Temporarily Unappreciated Geniuses

     Sadly, many great thinkers, artists, and scientists who are now very famous and admired today, were ignored or laughed at during their lives. But which ones were they? You may be surprised (or not) at the people listed below. I wanted to learn more about why they were ignored, because who knows, maybe we're all just misunderstood geniuses.

1. Galileo Galilei 

      On February 15, 1564, One of the most famous astronomers ever was born. Galileo contributed many instruments and information to the world of science. He built a telescope with which he discovered the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, sunspots, moon craters, and lunar mountains. But the thing he is most famous for and was his downfall was his belief in, and ability to prove Copernicus's heliocentric (sun in the middle of our solar system) theory. This threatened the church which was a government all its own back then; they firmly believed that the earth was the center of the solar system (not to mention the entire universe), for why would God send his only son to a lowly planet? Pope Urban VIII accused Galileo of heresy and he was put under house arrest until his death.

2. Gregor Mendel

     The father of modern genetics, Mendel, was born in 1822. He became an Augustinian monk, but was as devoted to mathematics, and his experimentation on the inheritance of pea plants as he was to God. Mendel was always shy, quiet and rather prone to psychological breakdowns; he never shared his findings with the world, but was way ahead of his time. In fact, his two laws, The Law of Segregation and The Law of Independent Assortment, both hinted at the inner-workings of cell functions and DNA that wouldn't be discovered until later. He was however, spot on.

3. Henry David Thoreau
     Born on July 12th, 1817, Thoreau is best known for his rather long and dry book (you decide whether or not that was sarcasm) Walden about his time living in a shack by a lake. In it, and his other books, he preaches the importance of living naturally. Much of his writing was over the heads of many of its readers, for he could write stanza upon stanza filled with symbolism and hidden meanings. In fact, when no one would publish his book A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers he printed 1,000 copies at his own expense, and in the end, fewer than 300 books were sold. Today, his writings are greatly esteemed and have inspired many leaders such as Ghandi, and Tolstoy, along with many people all around the world.

4. Edgar Allan Poe

     In Massachusetts, on January 19th 1809, one of the most famous writers ever was born. Poe wrote short-stories, books, and poetry, most of which had a ghoulish or mysterious twist, and was the first to write a short-story featuring a detective. Unfortunately, Poe's works were not appreciated while he was alive, and he wrote mostly anonymously. He had a hard time getting his works published, and when he did, he was either not paid, or paid very little. The Raven, a now greatly admired piece of literature, was sold to The American Review for $9. Unfortunately, after his wife's death, his life took a turn for the worse. Poe started drinking, and it got harder to publish things; he had to move constantly to stay out of trouble, and eventually, in 1849, he died. Oddly enough, the cause of his death is shrouded in mystery; doctors' opinions ranged from insanity to suicide to rabies to disease of the heart. Rather fitting for Poe don't you think? 

5. Vincent van Gogh
     Perhaps one of the most famously misunderstood geniuses is this fellow, a Dutch painter born on March 30th 1853. He is now considered one of the most influential artists ever, and the most famous Post-Impressionist painter. As a child he was very shy and had low self-esteem; he later started to do missionary work to become a priest, but his ambitions changed and he soon turned to painting and drawing. Although his works contain bright colors and scenes, his life was much different. He suffered from epilepsy and depression making him mentally-unstable which eventually lead to suicide.
     Van Gogh's approximately 2,000 pieces of art were not truly discovered until after his death, but are now among the most influential and admired works ever.

     So really? You could be a misunderstood genius like the rest of these people, just waiting for your immense intelligence and talent to be discovered by the world. Keep that in mind as you go around making history today.
 
~Adair