List last edited September 2011. Revisions and additions to this list have been suspended. Excerpts from this list have been published in some of the author's new books, which can be downloaded through Lili Marlene's Smashwords page:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/LiliMarlene
famous autistics famous autists famous aspergians famous aspies Asperger syndrome HFA famous people eccentric genius eccentric geniuses
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The inclusion of every name into this list is supported by at least one document cited in the references section. Most of the authors of the documents that form the basis of this list are Asperger syndrome experts, professional psychologists, professional psychiatrists, academics, biographers, journalists and/or published authors. There are also references to relevant audio and visual material. At the risk of stating the obvious, most of the people in this list are or were intellectually gifted and/or blessed with a special talent. Giftedness and AS appear to be often co-occurring conditions which have many characteristics in common.
Journalists and Whistleblowers
Julian Assange (b.1971, Australian journalist, publisher, Internet activist and spokesperson, cryptographer and editor in chief and founder of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and repository for news leaks. Previously Assange was a computer programmer and a hacker. In 2010 Assange was described as “the most famous man in the world” (Rintoul et al 2010). Assange has received a number of human-rights-related awards. November 2010, WikiLeaks and media partners began publishing secret US diplomatic cables causing great embarrassment among leaders of many nations. In the same month Interpol placed Assange on its list of wanted persons, wanted for questioning about alleged sexual offences. Assange voluntarily surrendered to the London Metropolitan Police Service in December 2010. Assange denies the accusations made against him. There have been calls for Assange to be prosecuted for espionage and even calls for his assassination. Assange has had a falling out with some WikiLeaks collaborators, and has been accused of being a dictator with an oversized ego. WikiLeaks is a secretive organization, and Assange has been living an itinerant, secretive life travelling the world.
Assange spent most of his youth living on beautiful Magnetic Island off Queensland. His family had an unconventional lifestyle. Assange was homeschooled and he had his own horse. The family home burnt down. His step-father described Assange as a very intelligent child with a strong sense of morality "He always stood up for the underdog,... he was always very angry about people ganging up on other people." When Assange was 11 years his mother took Assange and his half-brother into hiding for 5 years during a custody dispute over his half-brother, in which the family moved homes and schools. Assange was homeschooled, also self-taught, a voracious reader citation-surfing in libraries, did some study by correspondence and also studied informally with university professors (Khatchadourian 2010). Assange started computer hacking at 16, joining a hacker group. This set has been described thus: "These were gifted kids who the system really couldn't accommodate and so they had exited - mentally, emotionally, physically.” (Suelette Dreyfus quoted by Rintoul et al 2010). According to Wikipedia in 1991 police raided his home. Assange pleaded guilty to hacking in 1992 and he was released and fined. According to another source (Wilson 2011) five years passed between the hacking and Assange being sentenced. Court documents from the 1996 sentencing portray Asssange as a lonely computer geek kid who had an unsettled family and educational life who failed his year 12 exams (Wilson 2011). One needs to consider that such documents would have a bias. While awaiting trial Assange reportedly became depressed and briefly booked himself into a hospital (Khatchadourian 2010). When Assange broke up with a girlfriend whom he had “married in an unofficial ceremony” (Khatchadourian 2010) he became involved in a custody battle over his own son, resulting in Assange and his mother creating a database of legal records related to child custody issues in Australia. An important internal manual was leaked by a child protection worker. According to Assange’s mother, this was the stressful time when Assange’s hair turned grey. Assange was involved with starting one of Australia’s first ISPs, and he has developed free software, becoming a key figure in the free software movement (Barrowclough 2010) that includes Richard Stallman, who is also in this list. Assange also co-invented the Rubberhose deniable encryption system. Assange has reportedly attended six universities at various times but has never graduated, studying maths, physics, philosophy and neuroscience. Assange became disenchanted with studying maths because fellow Australian students were working on projects for the US military.
Assange’s voice has been described as a “droning bass monotone” (Hosenball 2010). He has a pale complexion and hair that has gone completely grey before the age of 40. An account of a former housemate describes Assange’s lifestyle as one in which he would forget to eat and sleep, and would work through the night on his computer. Assange is capable of intense concentration but can also be absent-minded in practical matters (Khatchadourian 2010). Assange has been described as “brilliant and charming one minute but insufferable the next” (Hosenball 2010). According to one report Assange “has described himself to collaborators, only partly in jest, as "somewhere on the autistic spectrum."” (Hosenball 2010). There has also been some online speculation about Assange and autism. M)
Deborah Locke (maiden name Webb, Australian whistleblower, former Detective Senior Constable in the NSW police force, awarded the Commissioner's Certificate of Merit for her reporting of police mismanagement and corruption, which led to the establishment of the Wood Royal Commission (Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service), which led to the establishment of the Police Integrity Commission. Locke has been a long-time member of Whistleblowers Australia and was a candidate for the (not-then-registered) People Power political party in Australia in the Werriwa by-election of 2005. Locke is the mother of a son with autism and an autism and disability advocate. She also works as a manager of a women’s and childrens’ refuge in Sydney, and is also involved with an autism support group which she founded with her husband. Locke was described as “an aspie” in the documentary film by Stephen Ramsay Oops, Wrong Planet. Locke is reportedly “diagnosed with high functioning autism”. Locke's story, as told in her book Watching the Detectives, is a major source of material for the latest instalment on the infamous Australian TV series Underbelly, titled Underbelly: the golden mile. Locke’s character Debbie Webb is played by Cheree Cassidy. M)
Scientists and Academics
John Couch Adams (1819-1892, British astronomer and mathematician and a professor at Cambridge, known as England's greatest mathematical astronomer with the exception of Newton (who is also in this list), Adams was a mathematical prodigy. As an adult he had a speech impediment and had difficulty writing narrative prose. In 2007 a journal of the Royal Society published a substantial paper in which the authors argued that Adams had AS and this contributed towards the failure of Adams and British collaborators to beat a German/French team to make the optical discovery of the planet Neptune, even though Adams had done the calculations first, but the authors did not lay all the blame on Adams. M)
Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806, a free African American astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, author of an almanac and farmer. Banneker is one of the famous role models profiled in the children’s book Different like me: my book of autism heroes by Jennifer Elder.)
David Bellamy OBE (b. 1933, English botanist, broadcaster, environmentalist and author, outspoken, has held positions such as professor, president and vice-president within many organizations, won a BAFTA Richard Dimbleby Award for television in 1978, possibly best known as the extremely enthusiastic host of nature documentaries such as Botanic Man screened in the 1970s, as a child he enjoyed reading Encyclopaedia Britannica, once asked for Baillier’s Medical Dictionary as a present and threw a tantrum beside a Diplodocus when it was closing time at the end of his first visit to a natural history museum, M)
Robert Boyle, The hon. FRS (1627-1691, chemist, physicist, alchemist, inventor, one of the founders of modern chemistry, known for his formulation of Boyle's Law, wrote The sceptical chymist, an important book in the development of modern chemistry. Boyle was “perhaps the most eminent scientist of his day” (Hunter 2009), only outshone by Sir Isaac Newton, who was influenced profoundly by Boyle’s work. Boyle had a stutter which lasted his entire adult life. In his writings Boyle complained about the tendency for his thoughts to roam in an uncontrolled way. He called this a “habitude of raving” (Hunter 2009 p. 35). Boyle was a profoundly religious and moralistic person. He led a celibate lifestyle and never married.)
