Sidis Archives Home W. J. Sidis Biography
Fact Check: Newspaper and Magazine Articles about W. J. Sidis at the Time of His Death Compiled by Dan Mahony, M.Phil. |
(Articles follow.)
TIME, July 31, 1944
As Boris's Bibliography shows, he wrote no articles about his son. Philistine and Genius is a book about education in general in which he argues for early childhood education―of the first psychologists to do so.
New
York Times, July 18, 1944 Boston Traveler, July
19, 1944
See "The Sidis Story," Chapter 5, written by his mother Dr. Sarah Sidis. His parents simply provided him with the books. Young William did the rest. "He asked me a question one day, and then triumphantly said, 'But you will say, "Let's look it up!" and I can look it up myself!' That is the last lesson I gave Billy. During the day he would go occasionally to his room and close the door and read. He never studied."
TIME, July 31,
1944 New York Times, July 18,
1944
"His death in 1944 as an undistinguished figure was made the occasion for reawakening the old wives tales about nervous breakdowns, burned out prodigies and insanity among geniuses."―Dr. Abraham Sperling in Psychology for the Millions, 1946 As his Harvard Transcript shows, there was no interruption of his studies, he achieved high grades, and graduated cum laude. Secondly, the family lived at the Sidis Psychotherapeutic Institute, hence his presence there when school was off.
Boston Traveler, July 17, 19, 1944 Boston
Herald, July 18, 1944
As his financial documents show, he had $650 in the bank which is equivalent to more tham $8000 today. Inflation Calculator
New
York Daily News, July 23, 1944
"Sidis had plenty of loyal friends. All of them found his ideas stimulating and his personality likable."―Shirley Smith Letter to the Editor Sidis went to Harvard Law School at age 18. Harvard Transcript
New York Times, July 18,
1944
In his lawsuit againstThe New Yorker, Sidis said that nearly all of the article was untrue and so listed only the few actual facts. See also his letter to Julius Eichel.
TIME, July 31, 1944 TIME stooped to publishing this distorted picture of him.
Last but not least, to entitle an obituary of a person “Prodigious Failure” was a low-point in the history of American journalism. A public apology to his memory is long overdue. "I am thoroughly familiar with his desire to avoid publicity and his friends' wishes to observe that desire. However, since the appearance of so many distorted news and magazine articles about Bill since his passing, a true and worthy account of the noble spirit and motives that guided Bill Sidis through life is more than justified."―Dr. Abraham Sperling in Letter to Julius Eichel
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Boston Traveler, July 18, 1944
New York Times, July 18, 1944.
New York Daily News, July 23, 1944