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Cox's Study of 300 (301) Eminent Geniuses born from 1450 to 1850, including Flynn Effect Calculations, listed alphabetically and by descending IQ

The Cox IQ data were taken from column 25 "Corrected IQ estimate"; "AII" of Table 12A in Volume II: The Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses by Catharine M. Cox from Genetic Studies of Genius edited by Lewis M. Terman. Copyright 1926, Stanford University Press. (Data taken from the third printing January, 1959. I have seen no evidence that the Cox study was ever revised past 1926.)

The book contains fascinating developmental biographies

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and you can buy it at Amazon.com by clicking here:

Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses

The Intelligence Quotient scores are on the Stanford-Binet scale. The scores listed are based on biographical data (including school rankings, anecdotes, works written, etc.) from data up to 26 years of age (and corrected to counter a regression towards the mean).

According to Cox, "The correction attempted in the present report is a crude approximation...: it indicates a point below which the true IQ probably did not fall." (p. 52) and "The resultant approximations are probably in most cases still too low, and perhaps, in a few cases, a trifle too high. The final correction is thus no more than an approximation to a true score." (p.83).

With a study this old, the Flynn Effect has to be taken into account if one wants to realistically compare one's IQ score with that of the people on the list. IQ tests have had to be revised several times. The average score is always supposed to be 100. But as time passes, new generations start to get higher scores on the older tests. There are various hypotheses to explain this including improved nutritional and environmental factors. The Flynn Effect numbers are given on a 15 point standard deviation scale (the Stanford-Binet uses 16 S.D.). Depending on the developed country, there is a steady IQ gain of 5 to 25 points per generation (30 years), with a median of about 15 points. (James R. Flynn, Massive IQ Gains in 14 Nations: What IQ Tests Really Measure, Psychological Bulletin, 1987, Vol. 101, No. 2, pp. 171-191. For more details click here.) This means that perfectly average modern kids have gotten 'genius' scores on old IQ tests.

The gains are not just for average people. For example, looking at a Dutch 1952 IQ test given to 18 year old military recruits, 0.04% got scores of 150 and above in 1952, whereas in 1982, 2.27% achieved that level. The ratio is 57 to 1.

Now, specifically for the Stanford-Binet Test (in the U.S.), there has been a gain of about 0.3 IQ points per year. This is lower than the approximately 0.5 median gain for other IQ tests in other developed countries. Converted to the corresponding 16 S.D., the gain is 0.32. To make the correction we can calculate the effect from 1916 to the year 1986 (years of the original and current versions of the Stanford-Binet test). So the calculation is (1986-1916)*0.32 =22 IQ points, if rounded.
 
 

The IQs of 301 Eminent Geniuses according to Cox (1926) along with their Flynn Effect corrections.


