Calvin Coolidge IQ

Calvin Coolidge was born on 4 July 1872 in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. He graduated cum laude from Amherst College in 1895, read law and rose through Massachusetts politics to governor. His firm handling of the 1919 Boston police strike made him a national figure. Elected vice-president in 1920, he became president when Warren Harding died in 1923; his father, a notary, swore him in by lamplight. He won in 1924, declined to run in 1928 and died in 1933.

He was never tested. Simonton's 2006 study gives him 142 in version II-C, and the four versions average about 127, around the middle of the presidents. Ratings of openness and intellectual brilliance pull his average down.

He spoke little in public and in company. A famous story has a dinner guest betting she could get more than two words from him; he replied, "You lose." He held regular press conferences, though, and wrote his own speeches.

Historians debate it. His policies of low taxes, light regulation and spending cuts presided over the boom of the 1920s, and some argue they let speculation run unchecked. The crash came in 1929, seven months after he left office.

Coolidge practised restraint as a method. He believed many problems would go away if left alone and that saying little prevented mistakes. Knowing when not to act is a real skill, though critics argue he applied it too widely.

What supports it

• Simonton (2006) gives Coolidge 142 in version II-C.
• He graduated cum laude from Amherst in 1895.
• He won an American Historical Association essay prize as a student.

What it cannot prove

• Simonton built most presidential figures statistically from expert ratings, so neighbouring presidents cannot really be told apart.
• His reticence makes inner thinking hard for historians to judge.
• Achievement reflects education, opportunity, persistence and collaboration as well as raw reasoning ability.

Calvin Coolidge's IQ is represented here by a retrospective estimate of 142, not a verified test result. Calvin Coolidge is best known for exceptional restraint. The useful question is what the surviving evidence shows, not whether a precise modern score can be recovered.

Laconic, frugal and dry-witted. A man who used silence as a political tool.

The dominant archetype here is The Minimalist. This archetype shapes decision patterns: what feels natural, what creates friction, and what blind spots tend to emerge.

Estimated IQ is 142. This is a rough estimate based on documented accomplishments and contemporary accounts, not a literal measurement.

He kept a pet raccoon named Rebecca at the White House; she had been sent to be cooked for Thanksgiving.

Calvin Coolidge's estimate of 142 falls in the genius level IQ range. Want your own number rather than Calvin's? Take the free IQ test or the quick IQ test.