Smarter Than Einstein, Sadder Than Most: The Life of William James Sidis

On July 13, 1944, in a modest Boston boarding house, William James Sidis was found unconscious. He had suffered a massive stroke and passed away shortly after, marking the end of a life both remarkable and heartbreaking. Many experts believe that Sidis was the smartest person to ever live, with an estimated IQ between 250 and 300—far beyond Albert Einstein’s, whose IQ was estimated at around 200. But despite his extraordinary intelligence, Sidis’s life was defined more by sorrow and alienation than by success. His story serves as a powerful reflection on the pressures that prodigies face and raises questions about the price of genius.

Early Life: A Prodigy from Birth

William James Sidis was born on April 1, 1898, to Boris Sidis and Sarah Mandelbaum Sidis, Ukrainian Jewish immigrants who had fled antisemitic violence in the Russian Empire. The couple were not only survivors of persecution but also intellectuals with ambitious dreams for their son. Boris was a prominent psychologist, and Sarah was one of the few women at the time to graduate from medical school. Their shared belief in the power of education laid the groundwork for William’s development.

William's early milestones stunned the world:

• By 6 months, he could recognise letters and shapes.
• At 18 months, he was reading the New York Times.
• By age 5, he had written several books on anatomy and grammar.
• By age 8, he spoke eight languages fluently, including Latin, Greek, German, and Russian. He even invented his own language, Vendergood, which combined influences from multiple European languages.

The media quickly caught wind of the "boy genius," and newspapers often depicted him as the next great mind who could revolutionise science and mathematics. But even as he achieved academic brilliance, cracks were beginning to show in his emotional well-being.

A Harvard Graduate at 16: The Beginning of Isolation

In 1909, at just 11 years old, William became the youngest person to enroll at Harvard University. There, he quickly gained a reputation for his ability to tackle complex mathematical problems. At age 12, he delivered a lecture on four-dimensional geometry to Harvard’s Mathematics Club, leaving even seasoned professors in awe.

However, William’s time at Harvard was far from a happy one. Despite excelling academically, he faced bullying and isolation from older students who saw him as a "freak." He had no interest in sports, socialising, or romance, which made it difficult for him to fit in. His biographer, Amy Wallace, described how Sidis was often taunted by students who played cruel pranks on him.

“He had none of the social graces, no interest in sports or girls, and was several years younger than his classmates,” Wallace wrote.

He graduated cum laude at the age of 16, but instead of celebrating, William expressed a desire to live a life of seclusion. His idea of the “perfect life” was one free from the public’s gaze—a dream that would remain elusive.

Parental Pressure: The Double-Edged Sword

William’s parents were instrumental in shaping his intellect, but their influence came at a cost. Boris Sidis, a strong supporter of early intellectual stimulation, applied rigorous psychological techniques to his son’s upbringing. From infancy, William was treated like an adult, expected to master subjects well beyond his years. There was little time for play or social development.

Boris believed that genius was not inherited but cultivated through proper education and discipline. He famously said, “Parents cannot too soon begin the work of bending the minds of their children in the right direction.” While this approach created a prodigy, it also left William ill-equipped to navigate life’s emotional challenges.

Despite their high hopes, William grew resentful of his parents, especially his domineering mother. Their relationship soured over time, and he avoided contact with her for much of his adult life.

A Short-Lived Academic Career and Rejection of Fame

After graduating from Harvard, Sidis briefly taught mathematics at Rice University at the age of 17. However, like at Harvard, he struggled to fit in and faced mockery from students who saw him as awkward and overly serious. Female students, in particular, played cruel pranks on him, pretending to have romantic feelings for him as a joke. Humiliated, William left the university after only eight months.

He then enrolled at Harvard Law School but dropped out before completing his degree. Around this time, he made headlines for publicly declaring his commitment to celibacy and his disdain for material success, stating, "I want to live the perfect life. The only way to live the perfect life is to live it in seclusion."

Political Activism and Imprisonment

William’s rejection of conventional life didn’t mean he lacked passion. In fact, he was deeply involved in politics, particularly socialist and anti-war movements. In 1919, he was arrested for participating in a May Day protest in Boston that turned violent. His anti-war stance and refusal to register for the draft during World War I nearly landed him in prison, but he was released after the truce.

During this time, he developed a close but unrequited romantic attachment to Martha Foley, a young Irish woman he met during his political activism. Although the relationship never progressed beyond a brief kiss, William reportedly carried a photograph of Martha in his pocket until his death.

A Life of Obscurity and Menial Jobs

In the 1920s and 1930s, William withdrew from public life entirely, taking on a series of low-paying, menial jobs under various pseudonyms. He worked as a clerk, a factory operator, and even as a comptometer (mechanical calculator) operator. Whenever his co-workers discovered his true identity, he would quit and move on to another job.

Despite his humble lifestyle, he continued to write prolifically on topics ranging from cosmology to Native American history. In 1925, he published a book titled The Animate and the Inanimate, which explored the possibility of reversing entropy and preventing the heat death of the universe. However, the book was largely ignored by the scientific community.

Declining Health and Tragic Death

By the 1940s, William’s health had deteriorated. He was overweight, suffered from high blood pressure, and lived in near poverty. On July 17, 1944, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 46, the same cause of death as his father. He was buried in a simple grave beside his father in New Hampshire.

The Legacy of William James Sidis: A Cautionary Tale

Was William James Sidis a victim of overzealous parenting, a hostile society, or his own choices? Historians and psychologists continue to debate this question. Some argue that his parents pushed him too hard and denied him a normal childhood, while others blame the relentless media scrutiny that turned him into a public spectacle.

A faculty member at Rice University, where Sidis briefly taught, remarked, “He was the victim not of intensive education given him by his father but of the thoughtless cruelty of the public.”