Alphabetical

Name

Adult IQ
IQ with Flynn Effect
By  Descending IQ

Name

Adult IQ
IQ with Flynn Effect
Adams. J.Q. 175 153 Goethe 210 188
Adams, J. 155 133 Leibniz (Leibnitz) 205 183
Addison 165 143 Grotius 200 178
Agassiz 175 153 Wolsey 200 178
Ait Weil Zade 155 133 Pascal 195 173
Alberoni 145 123 Sarpi 195 173
Alfieri 160 138 Arnauld 190 168
Anderson, H.C. 145 123 Berkeley 190 168
Andrewes 160 138 Haller 190 168
Arago 180 158 Laplace 190 168
Ariosto 160 138 Melanchthon 190 168
Arnauld 190 168 Newton 190 168
Atterbury 170 148 Pitt (the Younger) 190 168
Bach 165 143 Schelling 190 168
Bacon 180 158 Voltaire 190 168
Bailly 180 158 Campanella 185 163
Balzac 155 133 Comte 185 163
Baxter 155 133 D'Alembert 185 163
Bayle 165 143 Davy 185 163
Beaumarchais 165 143 Galileo 185 163
Beethoven 165 143 Gassendi 185 163
Bentham 180 158 Humboldt, A. 185 163
Bentley 170 148 Lagrange 185 163
Beranger (Béranger) 155 133 Leopardi 185 163
Berkeley 190 168 Mirabeau 185 163
Bernadotte 140 118 Niebuhr 185 163
Berzelius 160 138 Arago 180 158
Beza 165 143 Bacon 180 158
Bichat 175 153 Bailly 180 158
Blake. H. 150 128 Bentham 180 158
Blucher (Blücher) 145 123 Bossuet 180 158
Boerhaave 165 143 Brougham 180 158
Bolivar 155 133 Byron 180 158
Bossuet 180 158 Chatterton 180 158
Boyle 160 138 Condorcet 180 158
Bright 150 128 Cousin 180 158
Bronte, C. (Brönte, C.) 165 143 da Vinci 180 158
Brougham 180 158 Descartes 180 158
Buffon 175 153 Dickens 180 158
Bulwer 155 133 Erasmus 180 158
Bunsen 175 153 Fenelon (Fénelon) 180 158
Bunyan 160 138 Gibbon 180 158
Burke 165 143 Harvey 180 158
Burnet 165 143 Hugo 180 158
Burns 150 128 Hume 180 158
Byron 180 158 Liebig 180 158
Calderon (Calderón) 170 148 Malebranche 180 158
Calvin 175 153 Michelangelo 180 158
Campanella 185 163 Mill, J.S. 180 158
Canning 165 143 Milton 180 158
Canope 170 148 Musset 180 158
Canova 160 138 Oersted, H.C. 180 158
Cardan 175 153 Peel 180 158
Carlyle 165 143 Pope 180 158
Carnot 170 148 Scaliger, J. J. 180 158
Cavour 160 138 Stael (Staël) 180 158
Cervantes 155 133 Tasso 180 158
Chalmers 170 148 Adams. J.Q. 175 153
Channing 160 138 Agassiz 175 153
Chateaubriand 160 138 Bichat 175 153
Chatterton 180 158 Buffon 175 153
Chesterfield 160 138 Bunsen 175 153
Claredon 160 138 Calvin 175 153
Clarke,S. 160 138 Cardan 175 153
Clive 140 118 Coleridge 175 153
Cobbett 150 128 Cuvier 175 153
Cobden 155 133 Gay-Lussac 175 153
Coleridge 175 153 Humboldt W. 175 153
Comte 185 163 Huygens 175 153
Condorcet 180 158 Jonson, B. 175 153
Constant 170 148 Kant 175 153
Cook, J. 160 138 Kepler 175 153
Copernicus 160 138 Lamennais 175 153
Corneille 160 138 Macaulay 175 153
Cortez 140 118 Southey, R. 175 153
Cousin 180 158 Spenser 175 153
Cowper 160 138 Spinoza 175 153
Cranmer 165 143 Thou 175 153
Cromwell 135 113 Vega, de 175 153
Cuvier 175 153 Wolf. F. A. 175 153
da Vinci 180 158 Atterbury 170 148
D'Alembert 185 163 Bentley 170 148
Danton 155 133 Calderon (Calderón) 170 148
Darwin 165 143 Canope 170 148
Davy 185 163 Carnot 170 148
