William James Sidis: The Brilliant Mind We Almost Forgot
William James Sidis: The Forgotten Prodigy
William James Sidis (April 1, 1898 – July 17, 1944) was an American child prodigy known for his extraordinary intellectual abilities in mathematics, linguistics, and general knowledge. Born in New York City to Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants, Boris and Sarah Sidis—both highly educated—William’s upbringing was grounded in intense academic focus from an early age.
By the age of 18 months, Sidis was reportedly reading newspapers. By age 6, he had written four books, including one on anatomy. By 8, he was fluent in multiple languages, including Latin, Greek, French, Russian, and German. He also created a constructed language called “Vendergood,” which included aspects of Latin and Greek and its own grammatical structure.
At age 11, Sidis was admitted to Harvard University, where he gave lectures on four-dimensional geometry and rapidly attracted attention in academic circles and the press. Despite his brilliance, the attention brought by his early fame had adverse effects. Sidis struggled with the pressure of expectations and later distanced himself from public life.
After Harvard, Sidis attended graduate school at Rice University, where he briefly taught mathematics. He eventually withdrew from both academia and the spotlight, choosing instead to live a private life. He held various clerical jobs and published essays and books under pseudonyms, touching on subjects ranging from cosmology to history.
Sidis’s later life was marked by a desire for anonymity. He rejected the fame associated with his youth and filed lawsuits against publications that continued to publicize his story without consent. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Boston at the age of 46.
Though many claims about his intelligence—such as speaking 40 languages or possessing a photographic memory—remain anecdotal, Sidis is still cited as an example of the extreme potential and psychological complexity of child prodigies.