential and integralcalculus problems. Later, on Japanese television, he demonstrated hisproficiency in Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog, German, English,Japanese, and Korean. Kim was listed in the Guinness Book of WorldRecords under "Highest IQ"; the book estimated the boy's score at over210.
Kimwas a guest student of physics at Hanyang University from the age of 3until he was 6. At the age of 7 he was invited to America by NASA. Hefinished his university studies, eventually getting a Ph.D. in physicsat Colorado State University before he was 15. In 1974, during hisuniversity studies, he began his research work at NASA and continuedthis work until his return to Korea in 1978 where he decided to switchfrom physics to civil engineering and eventually received a doctoratein that field. Kim was offered the chance to study at the mostprestigious universities in Korea, but instead chose to attend aprovincial university. As of 2007 he also serves as adjunct faculty atChungbuk National University.
2. Gregory Smith: Nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize at age 12
Bornin 1990, Gregory Smith could read at age two and had enrolled inuniversity at 10. But “genius†is only one half of the Greg Smithstory. When not voraciously learning, this young man travels the globeas a peace and children’s rights activist.
Heis the founder of International Youth Advocates, an organization thatpromotes principles of peace and understanding among young peoplethroughout the world.. He has met with Bill Clinton and MikhailGorbachev and spoke in front of the UN. For these and otherhumanitarian and advocacy efforts, Smith has been nominated four timesfor a Nobel Peace Prize. His latest achievement? He just got his driverlicense.
3. Akrit Jaswal: The Seven Year-Old Surgeon
AkritJaswal is a young Indian who has been called "the world's smartest boy"and it's easy to see why. His IQ is 146 and is considered the smartestperson his age in India—a country of more than a billion people.
Akritcame to public attention when in 2000 he performed his first medicalprocedure at his family home. He was seven. His patient — a local girlwho could not afford a doctor — was eight. Her hand had been burnt in afire, causing her fingers to close into a tight fist that wouldn'topen. Akrit had no formal medical training and no experience ofsurgery, yet he managed to free her fingers and she was able to use herhand again.
Hefocused his phenomenal intelligence on medicine and at the age oftwelve he claimed to be on the verge of discovering a cure for cancer.He is now studying for a science degree at Chandigarh College and isthe youngest student ever accepted by an Indian University.
4. Cleopatra Stratan: a 3 year old singer who earns 1000€ per song
Clepotrawas born October 6, 2002 in Chisinau, Moldova and is the daughter ofMoldovan-Romanian singer, Pavel Stratan. She is the youngest personever to score commercial success as a singer, with her 2006 album Lavârsta de trei ani ("At the age of 3"). She holds the record for beingthe youngest artist that performed live for two hours in front of alarge audience, the highest paid young artist, the youngest artist toreceive an MTV award and the youngest artist to score a #1 hit in acountry ("Ghita" in Romanian Singles Chart).
5. Aelita Andre: The 2-year-old artist who showed her paintings in a famous Gallery
Theabstract paintings of emerging artist Aelita Andre have people inAustralia's art world talking. Aelita is two (the works were paintedwhen she was even younger).
Aelitagot an opportunity to show her paintings when Mark Jamieson, thedirector of Brunswick Street Gallery in Melbourne's Fitzroy, was askedby a photographer whose work he represented to consider the work ofanother artist. Jamieson liked what he saw and agreed to include it ina group show.
Jamiesonthen started to promote the show, printing glossy invitations andplacing ads in the magazines Art Almanac and Art Collector, featuringthe abstract work. Only then did he discover a crucial fact about thenew artist: Aelita Andre is Kalashnikova' s daughter, and was just 22months old. Jamieson was shocked and embarrassed but decided to proceedwith the exhibition anyways.
