Eminence

Studies

Historiometric studies of eminent people use large quantitative data sets to measure trends over time. Psychometric research uses psychological tests to probe the abilities and traits of eminent people. Psychobiographical studies examine the lives of single individuals with a focus on childhood experiences and emotional dynamics. Comparative biographical studies examine the lives of eminent individuals looking for traits or experiences they have in common.

Although the methods are different, the same individuals are often identified as eminent. In The Price of Greatness, Arnold Ludwig compared the samples in Cradles of Eminence by Victor Goertzel and colleagues to Ludwig's own samples drawn from reviews in The New York Times Book Review and those listed in standard reference works. Ludwig found that the overlap between his samples and those of the other works ranged from 67 to 85 percent. Samples based on published biographies tend to include larger numbers of political and literary figures. Scientists and business leaders are better represented in samples that use expert judgments as a measure of eminence.

In the Goertzels' 1962 comparative biographical study of eminent people, the most eminent were Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Albert Schweitzer, and Theodore Roosevelt. These five men stood out from the rest of the sample in the number of biographies published about them. The Goertzels' 1968 sample was more diverse with Robert F. Kennedy, [Page 310]Lyndon Johnson, Simone de Beauvoir, Anaïs Nin, Sidonie Colette, T. S. Eliot, Ché Guevara, and Carl Jung the most eminent. In the 2003 sample, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Tiger Woods, Michael Jeffrey, Oprah Winfrey, and George W. Bush led the sample, in that order.

The more recent samples have more women and minorities and people from more diverse fields of accomplishment. The recent samples include people who became eminent through marriage to an eminent person. There continues to be a large number of eminent people who had difficult childhoods because of accidents, illnesses, or family conflicts. Although difficult childhoods leave some people wounded and disadvantaged, eminence is sometimes achieved by those who gain strength from dealing with adversity. This is particularly true of writers and artists who are able to use their experiences as inspiration for their work. Major factors in achieving eminence are a drive for achievement and an internal locus of control.

Characteristics of Eminent People

Eminence is usually attained by outstanding performance in a single area of achievement, and eminent people often have exceptional ability in one specific domain. Howard Gardner has applied his theory of multiple intelligences to the lives of eminent people, finding that they were creative individuals who solved problems, fashioned products, or posed new questions in a way that was initially thought to be unusual but that was eventually accepted by others working in the domain.

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