Henry Cavendish FRS (1731-1810, physicist, “He was one of the unthanked benefactors of his race, who was patiently teaching and serving mankind, whilst they were shrinking from his coldness, or mocking his peculiarities...” - biographer George Wilson describing Henry Cavendish, quoted by Oliver Sacks)
Marie Curie (1867-1934, Polish-French chemist and physicist, pioneer of research on radioactivity, winner of Nobel Prizes in physics in 1903 and in chemistry in 1911, the only woman to date to win two Nobel Prizes, some sources claim she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to receive a second Nobel Prize, she was the first female professor at the Sorbonne, the Curie’s eldest daughter also won a Nobel Prize in chemistry, despite their great achievements Marie and Pierre Curie showed little interest in fame or wealth, enjoying their research and family life, during WW1 Marie was on the front lines with ambulances carrying X-ray equipment, her husband was “also possibly left-handed, and even more of a natural outsider than Marie.” (Wright 2007), Wright has observed that photographic evidence suggests that Curie, her Nobel-winning daughter, and their spouses, may have all been left-handed – assortative mating among left-handers?, Marie died of leukaemia, the result of exposure to radiation, L-H, M)
Charles Darwin FRS (1809-1882, English naturalist, proposed the theory of natural selection which is the foundation of modern biology, wrote On the Origin of Species, “the most important biological book ever written” (Taylor 2008 p. 123) and it was also a popular book partly due to the clear and unpretentious style in which it was written, Darwin also wrote The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Darwin spent 8 years studying barnacles, showing a long-term devotion to a subject that other people might have found most uninteresting. Darwin came from a distinguished and rather inbred family and he married a first cousin. Darwin was a half-cousin of Sir Francis Galton, who is also on this list. Darwin was a devoted father, and three of his sons became Fellows of the Royal Society. Charles Darwin was a member of the Athenaeum Club. Darwin sometimes spoke with a stutter. He also had a chronic physical illness that was never diagnosed and still remains a mystery. Many theories have been suggested to explain Darwin's illness, including cyclic vomiting syndrome, hypochondria and even inbreeding (Coghlan 2010). The subject of Charles Darwin’s illness has its own Wikipedia page. Darwin had a very prominent brow ridge and thin lips, masculine facial characteristics that are possibly the result of high levels of testosterone during development. Darwin’s scientist half-cousin Sir Francis Galton had similar facial features. R-H, M, 3)
Paul Dirac OM, FRS (1902-1984, British theoretical physicist, winner of a Nobel Prize in physics in 1933, one of the greatest physicists of all time, Dirac made important contributions to the development of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics, appointed as the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge when he was "not quite thirty" (Farmello 2009), Dirac has received honours and awards and has had medals named after him, in 2009 biographer Graham Farmelo argued that Dirac and his father were autistic to some degree, but despite this they were very incompatible personalities, Farmelo also identified Dirac's loyalty to friends in need as a possible autistic trait, Dirac was an aloof man of few words, according to the Farmelo's biography there was a Dirac family history of suicide and depression, Dirac refused to accept a knighthood in 1953 because he did not like the idea of being called by his first name ("Sir Paul"), Dirac's circle of friends included physicists Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer and Werner Heisenberg, Dirac was an atheist, R-H?, M)
Albert Einstein FRS (1879–1955, American theoretical physicist with German-Jewish origins, winner of Nobel Prize in physics in 1921, his many very important contributions to science include the general and special theories of relativity, Einstein wrote Relativity: the Special and the General Theory, Einstein expressed many political opinions but never joined any political party or movement, was thought to have had a large head in infancy, had very delayed speech development as a child, a narrowly-focused autodidact by nature he ignored school subjects that did not interest him and was not liked by some teachers. There have been controversial claims that Einstein's first wife Mileva, a Serbian mathematician, made an unacknowledged contribution to Einstein’s work. They had 3 children, one illegitimate daughter who’s fate is unknown, a son who became an engineering professor and another son, Eduard, who was institutionalized as a schizophrenic, according to a member of the Einstein family many of Albert’s colleagues and friends believed Eduard was the one who had inherited his father’s intellect (Zackheim 2008), Einstein was a friend of Kurt Godel and also Irene Joliot-Curie, who are also included in this list, Einstein’s preserved normal-sized brain has been extensively studied by scientists, with one study finding an increased number of glial cells compared to neurons in Einstein’s the left inferior parietal area, a part of the brain responsible for higher reasoning. A print of what is claimed to be Einstein's hand (right) was published in Discover magazine, and similar prints can be found on the internet, I have measured the hand's 2D:4D digit ratio to be 0.93, very low, and consistent with typical digit ratios of people with autism, digit ratios are thought to indicate levels of prenatal testosterone, if this genuinely is a print of Einstein's hand it provides more evidence that he was autistic, some authorities claim Einstein was mixed-handed while other sources list him as a left-hander, L-H, M, 9)
Dian Fossey (1932-1985, American zoologist who studied gorillas over a period of 18 years in Rwanda. Fossey is one of the three women encouraged by Louis Leakey to study great apes in their natural environment. Fossey organized effective anti-poaching patrols in the face of official inaction and opposed tourism. She wrote the book Gorillas in the Mist, and as a celebrity and scientist she was very influential in reforming the negative image of the gorilla. Her life story was depicted in the movie Gorillas in the Mist. She is one of the famous role models profiled in the children’s book Different like me: my book of autism heroes by Jennifer Elder. Fossey had a number of relationships with men but never married. She was murdered and the case remains open.)
Rosalind Frankin (1920-1958, English crystallographer, biophysicist, had Jewish heritage, her x-ray diffraction images of DNA were an important contribution to discovering DNA’s double helix structure, had difficulties working with some scientists, at least partly due to sexist attitudes and rules at that time in English universities, died at age 37 from ovarian cancer, possibly the result of radiation exposure at work, not awarded a Nobel Prize as she died before a Nobel was awarded to the team that researched nucleic acids and the Nobel is not awarded posthumously)
Sir Francis Galton FRS (1822-1911, English polymath, anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, psychometrician, statistician and racist. Galton wrote over 340 papers and books. He wrote about synaesthesia. Galton created the statistical concept of correlation, and also coined the term “nature versus nurture”. His book Hereditary Genius was the first social scientific attempt to study genius and greatness. Another notable book of Galton’s was Inquiries into human faculty and its development. Galton had a mania for measuring things, even devising a method for measuring the size of African women’s breasts and buttocks using a sextant (Lloyd & Mitchinson 2009 p. 112-3). By statistical means he proved the ineffectiveness of prayer, and he also formulated a method for making the perfect cup of tea. Galton was a child prodigy, reading at age 2, doing maths at 5 and reading adult books at 6 years. He was a half-cousin of Charles Darwin, who is also on this list. Galton had a prominent brow ridge and thin lips, masculine facial characteristics that are possibly the result of high levels of testosterone during development. Galton’s scientist half-cousin Charles Darwin had similar facial features. In the book Remarkable biologists by Ioan James evidence for and against Galton having AS is briefly mentioned on p.104-105. Galton is discussed as an obsessive in the book Obsession: a history by Lennard Davis. M)
Temple Grandin (b.1947, American animal science Associate Professor, industrial designer, writer and animal rights and autistic rights advocate. Grandin was diagnosed with “brain damage” at age of 2, her diagnosis changed to autism during childhood and was formally diagnosed with Asperger syndrome when a adult. Before attending college Grandin had been a student at a boarding school for intellectually gifted children who have trouble learning in a regular setting (2E children). According to a note on page 92 of the 2011 book The Mind’s Eye by Dr Oliver Sacks, Grandin seems to have a normal ability to recognize faces. Grandin was the subject of a biographical made for TV movie titled Temple Grandin, with Claire Danes cast as Temple Grandin.)
