Amazing People You Might Not Have Known Were Homeschooled

Mozart had obvious musical talent from a very young age. His father Leopold, who was also a famous musician and composer, demanded a lot from the young Mozart and made sure that his education was top-notch. Mozart traveled around the concert halls of Europe, learning from his father and other great composers. His homeschooling even allowed him the opportunity to play before kings and queens. This early education gave Mozart the experience and training he needed to compose some of the greatest musical works of all time.

Many of America’s founding fathers, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, James Madison, and, of course, Thomas Jefferson were home schooled. Jefferson learned how to think critically and analyze arguments at home by reading classical Latin and Greek philosophers. Jefferson built on his home school education when he attended college, and the ideas he learned at home were vital when he was called upon to draft the Declaration of Independence.

Novelist and humorist Mark Twain was home schooled, and the experience left such a good impression on him that when it came time to educate his own daughters, he also chose to home school them. Homeschooling gave the young Twain an independent spirit that he would use in his later work.

The Wright brothers showed an interest in technology very early on in life. They were always tinkering with things and performing experiments. Homeschooling allowed them to pursue these interests and gain a deep understanding of the way things were put together. Both brothers were highly intellectual, but neither completed high school—Orville, in fact, took a series of advanced college prep courses rather than the prescribed curriculum. Their educational experiences at home almost certainly laid the foundation for their first successful flight.

Mystery writer Agatha Christie taught herself to read by the age of four. Impressed with her obvious intelligence, Christie’s father began teaching her mathematics via story problems and her family played trivia games to teach her facts about the world. She picked up French without formal training by listening to her French nanny. Agatha used her diverse home school education to create enduring mystery stories. Her books are known and read the world over.