6. Saul Aaron Kripke: Invited to apply for a teaching post at Harvard while still in high school
Arabbi's son, Saul Aaron Kripke was born in New York and grew up inOmaha in 1940. By all accounts he was a true prodigy. In the fourthgrade he discovered algebra, and by the end of grammar school he hadmastered geometry and calculus and taken up philosophy. While still ateenager he wrote a series of papers that eventually transformed thestudy of modal logic. One of them earned a letter from the mathdepartment at Harvard, which hoped he would apply for a job until hewrote back and declined, explaining, "My mother said that I shouldfinish high school and go to college first". After finishing highschool, the college he eventually chose was Harvard.
Kripkewas awarded the Schock Prize, philosophy's equivalent of the Nobel.Nowadays, he is thought to be the world's greatest living philosopher.
7. Michael Kevin Kearney: earned his first degree at age 10 and became a reality show Millionaire
24year-old Michael Kearney became known as the world's youngest collegegraduate at the age of 10. In 2008, Kearney earned $1,000,000 on thetelevision game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Kearny was born in 1984 and is was known for setting several world records and teaching college at the age of 17.
Hespoke his first words at four months. At the age of six months, he saidto his pediatrician "I have a left ear infection" and learned to readat the age of ten months. When Michael was four, he was givendiagnostic tests for the Johns Hopkins precocious math program andachieved a perfect score. He finished high school at age 6, enrolled atSanta Rosa Junior College graduating at 10 with an Associate of Sciencein Geology. He is listed in the Guinness Book as the world's youngestuniversity graduate at the age of 10, receiving a bachelor's degree inanthropology. For a while, he also held the record for the world'syoungest postgraduate.
Butin 2006, he became worldwide famous after reaching the finals on theMark Burnett/AOL quiz/puzzle game Gold Rush, and became the first $1million winner in the online reality game.
8. Fabiano Luigi Caruana: a chess prodigy who became the youngest Grandmaster at age 14
Fabulous Fabiano is a 16-year-old chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy with dual citizenship of Italy and the United States.
On2007 Caruana became a Grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, 20days - the youngest Grandmaster in the history of both Italy and theUnited States. In the April 2009 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of2649, making him the world's highest ranked player under the age of 18.
9. Willie Mosconi: played professional Billiards at age 6
WilliamJoseph Mosconi, nicknamed "Mr. Pocket Billiards" was a Americanprofessional pocket billiards (pool) player from Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. Willie's father owned a pool hall where he wasn’t allowedto play, but Willie improvised by practicing with small potatoes fromhis mother's kitchen and an old broomstick. His father soon realizedthat his son was a child prodigy began advertising challenge matches,and though Willie had to stand on a box in order to reach the table, hebeat experienced players many years his senior.
In1919, an exhibition match was arranged between six-year old Willie andthe reigning World Champion, Ralph Greenleaf. The hall was packed, andthough Greenleaf won that match, Willie played very well launching hiscareer in professional billiards. In 1924, at the tender age of eleven,Willie was the juvenile straight pool champion and was regularlyholding trick shot exhibitions.
Betweenthe years of 1941 and 1957, he won the BCA World Championship of poolan unmatched fifteen times. Mosconi pioneered and employed numeroustrick shots, set many records, and helped to popularize the game ofbilliards. He still holds the officially recognized straight pool highrun record of 526 consecutive balls.
10. Elaina Smith: youngest agony aunt aged 7
Herlocal radio station gave her the job after she rang and offered adviceto a woman caller who had been dumped. Elaina’s tip — go bowling withpals and drink a mug of milk — was so good she got a weekly slot andnow advises thousands of adult listeners. The littler adviser tacklesproblems ranging from how to dump boyfriends and how to cope withrelationship breakdown to dealing with smelly brothers.
Whenone listener wrote to Elaina asking how to get a man, she replied:"Shake your booty on the dance floor and listen to High SchoolMusical". Another caller asked how to get her man back, Elaina toldher: "He's not worth the heartache. Life's too short to be upset with aboy."
Bookmark this page
