CHILDHOOD PATTERN OF GENIUS—McCURDY 529 
angelo undoubtedly contributed to the rapid progress of these great 
men among the great” [7, p. 216]. The object of the present study 
is to push forward in the same direction of inquiry, but with more 
pointed attention to the social relations and their repercussions. 
In table 1, one column briefly summarizes facts concerning order 
of birth. Considerable theoretical importance is sometimes attached 
to the chronological position of a child in the family. In particular, 
Galton, who was not prone to overemphasize environment, thought 
enough of order of birth to pay some heed to it in his investigation 
TaBLE 1.—Twenty geniuses selected from Coz’s list 
Estimated | Fame (rank Age at mar- 
IQ in in 282) Birth order riage 
childhood 
Jo Ss Mall’ @806—1873)e. = 22-22-38 190 TOS eae larrns 9 eens ae ee 45 
IeibnizaCliG4G—l7ai7 2222 ss = Sass 185 LOA Onlywws® A502 steer 
Grotius (583-1645) sa eee 185 7) Fal Weal bso es ge eee ee 25 
Goethe (1749—-1832)______------ 185 Av ein O eee ee 39 
Pascale(iG23—1662)cowess ree 180 Sow lpOtintss tat: Stee eee 
Macaulay (1800-1859) ___-_---- 180 Sd Tye Oia 2 Speyer 
Bentham (1748-1832) _______--- 180 13H i hal Ens heh eas ee a se a Pe ke 
Coleridge (1772-1834)____-_---- 1745) 1570 al AKOy abo tO Ae eee 23 
Voltaire (1694-1778) _______---- 170 Oye brine Oar 8 2s enalbeae eee 
Leopardi (1798-18387) ____------ 170 DS OMIM cays eee ean | ee 
Chatterton (1752-1770) ______-- 170 [GSES inoue et ec Lew Bes ee 
Niebuhr (1776—1831)________=_- 165 5 aleeenes eee a 24 
Mirabeau (1749-1791)________-- 165 YO) 1) 4970) aay WtWjes eee 22 
J. Q. Adams (1767-1848) _ __---- 165 PAL Osho eee eee 30 
Wieland ((7ss=1813)22 252 3 160 TSA elt Shorea ee 32 
asso: (544-1595) 22 ee oe ee 160 ACRES elias tee ee atte el | yee ee 
Pope (1688—1744)____-_-_-_---- 160 BOmgOnlyeee 2 oe Sens oe eee 
RittyGi59—-l806) Rees 22 2 eee Se 160 Qa Dring jee eee = ieee 
Musset (1810-1857)_.-.-_-___-- 160 DG Oana eee sees |e reer 
Melanchthon (1497—1560)_______ 160 eta Wel iM es ae Be 23 
of British scientists; and he comments that “the elder sons have, on 
the whole, decided advantages of nurture over the younger sons. 
They are more likely to become possessed of independent means, and 
therefore able to follow the pursuits that have most attraction to their 
tastes; they are treated more as companions by their parents, and 
have earlier responsibility, both of which would develop independence 
of character; probably, also, the first-born child of families not well- 
to-do in the world would generally have more attention in his infancy, 
more breathing-space, and better nourishment, than his younger 
brothers and sisters in their several turns” [18, p. 26]. There is an 
intuitive appeal in the argument, but Galton does not support it by 
any precise analysis of his data. What may be said about the present 
sample? First, it must be admitted that there are several ways of 
stating the facts, depending on whether one includes or excludes haltf- 
siblings and siblings who died at an early age. The figures given in 
the table stand for full siblings and include all births. The half- 