Irene Joliot-Curie (1897-1956, French scientist who co-discovered artificial radioactivity, daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, was a co-winner with her husband of a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1935, L-H, M)
Alfred Kinsey (1894–1956, sex researcher, had a profound influence on values and attitudes regarding human sexuality, his Kinsey Report books, one about males and another about females, were bestsellers in the US, professor of entomology and zoology, founder of a sex research institute, an atheist, believed to have been bisexual, M)
Barbara McClintock (1902-1992, American scientist, cytogeneticist, and feminist icon, awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1983 for the discovery of genetic transposition, the only woman to receive an unshared Nobel Prize in the category. McClintock has also received a number of other prizes and awards, and14 Honorary Doctor of Science degrees. McClintock displayed emotional independence from a young age, and was a solitary and tomboyish girl. She did not get along well with her mother. McClintock never married. She is one of the famous role models profiled in the children’s book Different like me: my book of autism heroes by Jennifer Elder.)
James Clerk Maxwell FRS (1831-1879, mathematical physicist, his scientific work strongly influenced physics in the next century, considered by some to be in the same league as geniuses Einstein and Newton, a member of the Cambridge Apostles *, M)
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884, original name Johann Mendel, assumed the name Gregor when he entered monastic life, Austrian scientist and priest, also worked as a physics teacher in an abbey, his pioneering work on the genetics of pea plants laid the foundation of the science of genetics but his published work was largely ignored in his own time, the biological term “Mendelian inheritance” was named after Mendel)
Sir Isaac Newton FRS (1642–1726, English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher and alchemist, born very small, started his schooling at the bottom of the class, regarded as lazy and inattentive, but after Newton beat the stuffing out of a school bully who was larger he rose to become the school’s “top boy”, Newton thrived on solitude, during 1665-1666 Newton returned to his home town from Cambridge University which was closed due to plague and in this period Newton invented calculus and did other very important intellectual work, Newton wrote the seminal book of maths and physics Principia Mathematica, Newton was appointed to the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge in his 20s, he secretly had heretical religious beliefs and practiced alchemy, in later years was Master of the Royal Mint and President of the Royal Society, a very religious person but he explained his brilliant scientific insights as the result of solitary persistent thought rather than divine revelation. Some sources claim that Newton had a stutter throughout his life. Newton “could go without sleep for days”. (Morrow 1999). He never married and left no offspring. A number of authors have argued that Newton was or might have been autistic, a couple arguing to the contrary. Chapters about Newton can be found in the books Genius genes: how Asperger talents changed the world by Fitzgerald and O’Brien and Asperger syndrome and high achievement: some very remarkable people by James. 6, L-H)
Charles Richter (1900-1985, American seismologist, created the Richter Magnitude Scale to quantify earthquakes, was able to read and speak many different languages, Richter and his wife were naturists (nudists), M)
Peter Mark Roget FRS (1779-1869, British physician, lexicographer, natural theologian, lecturer and inventor, best known as the author of the Thesaurus of English words and phrases (Roget’s Thesaurus), the book that has become synonymous with synonyms. Roget’s Thesaurus is not the only well-known reference work that he contributed to – he wrote articles for several editions of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Some of Roget’s associates included Faraday, Ampere, Bentham, Darwin and Babbage. The last 3 associates are also in this list. Roget had an obsession with compiling lists from the age of 8. He was also obsessed with classifying. Roget’s biographer Kendall has argued that the list-making was a strategy to ward off depression, but other writers have argued that Asperger syndrome is a more likely explanation. It has also been argued that Roget had OCD, and there appears to have been a history of depression in his family. After Roget’s death, work on the thesaurus was continued by his son John Lewis Roget and John’s son. In an 1881 paper by Sir Francis Galton about “visualised numerals” which is now known as visuo-spatial synaesthesia, John Roget is one of the men of science who see “numerals in Forms” whose experiences are described by Galton (who is also in this list). M)
Carl Sagan (1934-1996, American with Jewish heritage, astronomer, astrobiologist and popularizer of science, advocate of the scientific/humanist/skeptical philosophy, won many awards including an Emmy and a Pulitzer Prize. Sagan's personality has been described as high in conscientiousness and low in agreeableness in a 1999 Caltech lecture series talk. Sagan was married three times, M)
Boris Sidis (1867-1923, Russian Jewish psychologist, physician, psychiatrist, philosopher of education and father of mathematician prodigy William James Sidis, who is also in this list. Boris Sidis applied the theory of evolution to psychology but he spoke out against eugenics, he raised a son (William James) with an IQ estimated at an incredible 250-300 points, but he derided intelligence testing. Boris Sidis was also an unacknowledged pioneer of synaesthesia research, using the term "secondary sensation" for synaesthesia in a 1914 book. Boris Sidis was at one time the medical director of an institution for persons who were "not actually insane" but had milder issues such as obsessions. Boris and William James had a poor relationship (see entry for W. J. Sidis). Both were polyglots, and both experienced marginalization despite their great abilities. Boris became ostracized from his profession and was written out of the history of psychology following his criticisms of Freudian theory and mainstream psychology. Boris and William James both died prematurely from cerebral hemorrhage, M)
Adam Smith (1723-1790, Scottish pioneer of political economics, moral philosopher, professor, popularly known as the father of modern economics. Smith wrote An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations (Wealth of nations) which is considered to be the first modern book of economics, and he also wrote The theory of moral sentiments. Smith was without doubt an eccentric. He had the habit of speaking to himself and lecturing during conversation, and the absent-mindedness of this professor is legendary. Smith’s smile has been described as one of “inexpressible benignity” and he had a stutter. Some descriptions suggest Smith had a tic and was a hoarder of documents. There is evidence that Smith had echopraxia, a strange type of tic in which the actions of others are imitated involuntarily. John Rae described some episodes in his biography of Smith. Echopraxia is thought by some to be linked to “hyper-empathy” and mirror neurons (Thomson 2010), even though echopraxia is associated with autism, and conventional thinking is that people with autism should have deficiencies in empathy and mirror-neuron functioning. Adam Smith never married. An interesting discussion of Smith and his book The theory of moral sentiments in relation to autism can be found in the book Create your own economy by Prof. Tyler Cowen.)
