History's most extraordinary child prodigies
Pablo Picasso -
The famous Spanish painter's first words were "piz, piz" which is short for lapis, the Spanish word for "pencil." Picasso painted 'Le petit picador jaune' when was eight years old.
Wayne Gretzky -
The ice hockey star was just six years old when he started playing against boys aged 10. By age 10 himself, Gretzky had scored 378 goals and added 139 assists in one season alone.
Shirley Temple -
The American child star started her film career at the age of three. Shirley Temple was awarded the first ever Academy Juvenile Award when she was six.
Tiger Woods -
The famous golf prodigy stared training with his father when he was just two. At age eight, Woods won his first Junior World Golf Championship, and the rest is history.
Anna Paquin -
The actress was 11 years old when she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 'The Piano' (1993).
Blaise Pascal -
The French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher was just nine when he wrote a treatise on vibrating bodies.
Blaise Pascal -
Pascal became known for Pascal's theorem, which he developed when he was 16. Not to mention that he was the inventor of the mechanical calculator.
Clara Schumann -
German-born musician Clara Schumann started composing piano pieces at the age of 10. Schumann played her first concert in 1830, at the age of 11.
Willie Mosconi -
Willie Mosconi caught the world's attention at the age of six, when he played an exhibition match against the reigning world billiards champion, Ralph Greenleaf.
Willie Mosconi -
"Mr. Pocket Billiards" became a juvenile champion at the age of 11 and went on to win more World Straight Pool Championships than anyone else—15.
Judit Polgar -
Judit Polgar was born in 1976 in Hungary. She stated entering chess tournaments by the age of six.
Judit Polgar -
Polgar defeated her first grandmaster, Vlatko Kovacevic, when she was 15, becoming the youngest chess grandmaster in history (at the time).
Aelita Andre -
Aelita Andre started painting before turning one. At four years old, the young painter had her work exhibited at a New York City gallery.
Taylor Ramon Wilson-The young American nuclear physicist designed an innovative nuclear reactor when he was 14. Taylor Wilson then designed a compact radiation detector to be used at airport security.
Rabindranath Tagore -
The Indian child prodigy wrote his first poem when he was eight. Rabindranath Tagore was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, this in 1913.