DeFoe 165 143 Chalmers 170 148
Descartes 180 158 Constant 170 148
Dickens 180 158 Dumas, A. 170 148
Diderot 165 143 Faraday 170 148
Disraeli 165 143 Fichte 170 148
Drake 130 108 Hamilton, W. 170 148
Dryden 160 138 Handel 170 148
Dumas, A. 170 148 Irving. W. 170 148
Dupin 160 138 Kotzebue 170 148
Durer (Dürer) 155 133 Lavoisier 170 148
Eliot, G. (Mary Ann Evans) 160 138 Livingstone, D. 170 148
Emerson 155 133 Longfellow 170 148
Erasmus 180 158 Luther 170 148
Etienne (Étienne) 160 138 Marat 170 148
Faraday 170 148 Metastasio 170 148
Farragut 135 113 Napier 170 148
Fenelon (Fénelon) 180 158 Penn 170 148
Fichte 170 148 Racine 170 148
Fielding 165 143 Raphael 170 148
Fouche (Fouché) 165 143 Renan 170 148
Fox, G. J. 155 133 Reuchlin 170 148
Fox, George 155 133 Robespierre 170 148
Franklin, B. 160 138 Smith, A. 170 148
Franklin, J. 150 128 Strauss 170 148
Fulton, R. 155 133 Tennyson 170 148
Galileo 185 163 Turgot 170 148
Gambetta, L.M. 155 133 Velasquez 170 148
Garibaldi 140 118 Vergniaud 170 148
Garrison, W.L. 145 123 Wagner 170 148
Gaskell, E.C.S. 160 138 Wieland 170 148
Gassendi 185 163 Addison 165 143
Gay-Lussac 175 153 Bach 165 143
Gibbon 180 158 Bayle 165 143
Gluck 145 123 Beaumarchais 165 143
Goethe 210 188 Beethoven 165 143
Goldsmith 135 113 Beza 165 143
Grant 130 108 Boerhaave 165 143
Grimm, J. L. 160 138 Bronte, C. (Brönte, C.) 165 143
Grote 160 138 Burke 165 143
Grotius 200 178 Burnet 165 143
Guicciardini 165 143 Canning 165 143
Guizot 165 143 Carlyle 165 143
Haller 190 168 Cranmer 165 143
Hamilton, W. 170 148 Darwin 165 143
Hamilton. A. 155 133 DeFoe 165 143
Handel 170 148 Diderot 165 143
Harvey 180 158 Disraeli 165 143
Hastings 165 143 Fielding 165 143
Hawthorne, N. 155 133 Fouche (Fouché) 165 143
Haydn 160 138 Guicciardini 165 143
Hegel 165 143 Guizot 165 143
Heine 165 143 Hastings 165 143
Helvetius 160 138 Hegel 165 143
Herder 165 143 Heine 165 143
Herschel, W. 165 143 Herder 165 143
Hobbes 165 143 Herschel, W. 165 143
Hogarth 145 123 Hobbes 165 143
Holberg, L. von 165 143 Holberg, L. von 165 143
Hugo 180 158 Jenner 165 143
Humboldt W. 175 153 Johnson 165 143
Humboldt, A. 185 163 Klopstock 165 143
Hume 180 158 Law 165 143
Hunter 160 138 Linnaeus 165 143
Huygens 175 153 Locke 165 143
Irving. W. 170 148 Mazzini 165 143
Jackson. A. 145 123 Mendelssohn 165 143
Jansen 160 138 Montaigne 165 143
Jefferson 160 138 Montesquieu 165 143
Jenner 165 143 Mozart 165 143
Johnson 165 143 Newman, J.H. 165 143
Jonson, B. 175 153 Priestley 165 143
Kant 175 153 Raleigh 165 143
Kepler 175 153 Robertson 165 143
Klopstock 165 143 Sainte-Beuve 165 143
Kotzebue 170 148 Schiller 165 143
La Fontaine 155 133 Scott 165 143
Lagrange 185 163 Shaftesbury 165 143
Lamartine 160 138 Sheridan, R. B. 165 143
Lamennais 175 153 St. Simon 165 143
Laplace 190 168 Swedenborg 165 143
Lavoisier 170 148 Tieck 165 143
Law 165 143 Watt. J. 165 143
Lee, R.E. 140 118 Weber 165 143
Leibniz (Leibnitz) 205 183 Webster 165 143
Leopardi 185 163 Winckelmann 165 143
Lessing 160 138 Wordsworth 165 143