Vernon L. Smith (b.1927, American professor of economics, winner of a Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2002. Smith is reported as having Asperger syndrome. A TV news story interview with Smith and his wife in which they discuss AS can be viewed at MSNBC. Smith's autobiography was published in 2008 Discovery - a memoir, in which Smith discusses evidence for and against the proposition that he has Asperger syndrome. An economics professor who recruited Smith has written “I see him as a living, walking example of the cognitive strengths of autism.” (Cowen 2009). M)
Lawrence Summers (b. 1954, American economist with Jewish heritage. In September 2010 Summers announced that he would be stepping down from his position as Director of the White House's National Economic Council for President Barack Obama and return to teaching at Harvard University. Summers was the Secretary of the Treasury in Bill Clinton’s administration, was Chief Economist of the World Bank and waswas the President of Harvard University for 5 years. Summers’ comments at a 2005 conference that women may be under-represented in science and engineering because of innate sex differences caused great controversy and discussion around the world, his views were defended as scientifically justified by popular science writer and academic Steven Pinker. Summers entered MIT at age 16, a tenured professor at Harvard at age 28, has uncles on both sides of his family who won Nobel Prizes in economics in the 1970s, and parents also economists. There has been some speculation in print about Summers and Asperger syndrome, from author Richard Bradley and from the controversial Nobelist scientist James D. Watson. M, R-H?)
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) Serbian-American inventor, electrical and mechanical engineer and physicist, regarded as America’s greatest electrical engineer, alternating current electric power systems are the result of Tesla’s ideas, Tesla filed the first basic radio patent, may have missed out on a Nobel Prize because of conflict with inventor Thomas Edison, who also did not receive a Nobel, worked on plans for a particle beam super-weapon up to the time of his death, had a “nervous breakdown” in his early twenties, Tesla had an eidetic memory, synaesthesia, sensory aversions and hypersensitivity, was a highly visual thinker, could speak in eight languages, celibate and never married but had friends, died alone in a hotel in a state of indebtedness after losing scientific credibility because of his odd personality, eccentric ideas and symptoms suggestive of OCD that developed in his late 50s. Tesla was born left-handed but became ambidextrous, He appears to have had a very low 2D:4D finger ratio (.91) based on a photograph of his left hand. Very low 2D:4D ratios are associated with autism. Tesla is believed to have needed little sleep and could work through the night on projects. One of his many inventions was a machine for inducing sleep. Tesla was a true eccentric regarded as a hero by other eccentrics, one biography apparently asserted that Tesla was a superior being from the planet Venus (Pickover 1998), L-H, 2)
John B. Watson (1878-1958, American psychologist who founded behaviorism, M)
Authors of first modern clinical descriptions of autism
Leo Kanner (1894-1981, Austrian born American psychiatrist with Jewish heritage, wrote a pioneering textbook on child psychiatry, in 1943 wrote a paper describing autism, introduced the term “infantile autism”, Roy Grinker speculated that Kanner may have had “subclinical” autistic traits and that some family members on his paternal side had autistic traits or AS (Grinker 2007) but the accuracy of Grinker's writing about Kanner has been disputed, M?)
Hans Asperger (1906-1980, Austrian paediatrician, talented at learning languages as a child, famous for writing one of the two first clinical descriptions of autism in 1944, but it was not till the 1980s and 1990s that his paper and findings made an impact in the scientific and medical communities, Asperger syndrome was named after him, was the first to claim that “The autistic personality is an extreme variant of male intelligence.” (Asperger translated by Frith). In 2007 a two-page letter titled Did Hans Asperger (1906–1980) have Asperger Syndrome? by AS clinicians Lyons and Fitzgerald was published in an autism journal. M)
Writers
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875,Danish poet and author. He is famous for writing children’s stories including The Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Little Mermaid and many other children’s stories. Andersen was odd in appearance. He had a small head, an odd walk and was clumsy. His romantic interests in a number of men and women were unreciprocated. Andersen has been identified as a dyslexic. L-H)
Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941, influential American novelist and short story writer, best known for his collection of interrelated short stories Winesburg, Ohio. Following a mental breakdown and temporary disappearance in 1912 Anderson left his position as a company president and he also left his wife and kids to pursue a career as a writer. He later remarried and worked again in business. Anderson married a total of four times. Anderson is one of the authors discussed in the book Writers on the spectrum: how autism and Asperger syndrome have influenced literary writing by academic Julie Brown. M)
W. H. Auden (1907-1973, full name Wystan Hugh Auden, poet born in Britain, migrated to the US, described as one of the greatest 20th century writers, wrote reviews and essays, worked on documentaries, won a Pulitzer Prize For Poetry in 1948 for The Age of Anxiety: A Baroque Eclogue, set to be a mining engineer till his great love of words lead him to be a poet, Auden was homosexual and described his relationship with poet Chester Kallman as a marriage, not known for domestic neatness Auden “…kept a kitchen that could have doubled as a research facility for biological warfare.” (James 2007), biographer Davenport–Hines claimed that Auden hinted in his loosely autobiographical A Certain World: A Commonplace Book “that he considered himself mildly autistic as a child, and conceivably diagnosed himself as manifesting what is now known as Asperger’s syndrome.” (Davenport-Hines 2004), Auden’s poem Funeral Blues was featured in the 1994 movie Four Weddings and a Funeral, M, R-H?)
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989, winner of a Nobel Prize in literature in 1969, playwright, poet, novelist, cricket player (bowled with right hand and batted with left), served with the French Resistance during WWII, “almost certainly the greatest prose stylist of the century..”, wrote the play Waiting For Godot, wrote literature in English and French, once worked as the secretary of James Joyce, L-H, M)
Lewis Carroll (1832–1898, real name Reverend Charles L. Dodgson, wrote the classic children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland which is thought to contain descriptions of experiences that are like those experienced by temporal lobe epileptics. In an article published in New Scientist in 2010 a researcher doing a DPhil in literature argued that some scenes in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland were satire of radical then-new ideas in mathematics by a “stubbornly conservative mathematician” (Bayley 2010). Dodgson’s nonsense poem Jabberwocky has reputedly been called “the king of neologistic poems”, (a tendency to invent and use new words (neologisms) is an autistic trait). Carroll was also a mathematician, logician, photographer, academic and Anglican clergyman. He was apparently a bored and boring lecturer. His career suffered from his tendency to be side-tracked by pursuits that took his interest. Carroll was intellectually gifted as a child, home-schooled till age of 12. he was a stutterer in a family in which 8 of the 11 children were stutterers (6 sisters stutterers, which is remarkable as this condition is quite rare in females) (Wright 2007). Carroll's parents were first cousins. He appears to have enjoyed the company of children more than the company of his age peers, never married, suffered from migraine headaches, may have had epilepsy. Like many autistic savants Carroll figured out a method for finding the day of the week for any given date, which is explained on page 167 of the book Lewis Carroll in numberland by Robin Wilson, L-H)
Bruce Chatwin (1940-1989, British travel writer and novelist, wrote The Songlines and In Patagonia, was a bisexual and was married, died of AIDS, M)
Helen Dale/Darville/Demidenko (b. 1972, born Helen Darville, literary pseudonym Helen Demidenko, changed name to Dale reportedly to avoid discrimination in job interviews, Australian writer, P.E. teacher, winner of The Australian/Vogel Literary Award in 1993 (at age 22), the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 1995, and the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal in 1995, as Helen Demidenko, all awarded for the novel The Hand that Signed the Paper, this novel, it’s author and the awards ignited a storm of controversy in Australia that inspired the publication of four books about the affair, Dale gained a reputation as a chronic liar when she lived in the fictional persona of half-Ukrainian Helen Demidenko “on and off for at least three years” (Prior 1996), according to an autobiographical article in Quadrant Dale was given phonics tuition and occupational therapy as a child for dyslexia and went from the bottom of the class to the top within 6 months, has claimed to have a very high IQ, Dale has expressed political views that could be categorized as right-wing, she is involved with the Australian Skeptics, during the Demidenko affair was defended by Australian poet Les Murray, literary editor of conservative journal Quadrant who himself claimed to be autistic and considers himself a pariah from a leftist Australian literary establishment, Dale finds commercial law fascinating and is reported to be currently studying postgraduate law at Oxford, R-H?)
