The 15 smartest people in history

Who are considered the most intelligent people in the history of mankind? How is intellectual ability or ability assessed?

Libb Thims made a list in which he classified the forty most intelligent historical figures, having take into account his score in Intellectual Quotient (IQ) or an approximation of this and assessment of his or her works successes.

However, the value of IQ alone does not serve to classify an individual as gifted, but other abilities will also need to be considered. Thus, it should be noted that the list was made by the author and despite trying to be the most rigorous, it is impossible to control the effect of subjectivity.

Next we will mention the methodology used by Libb Thims to classify him, and we will review the most intelligent people included in the list.

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Who are the smartest people in history?

In order to carry out this classification, the North American engineer Libb Thims set as the lower limit 200 points in the IQ, that is, I consider the score of 200 in IQ as the minimum value to appear on his list

. We have to bear in mind that from 130 the IQ score is already considered much higher than the average, corresponding to a “gifted” person. In order to complement this criterion, Thims also considered aptitudes, capacities and abilities in a specific area of ​​knowledge or ability.

The problem with using IQ-based scoring, apart from the fact that it can sometimes be imprecise, is that not all the subjects who were aspiring to enter the list had undergone this type of test to calculate it. In this way, the author made use of the Cox methodology that predicts IQ according to how much each individual achieves every 10 years of his life. To complement this methodology, Thims reviewed the works of many of the applicants.

Thus, this list was formed taking into account both the IQ score and the successes achieved by each individual. Despite the intention of Thims to make the classification as truthful as possible, it is still controversial and debatable.

1. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, considered the greatest German man of letters, was a playwright, novelist, poet and naturalist. The novel by him Wilhelm Meister, which recounts the process of self-realization of the protagonist, was considered by Arthur Shopenhauer as one of the four best novels of all history.

Libb Thims places it first on his list, and since there is no specific score, made directly to the author, it is estimated, according to the methods mentioned above, that his IQ reached between 210 and 225 points.

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2. Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

It is impossible to refer to the advances and evolution of science, specifically physics, without citing Albert Einstein. He is one of the most important and well-known physicists in the history of science.

Among many other contributions, he is credited with the world's best-known equation that relates energy to mass: the energy of a body at rest is equal to mass times the speed of light squared and the Theory of Relativity, where he states that the laws of physics are the same for all observers.

Second on Thims list, his IQ is estimated at 205 and 225 points, exceeding by 5 or 6 deviations the necessary score to be considered higher than the average.

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3. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

Leonardo da Vinci was a multifaceted artist known for his innumerable contributions to science, art and the humanities. There are few areas where da Vinci did not explore. He had very novel ideas for his time, also considering himself an engineer and inventor. In the art of painting he made many works, the most recognized being the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper or his famous drawing of the Vitruvian Man.

Taking into account and evaluating different measurements and contributions from his works, it is considered that da Vinci's IQ could range between 180 and 220. He is the third author on Thims' list.

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4. Isaac Newton (1642-1727)

Isaac Newton is known worldwide for his contributions to science and he is considered by many to be the greatest scientist of all time, his work being his revolutionary for his time. One of his best known and most important contributions to scientific development was the Law of Universal Gravitation.

In the same way that we pointed out with the previous authors, it is estimated that Newton's IQ was between 190 and 200. He ranks fourth on the list.

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5. James Maxwell (1831-1879)

James maxwell he is known in the field of physics for formulating the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, unifying electricity, magnetism and light for the first time, this being considered the second great unification of physics. Maxwell is considered the third best physicist only surpassed by Newton and Einstein.

He appears fifth on the list and his IQ is also very high, reaching between 190 and 205 points.

6. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)

Nicolaus Copernicus is considered the founder of modern astronomy, as well as one of the most important authors for the scientific revolution of the Renaissance. His most famous contribution of his and that caused a change in the vision that humanity had of the Solar System was the heliocentric theory, where it is pointed out that it is the planets, including the Earth, that go around the Sun.

The seventh on the list, it is estimated that if the relevant tests were carried out to know his IQ, it would range between 160 and 200.

7. Carl Gauss (1777-1855)

Carl Gauss was a mathematician, astronomer and physicist, he is known for formulating the divergence theorem or Gauss's theorem, being considered one of the most important contributions to the field of electromagnetics; later the aforementioned James Maxwell will use this theorem to constitute two of the four equations of it.

Taking into account different measures, it is believed that his intellectual coefficient could reach 250 or 300, thus being able to exceed 6 standard deviations. Thims ranks it eleventh.

8. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Galileo Galilei is also linked to the scientific revolution and is considered the father of modern astronomy, modern physics and science. He realized the first law of motion and supported the heliocentric system proposed by Copernicus, already mentioned above. In the same way, his contribution to the improvement of the telescope was also important, which allowed him to make new astronomical observations.

He is the 12th author according to Thims with an IQ estimated between 180 and 200.

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9. Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)

Nicholas Tesla he was an inventor and engineer known also for his countless contributions to the field of electromagnetics. His contributions served as the basis for modern systems of the use of electrical energy by alternating current.

Located in position fourteen on the list, it is believed that with the use of different measures, his IQ could range between 160 and 310.

10. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

William Shakespeare was considered a playwright, poet and actor, being one of the most relevant writers in world literature and the most important in the English language. He is known worldwide for his play Romeo and Juliet.

Thims estimated his IQ to be close to a score of 210, thus appearing at number fifteen on the list.

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11. Terence Tao (1975-)

Terence Tao is a mathematician, and at the age of 24 he became a professor at the University of California in Los Angeles. Since he was little, his high capacities were already visible, and In the course of his career he has been awarded several times, highlighting the Fields Medal or International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics. Similarly, in 2020 he was voted Australian of the Year.

Her score on her IQ ranges from 211 to 233, ranking twenty-first.

12. Hypatia (370-415)

Hypatia was a philosopher and teacher highlighting in the field of mathematics and astronomy. Considered one of the first mathematical women, her teachings based on her rationality created her detractors, and she was finally accused and murdered by the Christians. Her works were lost along with the entire library of Alexandria.

Ranked twenty-two, she is estimated to have an IQ between 170 and 210.

13. Marie Curie (1867-1934)

Marie Curie she is known worldwide for her research in the field of radioactivity. Among other contributions, Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie affirmed that if the human being exposed to radium diseased cells that formed tumors were destroyed faster than cells healthy. She also stood out for being the first person to receive two Nobel prizes in different fields, first in the specialty of Physics and later in Chemistry.

His IQ scored between 180 and 200, ranking 25th on Thim's list.

14. Francis Galton (1822-1911)

Francis Galton has an extensive work of more than 340 articles and books. She became interested in different fields of study where Anthropology, Geography and Psychology stand out. Cousin of the well-known scientist Charles Darwin, he focused mainly on the study of the human being, his intelligence and individual differences.

Applying different measures, Thims believes that Galton had an IQ of 200. Thus occupying the twenty-sixth position.

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15. Edith Stern (1952-)

Edith Stern is an inventor and mathematician, named a Master Inventor by the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). She is also known because her father from a very young age trained and educated her to be the "perfect human being" project that they called Project Edith Stern, since her father believed that being a genius was not a genetic issue but depended on how he was raised. kid.

Stern ranks 28th on the list with an IQ of 203.