Here is an ever growing list of individuals who have ADD/ADHD or who have been believed to have ADD/ADHD based on their characteristics. Much research has gone into compiling this list. There are individuals who are not listed, and as research is furthered the list will be more detailed. The purpose of this compilation is to illustrate that there are many people with ADD/ADHD and that it is possible to achieve great success despite it.
Ludwig Van Beethoven A famous composerThomas Edison A famous inventor (electricity)Winston Churchill A statesman, author and artist
He was a bad student who couldn't concentrate,look at what he achieved.
John F. Kennedy, President of the United States
Orville Wright (of The Wright Brothers) Co-inventor of the airplane
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart A famous composer
Robin Williams A world famous acadamy award winner.
Benjamin Franklin An inventor, statesman, writer and publisher
He was disorganized and argumentative yet he had an infinate amount of ideas and imaginative ventures (electricity).
Henry Winkler An actor ( "The Fonz") from Happy Days.
Agatha Christie A famous authorWoodrow Wilson A president of the United States
Walt Disney A famous cartoonist and maker of Disney Land
Alexander Graham Bell A famous inventor (the telephone)
George Washington first U.S. President
Werner Von Braun A famous missle scientist he developed the V-2 Rocket.
Albert Einstein A famous mathematician (E=mc2)
He was a poor student, he didn't talk until he was 3, was distractible, socially awkward and messy, yet unimaginably creative and intelligent.
Steven Spieldberg Acadamy award winning movie mogul.
Henry Ford A industrial innovator he invented the Ford car and headed the Ford Motor Company which at the time was the largest manufacturer of cars in the world.
Hans Christian Anderson A writer of fairy tales, poems and dramas "The Ugly Duckling", "The Red Shoes".
Ronald Reagan The former President Of The U.S. and an actor.
Ann Bancroft An Actress
Sir Richard Francis Burton English explorer, and diplomat, noted for his translations of arabic literature "Arabian Nights"(16 vol.,1885-1888).
Robert Kennedy former Sentor
George Burns An actor
Harry Belafonte An actor
Prince Charles
Stephen Hawkins A Scientist.
Mariel Hemingway Actress
Ernest Hemingway A famous novelist and short story writer. He won the Pulitzer Prize(1953) and Nobel Prize (1954) for literature.Some of his works are "The Sun Also Rises"(1926),"The Old Man and The Sea", "For Whom The Bell Tolls"(1940).
Bill Cosby Famous actor and comedian
Harvey Cushing, M. D.
Leonardo da Vinci A famous painter, sculptor,architect,scientist,and engineer. Notable painting include "The Last Supper", "Mona Lisa".
Dwight D. Eisenhower U.S. Presient
F Scott Fitzgerald Autor "The Great Gatsby"
Malcolm Forbes
Galilel Galileo An astronomer and mathematcian. Invented the refracting telescope(1609), A proportional compass and a thermometer. He made many discoveries in astronomy such as the sun rotates on it's axis.
Danny Glover world famous actor
William Randolph Hearst A famous publisher and former senator. Owned several newspapers and magazines "Morning Journal", "Harper's Bazaar", "Good housekeeping"
Tracey Gold Actress (Growing Pains)
Zsa Zsa Gabor A world famous actress
Micheal Jordan World famous athlete (Chicago Bulls)
Sylvester Stalone world famous actor "Rocky","Rambo"
John Lennon world famous musician "the Beatles"
Abraham Lincoln President of The United States
Carl Lewis Olympic winning athlete
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart A world famous composer who started out as a child prodigy. Some of his operas are still performed today including "The Magic Flute"
Sir Issac Newton A world famous scientist and mathematician. Explained the influence of the Earth's gravity. discovered the binomial theorem,tangents,differential calculus,reflecting telescope,and that white light is a combination of the colors of the rainbow.
Nostradamus A famous astrologer mostly known for his prophecies.
Louis Pasteur A chemist who is regaurded as the founder of bacteriology. He created many vaccines.
Pablo Picasso A world famous painter and sculptor "Demoiselles d' Avignon", "The Guitarist"
Edgar Allan Poe A Poet, story writer, and literary critic. "The Raven", "The Pit and The Pendulum", "The Murders In The Rue Morgue".
George C. Scott A famous actor
Sergei Rachmaninoff famous composer,pianist, and conductor "The Prelude in C Sharp Minor".
John D. Rockefeller American oil magnate and philanthropist (he gave away over $600 million) . At one point "the richest man in the world".
Eleanor Roosevelt former First Lady
Babe Ruth Famous baseball record holder
Anwar Sadat
Pete Rose A world famous baseball player
Stevie Wonder Grammy Award winning musician
Tom Smothers A famous comedian (The Smothers Brothers)
Lindsay Wagner An actress
James Stewart A world famous actor
Leo Tolstoy A writer and social reformer "War And Peace"(1866).
Vincent Van Gogh A world famous artist some of his most notable paintings are "Sunflowers", "The Potato Eaters","Berceuse", The Bridge at Aries" along with his self portrait
Henry David Thoreau writer and poet "Walden"(1854), "Civil Disobedience"(1849).
Jules Verne famous writer "Around The World In 80 Days",(1873).
William Butler Yeats novelist, poet and 1923 Nobel Prize winner for literature
I want parents of children with ADD/ADHD and those who have ADD/ADHD to see that there is not much difference between the characteristics of ADD/ADHD and those of giftedness. Equipt your children to make the most of these traits. Realize that they can set out to be and do anything they wish. Be proud of your children and encourage them to feel good about their unique qualities. These are the behaviors associated with giftedness, read them and decide for yourself.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GIFTEDNESS
Poor attention, boredom, daydreaming in specific situations
Low tolerance for persistence on tasks that seem irrelevant
Judgment lags behind development of intellect
Intensity may lead to power struggles with authorities
They have high activity levels and may need less sleep
Questions rules, customs and traditions