Henry Darger (1892-1973, author of the longest work of fiction in human history, see full description in the Artists section)
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886, American poet regarded as one of the greatest poets. Her poems were in a number of ways unconventional for their time. Dickinson was a prolific poet but was not well known in her lifetime. She was very reclusive and considered eccentric but she had a good rapport with children. She had a habit of wearing white clothes, but also excelled at domestic work such as gardening and baking. Dickinson had a particular fascination for scented flowers. When she died she was buried in a white coffin and flowers used at her funeral included orchid, heliotrope and violets - flowers which have especially splendid fragrances. It has been written that Dickinson “saw things directly and just as they were”. Dickinson is one of the writers discussed in the 2010 book Writers on the spectrum: how autism and Asperger syndrome have influenced literary writing by literary academic Julie Brown. Dickinson’s biographer Lyndall Gordon has argued that epilepsy is the explanation for Dickinson’s reclusive life and her single status. Epilepsy had a huge social stigma during the time that Dickinson lived. There was a family history of epilepsy in the Dickinson family. Both explanations could be true – autistic people have an increased risk of also having epilepsy, and autism and epilepsy can both run in families.)
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930, he changed his given middle name “Conan” into the first part of his surname but librarians file his name under “Doyle”, a British polymath most famous for writing the Sherlock Holmes stories and novels. Doyle became an agnostic in his youth despite a religious education. He qualified and practiced as a doctor. His story A Study in Scarlet has never been out of print since it was first published in 1888. Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories got the world hooked on the literary genre of detective fiction. When he “killed” the Holmes character in a story there was an outcry from the public. Doyle relented and continued to write Sherlock Holmes stories. The Sherlock Holmes character has been identified as an autistic fictional character by two different professors in two different books. Prof. M. Fitzgerald has also identified Doyle as a novelist who had Asperger syndrome (Fitzgerald 2005) and Prof. T. Cowen has presented evidence that Doyle based his autistic character on himself (Cowen 2009). Sherlock Holmes has a savant-like brother named Mycroft who co-founded a gentleman’s club named the Diogenes Club, for shy and misanthropic gentlemen. Talking is banned in this (fictional) club. In real life Doyle was a member of the Athenaeum Club which included among its members three other famous people in this list. The evil Professor Moriarty character has also been identified as arguably autistic (Cowen 2009 p. 153). Doyle ran for parliament but was not elected. He investigated two real-life closed crime cases leading to the release of two prisoners, and Doyle is credited with promoting the use of forensic science in police work with his stories before it was widely used (Calamai 2008). Doyle was a member of the Athenaeum Club *. He became involved with spiritualism late in life following the deaths of family members. M)
Greg Egan (b.1961, Australian science fiction author and computer programmer, winner of a Hugo Award in 1999 for the novella Oceanic, and has won three Locus Awards. Egan and some other literary figures were identified as possible cases of Asperger syndrome in an article published in 2006 in the science fiction magazine Locus, which is interesting considering that Egan has created at least two autistic fictional characters. In Egan’s 1995 novel Distress the character James Rourke is a representative of the (fictional) Voluntary Autists Association and he shares some interesting opinions about autism. The main character of Distress, Andrew Worth, has also been identified as having an autistic personality and this novel has been cited as one of the first to feature such a personality as a central element (Hassler & Wilcox 2008 p.18). Greg Egan is known for his reclusiveness. He does not attend science fiction conventions nor sign books. At his web site he has explained that "There are no photos of me on the web." Egan is an atheist and he has contributed an essay to the 2009 book 50 voices of disbelief: why we are atheists. Egan's latest novel is titled Zendegi)
Janet Frame ONZ CBE (1924-2004, changed name to Nene Janet Paterson Clutha but known by original name, New Zealand writer of fiction, poetry and widely known for her three volumes of autobiography that the movie An Angel at My Table was based upon. Her father was an engine driver. Frame had a long history of voluntarily committing herself to psychiatric hospitals. She was diagnosed as schizophrenic, received many shock treatments, a lobotomy operation planned but was cancelled when Frame won a major New Zealand literary prize, some years later in a London mental hospital a psychiatrist classified her as sane expressing the opinion that she had never been schizophrenic, Frame went on to consult a psychoanalyst. Frame had a family history of epilepsy and autism, and in 2007 a posthumous diagnosis of autism by a doctor of medicine sparked controversy. Frame was awarded a CBE in 1983, was admitted to the Order of New Zealand in 1990, won a number of literary prizes and awards and is thought to have been short-listed for the Nobel Prize in literature. Towards Another Summer is an interesting quasi-autobiographical novel by Frame that was published posthumously. L-H?)
Franz Grillparzer 1791-1872, Austrian dramatist and poet. In a 2 page 2007 letter to an autism journal about Hans Asperger two AS clinicians speculated that Asperger’s favourite poet, Grillparzer, might also have had AS.
