James A. Garfield IQ

James Abram Garfield was born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831; his father died when he was two. He worked on canal boats, then put himself through school and graduated from Williams College in 1856. He taught classics and became head of what is now Hiram College at 26. He rose to major general in the Civil War and served 17 years in Congress. Elected president in 1880, he was shot by Charles Guiteau in July 1881 and died that September.

He was never tested. Simonton's 2006 study gives him 152 in version II-C, and the four versions average about 141. That puts him in the top quarter of presidents, a striking result for someone who served only 200 days.

He arranged two copies of a right triangle and a third triangle into a trapezoid, then calculated its area in two ways. Setting the two expressions equal gives a squared plus b squared equals c squared. It was published in the New England Journal of Education in 1876.

The story is widely repeated but we found no contemporary evidence for it. What is documented is that he taught both languages and studied them at a high level at Williams College.

Garfield's proof shows clean spatial reasoning: rearrange shapes so that the same area can be counted two ways. That is exactly the kind of insight a visual reasoning puzzle rewards, and few politicians have published one.

What supports it

• Simonton (2006) gives Garfield 152 in version II-C.
• His proof was published in 1876 and is preserved.
• He graduated from Williams College with honours.

What it cannot prove

• Simonton built most presidential figures statistically from expert ratings, so neighbouring presidents cannot really be told apart.
• His short presidency gave historians little to rate.
• Popular stories about his ambidextrous writing are unverified.

James A. Garfield's IQ is represented here by a retrospective estimate of 152, not a verified test result. James A. Garfield is best known for exceptional self-education. The useful question is what the surviving evidence shows, not whether a precise modern score can be recovered.

Self-made, scholarly and genial. A canal boy who became a professor, general and president.

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

Estimated IQ is 152. This is a rough estimate based on documented accomplishments and contemporary accounts, not a literal measurement.

Alexander Graham Bell built a metal detector to try to find the bullet in his body.

James A. Garfield's estimate of 152 falls in the genius level IQ range. Want your own number rather than James's? Take the free IQ test or the quick IQ test.