L'Hopital (L'Hôpital) 160 138 Zwingli 165 143
Liebig 180 158 Alfieri 160 138
Lincoln 150 128 Andrewes 160 138
Linnaeus 165 143 Ariosto 160 138
Livingstone, D. 170 148 Berzelius 160 138
Locke 165 143 Boyle 160 138
Longfellow 170 148 Bunyan 160 138
Luther 170 148 Canova 160 138
Macaulay 175 153 Cavour 160 138
Madison 160 138 Channing 160 138
Maintenon 155 133 Chateaubriand 160 138
Malebranche 180 158 Chesterfield 160 138
Marat 170 148 Claredon 160 138
Marlborough 145 123 Clarke,S. 160 138
Marmont 150 128 Cook, J. 160 138
Martineau, H. 160 138 Copernicus 160 138
Massena (Masséna) 125 103 Corneille 160 138
Mazarin 160 138 Cowper 160 138
Mazzini 165 143 Dryden 160 138
Meheme Ali 145 123 Dupin 160 138
Melanchthon 190 168 Eliot, G. (Mary Ann Evans) 160 138
Mendelssohn 165 143 Etienne (Étienne) 160 138
Metastasio 170 148 Franklin, B. 160 138
Michelangelo 180 158 Gaskell, E.C.S. 160 138
Mill, J.S. 180 158 Grimm, J. L. 160 138
Miller, Hugh 155 133 Grote 160 138
Milton 180 158 Haydn 160 138
Mirabeau 185 163 Helvetius 160 138
Molière 160 138 Hunter 160 138
Monk 140 118 Jansen 160 138
Montaigne 165 143 Jefferson 160 138
Montesquieu 165 143 Lamartine 160 138
Moore 150 128 Lessing 160 138
More 155 133 L'Hopital (L'Hôpital) 160 138
Moreau 145 123 Madison 160 138
Mozart 165 143 Martineau, H. 160 138
Murat 135 113 Mazarin 160 138
Murillo 150 128 Molière 160 138
Musset 180 158 Richelieu 160 138
Napier 170 148 Rubens 160 138
Napoleon 145 123 Sand 160 138
Necker 155 133 Schleiermacher 160 138
Nelson 150 128 Sevigne (Sévigné) 160 138
Newman, J.H. 165 143 Sumner, C. 160 138
Newton 190 168 Thiers 160 138
Ney 135 113 Wesley 160 138
Niebuhr 185 163 Adams, J. 155 133
O'Connell 155 133 Ait Weil Zade 155 133
Oersted, H.C. 180 158 Balzac 155 133
Palestrina 155 133 Baxter 155 133
Pascal 195 173 Beranger (Béranger) 155 133
Peel 180 158 Bolivar 155 133
Penn 170 148 Bulwer 155 133
Pitt (the Elder) 155 133 Cervantes 155 133
Pitt (the Younger) 190 168 Cobden 155 133
Pope 180 158 Danton 155 133
Poussin 145 123 Durer (Dürer) 155 133
Prescott 155 133 Emerson 155 133
Priestley 165 143 Fox, G. J. 155 133
Racine 170 148 Fox, George 155 133
Raleigh 165 143 Fulton, R. 155 133
Raphael 170 148 Gambetta, L.M. 155 133
Rembrandt 155 133 Hamilton. A. 155 133
Renan 170 148 Hawthorne, N. 155 133
Reuchlin 170 148 La Fontaine 155 133
Reynolds 145 123 Maintenon 155 133
Richelieu 160 138 Miller, Hugh 155 133
Robertson 165 143 More 155 133
Robespierre 170 148 Necker 155 133
Rossini 145 123 O'Connell 155 133
Rousseau 150 128 Palestrina 155 133
Rubens 160 138 Pitt (the Elder) 155 133
Sainte-Beuve 165 143 Prescott 155 133
Sand 160 138 Rembrandt 155 133
Sarpi 195 173 Savonarola 155 133
Savonarola 155 133 Seward 155 133
Scaliger, J. J. 180 158 Swift 155 133
Schelling 190 168 Temple. W 155 133
Schiller 165 143 Van Dyck 155 133
Schleiermacher 160 138 Walpole 155 133
Scott 165 143 Warburton 155 133
Sevigne (Sévigné) 160 138 Wilberforce 155 133
Seward 155 133 Blake. H. 150 128
Shaftesbury 165 143 Bright 150 128