Hermann Hesse (1877-1962, German-born Swiss novelist, poet and painter, winner of a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946 for the novel The glass bead game, also published under the title Magister Ludi. Hesse also wrote the novels Steppenwolf and Siddhartha. In early childhood Hesse displayed intelligence, strong will and a turbulent spirit. From his earliest years his parents doubted that they were able to meet the challenge of parenting such a child and in 1890 his mother described Hesse as “abnormal” in a letter (Freedman 1978 p.40). Hesse’s school years ended at the age of 16, following a very unsettled period marked by conflict with his parents and a suicide attempt, in which he attended a variety of schools and institutions including a seminary and a mental institution. Hesse’s first wife was from a family of mathematicians and she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Hesse had an interest in psychoanalysis. The main character of The glass bead game, Joseph Knecht, has been identified as having autistic characteristics, and the possible autism of Hesse has also been explored (Cowen 2009). A blogger who goes by the name Herocious has identified a description of synaesthesia experienced by Joseph Knecht in the novel, which can be found on pages 47-48 of the 1969 Richard & Clara Winston translation of the book. M)
Patricia Highsmith (1921–1995, born with the name Mary Plangman, American novelist, learned to read very early, wrote Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley, also wrote the first lesbian novel to have a relatively happy ending published under a pseudonym and widely read especially within the lesbian community. Highsmith was reputedly an alcoholic bisexual misanthrope who preferred the company of animals to the company of people. She kept cats and snails as pets and according to legend Highsmith smuggled her pet snails into France underneath her breasts. Highsmith was hypersensitive to sound and often showed a lack of tact in things that she said. She was also ambidextrous. A-H)
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889, English poet, Jesuit priest)
James Joyce (1882-1941, writer and poet, wrote Finnegans Wake and Ulysses, a 250,000 word novel of great literary importance because of its experimental literary techniques and stream of consciousness form, “the world’s first modernist novel” (Taylor 2008 p. 161), Joyce overturned the conventional avoidance of mentioning the scatological and sexual sides of life in this novel, the publication of extracts from the novel in the US led to prosecution for obscenity, but the novel in full was published in the US some years later. The character Leopold Bloom in the novel is an ordinary hero unglamorously depicted. This novel has a cult following. The life of Joyce’s daughter Lucia Joyce is a tragic and mysterious part of the Joyce legend. She started a promising career as a dancer and dated Samuel Beckett in her 20s, but her rebellious and eccentric behaviour lead to an analysis by Jung and many different diagnoses from many different sources, the diagnosis that she is remembered by is “hebephrenic psychosis”, the modern term in the DSM-IV for this being “schizophrenia – disorganized type”, an early-onset, permanent subtype of schizophrenia that does not include delusions or hallucinations as criteria, schizophrenia is a diagnosis that has been incorrectly given to many people who were later re-diagnosed with autism/AS, Lucia spent most of her life in mental institutions, a schizophrenia charity in Ireland designated Lucia’s birthday as “Lucia Day”, the use of letters written between Lucia and her father in a biography of Lucia Joyce has been the subject of a law suit, M)
H. P Lovecraft (1890-1937, real name Howard Phillips Lovecraft, American writer in horror, science fiction and fantasy genres, was a child prodigy with a talent for poetry and an autodidact, but was unable to be educated in school till late childhood)
Herman Melville (1819–1891, wrote the novels Moby-Dick and Billy Budd, Moby-Dick is regarded by some as the first great American novel, an epic work at 220,000 words in 135 chapters, about an obsessive and eccentric whaler captain’s quest for revenge against a white whale, Melville was a distant relative of techno-pop music star Moby, M)
Caiseal Mor (b. 1961, Australian fantasy novelist (with Irish heritage), and musician, despite being advised not to disclose his autistic status for the sake of his writing career, in a 2007 autobiography A blessing and a curse Mor revealed that he was diagnosed as autistic and suffered from abuse as a child, he did not speak till the age of 4, Mor suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder and PTSD, M)
Les Murray (b. 1938, full name Leslie Allan Murray, considered to be Australia’s greatest living poet, won T. S. Eliot Prize in 1996 for Subhuman Redneck Poems. He was born into a poor dairy-farming family. He started speaking before age 2 with a prodigious early memory for nursery rhymes, taught self to read at age four, started school at age 9, read the 8 volume Cassell’s Encyclopaedia at home. From his early years was often subject to harsh physical discipline from his father, was bullied in high school, won a scholarship to university and spent some time as a drifter. Murray worked as a translator and a public servant. Murray has translated many different languages. He has a long history of (formally diagnosed) clinical depression, one of his children is autistic, like another person in this list has eyes of different colours (heterochromia) (Alexander 2000 p.27), wrote two novels of verse, literary editor of conservative journal Quadrant, commissioned to write a preamble to the Australian Constitution and also to rewrite Oath of Allegiance, considers himself a pariah from a leftist Australian literary establishment, no stranger to controversy, has claimed in a poem The Tune on Your Mind, and in interviews to be “a bit Aspergers”, described as “diagnosed” with AS in some media articles, Murray has written about his autistic son's autistic characteristics in the poem It Allows a Portrait in Line Scan at Fifteen. There is speculation that Murray may win a Nobel Prize for Literature one day. Murray’s latest publication is Taller When Prone, a book of poems. M, 8, R-H)
George Orwell (1903–1950, real name Eric Blair, author and journalist, “one of the most elegant stylists in English literature” (Taylor 2008 p. 177), Orwell wrote the famous dystopian novel 1984 and the famous political satire novella Animal Farm, Orwell was a democratic socialist critic of various forms of totalitarianism, many of the terms and neologisms coined by Orwell in the novel 1984 have become a part of the English language, M)
John Elder Robison (b.1957, American author of the bestselling 2007 memoir Look me in the eye : my life with Asperger's. Robison is the brother of Augusten Burroughs (pen name) who is the author of a number of autobiographical books including Running with scissors. John E. Robison is also the manager of J E Robison Service Co which does sales, service, repair and restoration on a number of imported makes of vehicles. Early in his career Robison’s skills in electronics were applied to the rock music industry, working as a sound advisor for Pink Floyd and KISS, and designing the special effects guitars used by KISS during concert tours at the height of their popularity. Later Robison worked in electronic design for the toy manufacturer Milton Bradley. Robison has served on a panel reviewing grant applications for the National Institutes of Mental Health and in 2010 Robison was appointed to two review boards of the controversial charity Autism Speaks. Another book by Robison is expected in 2011. Robison was diagnosed with AS as an adult, and has a son who also has AS. M)
Jonathan Swift (1667–1745, Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer, and cleric, possibly the best prose satirist in English literature, wrote Gulliver’s Travels, might have had Meniere’s disease)
Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862, born David Henry Thoreau, American author, poet, abolitionist naturalist, tax resister, surveyor, historian, philosopher and transcendentalist. Thoreau wrote the book Walden, which is about simple living among nature, and the essay Civil Disobedience.)
Robert Walser (1878-1956, Swiss writer (in the German language), “was a total autodidact”, his highly original work has been compared with that of Beckett, Kafka, Proust and Joyce, during one period he wrote a large volume of works (known as “microgramms”) in minuscule handwriting in pencil, spent the last 25 years of his life in Swiss psychiatric institutions after entering voluntarily with the encouragement of his sister, where he continued his writing, chose not to leave after judged well enough to leave, diagnosed with schizophrenia, a diagnosis disputed by Lyons and Fitzgerald, who claim he had AS and depression and also met diagnostic criteria for schizoid personality disorder)
Herbert G. Wells (1866-1946, English writer of fiction and non-fiction, best known for his science fiction novels, socialist, he married twice (including a marriage to a cousin) and had numerous affairs, L-H)
Opal Irene Whiteley (1897-1992, also known by the names Opal Stanley Whiteley, Princesse Francoise d’Orleans and Francoise Marie de Bourbon-Orleans, a nature writer and a diarist who was raised in Oregon logging camps. During her time and today Whiteley is a mysterious, strange, legendary and romanticised figure. She became internationally famous when her childhood diary was published when she was in her 20s and became a bestseller. The author has written about Opal Whiteley and some other famous and fascinating people in some new books, which can be downloaded through Lili Marlene’s page at Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/LiliMarlene
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939, poet, dramatist, public figure and mystic, winner of Nobel Prize in literature in 1923, brother of artist Jack B. Yeats, W. B. Yeats has been identified by some as a dyslexic. Yeats was a member of the Athenaeum Club *)
Philosophers
Sir A.J. Ayer (1910–1989, British philosopher with some Jewish heritage, logical positivist, a professor of the philosophy of mind and logic and later a professor of logic at Oxford, is possibly best known for his widely read classic book Language, Truth and Logic which he wrote in his 20s, as a young boy displayed an extraordinary memory for literature and football facts and was physically clumsy and quarrelsome, unhappy and unpopular in boarding schools but a top academic performer, as an adult was a football fan, enjoyed dancing, socializing and nightlife, married four times and had numerous extra-marital relationships, M)
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832, English philosopher, jurist and reformer, an early advocate of utilitarianism and animal rights)
Kurt Godel (Goedel) (1906-1978, description in Mathematicians section)
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804, German philosopher, born Emanuel Kant but he changed his first name after he learned Hebrew, one of the most influential thinkers of the late Enlightenment, one of the most important figures in philosophy, Kant isolated himself socially for a decade, the result of his solitary work was Critique of Pure Reason, which is regarded as one of the greatest works of philosophy. Kant was a strong advocate of the rule of law and he believed that lying was not defensible under any circumstances. Noise bothered Kant.)
