8 famous preemies and one famous cover up

8 famous preemies

and one famous cover up

What do Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Stevie Wonder and Winston Churchill have in common? They were all born prematurely—or were they?

Prematurity is not a new thing: babies across the ages have battled incredible odds to survive the conditions and medical knowledge of their time. So much focus is placed on their survival rates, their potential problems later in life, and the struggles they face: let’s turn the tables on World Prematurity Day and look at nine babies who beat the odds to become some of the most influential people in history. Eight were premature… one may not have been.

Stevie Wonder

Born at 34 weeks in 1950, Stevie Wonder is a child prodigy and enormously successful musician, having won 22 Grammy awards with more than thirty top 10 hits. This is despite the blindness due to retinopathy of prematurity, a complication caused by underdeveloped vessels on the retinas. Nowadays, the incidence of vision issues is greatly reduced.

Wayde van Niekerk

Wayde van Niekerk made history at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, winning South Africa’s first gold medal since readmission. He won the men’s 400m event in 43.03 seconds, smashing the world record: not bad for a man born at 29 weeks, weighing just over 2lbs.

Anna Pavlova

Anna Pavlova was born prematurely in 1885 and went on to become one of the world’s most famous ballerinas. It was her small size and stature as a result of her premature birth that set her apart from other ballerinas of the time. Her prematurity was her asset.

Johannes Kepler

Born at seven months in 1574 in Germany, he was expected to be ‘weak in body and mind’ as was assumed of premature babies at the time. He grew to be healthy and strong, with an estimated IQ of 160. He became the Principal Mathematician to the Emperor and a founder of modern astronomy and physics.

Sir Isaac Newton

Weighing just 3lbs at birth, Sir Isaac Newton was not expected to live beyond a few years. He became one of the world’s most famous and influential scientists, describing the laws of motion and gravity.

Albert Einstein

Another of the world’s most famous scientists, Albert Einstein contributed more than any other scientist to the 20th century understanding of physical reality, winning the Nobel Prize for his work. He was born early in 1879, with his mother frightened that her child’s head was so large and oddly shaped. Concerns were raised about his intellectual development and language delay—he turned out just fine.

Sir Sidney Poitier

Sir Sidney Poitier is a Bahamian-American actor, film director, author and diplomat who became the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor. His parents had travelled to Miami to sell tomatoes when he was born two months premature. They remained in Miami for another three months to ensure he survived.

Mark Twain

Author of the Great American Novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) was born two months early in 1835, weighing just 5lbs.

Sir Winston Churchill

Here’s where things get interesting. Future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, gifted military leader and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Sir Winston Churchill was born 30 November 1874, two months early. Or was he?

Churchill’s father, Lord Randolph Churchill, met American socialite and heiress Jennie Jerome, and proposed to her three days later. Their wedding was described as a hushed and rushed affair, lacking the splendour befitting a privileged young couple—notably, the groom’s parents did not attend. Seven months later, young Winston arrived. Coincidence or cover up?

Hyphenette supports the Irish Neonatal Health Alliance. The INHA supports and empowers parents of premature babies. For more information and to donate, click here.