Sheridan, P.H. 135 113 Burns 150 128
Sheridan, R. B. 165 143 Cobbett 150 128
Sherman 145 123 Franklin, J. 150 128
Smith, A. 170 148 Lincoln 150 128
Soult 150 128 Marmont 150 128
Southey, R. 175 153 Moore 150 128
Spenser 175 153 Murillo 150 128
Spinoza 175 153 Nelson 150 128
St. Cyr 135 113 Rousseau 150 128
St. Simon 165 143 Soult 150 128
Stael (Staël) 180 158 Thackeray 150 128
Strauss 170 148 Wilkes 150 128
Sumner, C. 160 138 Alberoni 145 123
Swedenborg 165 143 Anderson, H.C. 145 123
Swift 155 133 Blucher (Blücher) 145 123
Tasso 180 158 Garrison, W.L. 145 123
Temple. W 155 133 Gluck 145 123
Tennyson 170 148 Hogarth 145 123
Thackeray 150 128 Jackson. A. 145 123
Thiers 160 138 Marlborough 145 123
Thou 175 153 Meheme Ali 145 123
Tieck 165 143 Moreau 145 123
Turgot 170 148 Napoleon 145 123
Van Dyck 155 133 Poussin 145 123
Vauban 140 118 Reynolds 145 123
Vega, de 175 153 Rossini 145 123
Velasquez 170 148 Sherman 145 123
Vergniaud 170 148 Bernadotte 140 118
Voltaire 190 168 Clive 140 118
Wagner 170 148 Cortez 140 118
Wallenstein 135 113 Garibaldi 140 118
Walpole 155 133 Lee, R.E. 140 118
Warburton 155 133 Monk 140 118
Washington 140 118 Vauban 140 118
Watt. J. 165 143 Washington 140 118
Weber 165 143 Cromwell 135 113
Webster 165 143 Farragut 135 113
Wesley 160 138 Goldsmith 135 113
Wieland 170 148 Murat 135 113
Wilberforce 155 133 Ney 135 113
Wilkes 150 128 Sheridan, P.H. 135 113
Winckelmann 165 143 St. Cyr 135 113
Wolf. F. A. 175 153 Wallenstein 135 113
Wolsey 200 178 Drake 130 108
Wordsworth 165 143 Grant 130 108
Zwingli 165 143 Massena (Masséna) 125 103

When you look at the Cox 300 geniuses list, you should really be looking at the Flynn Effect corrected scores and not the original IQ score estimates if you want to compare yourself to the Eminent Geniuses. If you have old IQ scores, you might want to do your own Flynn Effect calculations. I realize that these calculations shrink the pedestal that we keep the Eminent Geniuses on, but at least it should give more of you hope that you might be able to accomplish important things (as long as you are also gifted with creativity or perseverance or whatever other factors contribute to grand achievements).

As to comparing the IQs of people in earlier centuries to modern people, it is legitimate insofar as one can be objective and understand the sources of error. Terman (and Cox) undoubtedly had norming data on how much of the alphabet modern children knew at certain ages, when they started to read, do sums, understand concepts, etcetera. They also presumably had data on the intelligence adults needed to achieve certain levels of education, among other things. So Cox et al. researched what her 300 eminent people had achieved at certain ages and assigned IQ scores accordingly. Cox was well aware that the accuracy of the estimates decreased when the quality or quantity of the biographical information available to her and her colleagues was low.


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