Willard Van Orman Quine (1908-2000, American logician and analytic philosopher, was a professor of philosophy at Harvard University and served the US Navy in a military intelligence role during WWII. "William Van Orman Quine" is identified as a philosopher who arguably meets the criteria for Asperger syndrome in the book Succeeding in college with Asperger syndrome, and "William Quine" is briefly identified as a philosopher with AS in the book The genesis of artistic creativity by Michael Fitzgerald, M)
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970, winner of Nobel Prize in literature in 1950, a member of the Cambridge Apostles *)
Adam Smith (1723-1790, description in Scientists and Academics section)
Socrates (ca. 470-399 BC, classical Greek philosopher, one of the founders of Western philosophy, a “gadfly of the state” who was sentenced to death, might have had epilepsy)
Spinoza (1632–1677, born Baruch Spinoza, changed his first name to Benedictus following his excommunication from the Jewish community because of his religious beliefs, also known as Bento de Spinoza, Dutch-Portuguese philosopher, a rationalist and an ethicist, laid groundwork for the 18th century Enlightenment, worked as a lens grinder despite offers of more prestigious positions)
Simone Weil (1909–1943, French philosopher with Jewish ancestry, social activist and Christian mystic, sometimes wrote under the name Emile Novis, anorexia nervosa may have been the cause of her premature death)
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951, Austrian, one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century, a history of giftedness and suicide in his wealthy, prominent Christian family with Jewish heritage, very late in speech development, educated at home till the age of 14, bullied at school, a classmate of Adolf Hitler, student of Bertrand Russell, lecturer of Alan Turing, studied engineering then mathematics then philosophy, won medals for bravery in WWI, a failure as a school teacher, was a professor of philosophy at Cambridge, “His true and unique precision was in registering pre-verbal states of mind.” (C. James 2007), on his brass plate in a chapel in Cambridge is written in Latin “Reason must be released from the chains of speech.” (C. James 2007), Wittgenstein was a member of the Cambridge Apostles *, was predominantly a homosexual, is described as having inherited dyslexia and “well read” by Ioan James, described as a bad speller by Gillberg, a translated note from one of Wittgenstein’s published works indicates that he either had grapheme-colour synaesthesia or knew of the condition; “It’s just like the way some people do not understand the question “What color has the vowel A for you?””(Ward 2008), Wittgenstein may have suffered from depression, his last words were “Tell them I’ve had a wonderful life.” Ludwig's brother Paul Wittgenstein was a concert pianist who continued his career playing only with his left hand after his right was amputated as the result of a war injury. Many famous composers wrote music for Paul Wittgenstein to play.)
Computers, Technology and Business
Charles Babbage (1791-1871, description in Mathematicians section)
Warren Buffett (b. 1930, American investor, businessman, philanthropist, currently the third richest person in the world. In 2008 listed as the world’s richest person by Forbes magazine. Buffett has a legendary reputation as an investor, and is known as “the sage of Omaha”. Many books have been written about Buffett and his investment strategies.
As a toddler Buffett showed a lack of confidence when we was learning to walk, and at around the age of 2 he was content to sit at his mother's feet staring quietly at a toothbrush for "two hours at a stretch" (Schroeder 2008 p.46). He had some unusual childhood hobbies - browsing a model train catalogue for hours, repetitively timing marbles rolling down a bathtub with a stopwatch, recording the license plate numbers of passing cars with a friend, memorizing facts. Buffett also collected bottle caps, stamps and coins when he was a boy. He made money from working in his own businesses and bought his first shares at around the age of 10. During his college years Buffett’s prodigious memory made studying easy, but he dressed poorly, had little luck with girls, was an annoying smartalec, a fussy eater and was generally “socially maladjusted” (Schroeder 2008 p. 97). He discovered a much-needed system for getting along with people and self-presentation in Dale Carnegie’s famous book How to win friends and influence people. Buffett conducted his own informal controlled trial of the advice given in this book, and he found that it worked, but Buffett was still a man with a restless mind and a limited diet who had little interest in social climbing.
Buffett’s mother was intelligent and had excelled as a student of mathematics. She was “obsessed with fitting in” (Schroeder 2008 p.207), and was verbally abusive to Warren and his older sister when they were young children. Her family had a history of high intelligence and depression in women, some of them admitted to mental institutions but no clear diagnosis was made. The biography of Buffett The snowball by Alice Schroeder contains much evidence indicating that Buffett may be an autist (and possibly also his business partner and his mother), it inspired at least two writers to speculate about Buffett and autism (Cowen 2009 p.30), (Lawson 2008), but there is no explicit mention of autism or AS in this book.
Despite his incredible wealth, Buffett is known for his frugal ways and has shown little interest in fashion or fancy food. For a large part of his life Buffett had a wife who he lived apart from but was on good terms with and also openly lived with a female companion, who he married in 2006. Buffett is reportedly an agnostic. Bill Gates, who is also in this list, has also been listed as the richest person in the world, is also known for his philanthropy, also has an unpretentious taste in food, and wears suits of the same Chinese label that Buffett wears, has been described as having a son-like relationship with Buffett. (Rushe 2008). M.)
Michael Burry (b. 1972?, American founder and manager of the Scion Capital LLC hedge fund, who correctly predicted the 2007 collapse of the subprime mortgage market. Burry is also a graduate of a medical school. During his residency in neurology Burry discovered that he did not enjoy working as a doctor. He made the decision to pursue his sideline as an untrained investment guru as a career and founded Scion Capital, a very successful fund that investors who were familiar with Burry were very keen to invest in. Burry subscribed to the “value investing” philosophy favoured by investment genius Warren Buffett, who is also in this list. Scion consistently outperformed the stock market. In 2005 Burry changed the direction of Scion from value investing to shorting selected subprime mortgage bonds using credit default swaps. Burry correctly predicted a collapse in 2007 of the subprime mortgage market and made a fortune for himself and investors, despite being pressured to sell some investments before the crash by frightened investors. In 2008 Burry closed Scion to focus on his own investments. Burry has argued in the New York Times that the US federal regulators should have recognized the risks in the subprime mortgage market that he had identified. When his child was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome Burry realized that he also has the condition. During his time as a resident neurologist Burry had been misdiagnosed with bipolar, a diagnosis that Burry had never believed. Burry had cancer of the left eye in infancy and lost the eye. Burry has been profiled in two recent books about investors who made money out of the 2007 collapse of the US housing bubble (Lewis 2010), (Zuckerman 2009) M)
Bram Cohen (b.1975, American computer programmer with Jewish ancestry, author of the BitTorrent computer downloading program, co-founder and CEO of the BitTorrent company. In 2005 Cohen was included among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. The first words that Cohen learned to read were computer programming commands. He displayed precocious talent in computer programming, and later dropped out of college. Cohen self-diagnosed with Asperger syndrome sometime in the mid-2000s. M)
Henry Ford (1863-1947, American founder of Ford Motor Co., pioneer of assembly line manufacturing, self-taught engineer, inventor, motor racing champion, “folk-hero to the American public”, the man who “put the world on wheels”, a pacifist and peace activist during WW1, Ford was stubbornly against unions but paid workers well, at one time the Ford Motor Co. treated it’s workers in a paternalistic and intrusive manner, some union organizers were beat up by Ford security staff, Ford lead the team that designed the Model T Ford “Tin Lizzie”, a classic design produced from 1908 to 1927, at one time half the cars in America were Model Ts, in the small, sparsely furnished enclosure in which the Model T was designed a rocking chair could be found, Ford owned a newspaper that published anti-Semitic material, he was greatly admired by Adolf Hitler and it is thought that the concept of the Volkswagen was based on the Model T, Ford had an intense, sober, single-minded, serious and not very social personality, “He was clearly an obsessive and idiosyncratic person.” “He gave very little attention to the opinion of others.” (Duncan 2008), Ford had a poor relationship with his only son but was a friend of aviator Charles Lindbergh, who is also in this list, and Thomas Edison, M, L-H)
Bill Gates KBE (b.1955, full name William Gates III KBE, American co-founder and chairman of Microsoft Corporation and has been the chief software architect and CEO of Microsoft, ranked by Forbes magazine as the richest person in the world for 13 consecutive years and also in 2009, global philanthropist. Gates read an encyclopaedia through when he was a child. As a school student Gates had some conflicts with teachers, showed a love of organizing things and high ability at geography and other subjects, but got poor grades in citizenship and penmanship. Gates was thought to be a bit immature, with a messy desk and not paying attention. One student remembered Gates playing Risk “the board game of global domination” (Manes 1993 p.19). Gates’ mother took him to see a psychiatrist at the age of 11 as she was concerned at his shyness and remoteness, the psychiatrist considered Gates to be unchangeable (Rivlin 1999). In his youth Gates was good at activities such as skiing, but not much good at team sports. Gates was fortunate to go to a school that gave access to a computer through a terminal in 1967. He formed a successful computer program company with friends aged 14 and later dropped out of Harvard to form Microsoft. Gates is one of the many great entrepreneurs who have no MBA. He is reputed to have a very high IQ, an extraordinary memory, a horrible temper and tendencies towards arrogance, rudeness and absent-mindedness, at least in his younger years. Gates has been described as a workaholic and an insomniac, sleeping in odd places and at odd times. As a driver Gates has a record of speeding and inattentiveness. The eccentric Nobelist synaesthete physicist Richard Feynman was much admired by Gates. At least one sequence of images exists of Gates rocking in an autistic manner while testifying at a deposition in 1998. It appears that Gates tends to rock when concentrating and possibly when stressed. This love of rhythmic motion can be traced back to his childhood – rocking himself in a cradle as a baby, spending hours on a rocking horse as a child, later rocking in class while explaining algebra at the blackboard (Manes 1993 p.15, p. 24). Gates is also known for his spontaneous jumping at work. A nerdy lack of awareness of fashion can also be traced back to Gates’ childhood. Gates has been the subject of speculation about being autistic from a number of different sources over many years. The author of a 2009 book about autism compared some of Gates’ characteristics with the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for “Asperger’s disorder” and concluded that he would probably be given a diagnosis if he sought one (Benaron 2009 p.56). One of Bill Gates’ friends is Warren Buffett, who has also been listed by Forbes magazine as the world’s richest person, who is also known for his philanthropy, and who is also in this list. L-H, M)
Craig Newmark (b. 1952, American internet entrepreneur and founder of the website Craigslist. Craigslist is a network of online communities that features free online classified advertisements in a range of categories. Craigslist is an unusual company in that it has no marketers, no human resources, no meetings, no sales department and no business development (Wolf 2009), thus solving the common problem of conflict between the technical people and the marketing/business people in tech companies. It has been estimated that Craigslist would be worth billions if sold (Wolf 2009), and it has been blamed for causing decreases in newspaper's revenue from classified ads. In a 2009 blog posting Newmark speculated that he might have AS, and he has referred to himself as a recovering nerd. A 2009 Wired magazine article about Newmark and Craigslist described some traits of Newmark's that could be described as autistic.)
William Shockley (1910-1989, winner of Nobel Prize in physics in 1956, co-inventor of the transistor, Silicon Valley pioneer, professor, advocate of eugenics, sperm donor with the Repository For Germinal Choice, has been described as having had “reverse charisma” because he so often provoked dislike in others, possibly ambidextrous, M)
Richard Stallman (b.1953, sometimes uses the name “rms”, US born with Jewish heritage, software engineer, founder of the free software movement, launched the GNU Project, inventor of the “copyleft” concept, awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1990 and awarded many honorary doctorates and professorships, has been described as a “force of nature”, for many years lead an unconventional squatter lifestyle at a university, speaks a number of languages, an atheist who celebrates December 25th not as Christmas but instead as a parody of Christmas celebrating Newton’s birthday on this date. Stallman enjoys reading science fiction including works by Greg Egan, who is also in this list. In an interview Stallman described a difficult and rebellious childhood in which he was sent to a private school in which most students “were either insane or stupid”, and according to another source “Stallman considers himself afflicted, to some degree, by autism, a condition that, he says, makes it difficult for him to interact with people.”, but in a 2008 article Stallman is quoted as saying he does not have AS, but possibly has a “shadow” version of AS (Tennant 2008), R-H?)
Satoshi Tajiri (b. 1965, Japanese electronic game designer, creator of Pokémon (also known as Pocket Monsters), as a child was fond of collecting insects, has a working schedule that involves unusual sleeping patterns, reported to be diagnosed with Asperger syndrome)
Music
Syd Barrett (1946-2006, real name Roger Barrett, enigmatic English songwriter, singer, guitarist and visual artist, best known as a founding member and songwriter of the psychedelic/progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Barrett's membership of the band finished after repeated failure to perform during concerts. He had been the main songwriter. Barrett withdrew from public life, but he released two solo albums in 1970 full of strange and unforgettable songs. There has been much speculation about why Barrett ceased to be a member of Pink Floyd, withdrew from the public eye and finally disconnected his home's door bell. Some believe he developed schizophrenia as the result of the use of mind-altering drugs. Barrett used LSD in the 1960s and apparently also used cannabis and the sedative drug Mandrax. Bipolar has been suggested. Some have argued that he had a breakdown due to stress. Former band-mate David Gilmour put forward a theory that a combination of epilepsy induced by strobe stage lighting and drugs altered Barrett's mental health (Geiger 2006). A lack of discipline combined with the death of his father has been cited as a cause. Some believe Barrett became disillusioned with rock music as a career.
Although media reports almost always describe Barrett as a case of mental illness, his sister Rosemary claimed he was never mentally ill, but never fitted the norm either. Pink Floyd members reportedly claimed that Barrett was unusual before he started using drugs heavily (Pareles 2006). According to Rosemary he spent some time in an institution and was assessed a number of times by psychiatrists over the years and was found to be unusual but not insane (Titchmarsh 2007). Rosemary quoted in Chapman’s 2010 book about Barrett claimed that “personality disorder” was a label that was given to Barrett after his stay in an institution (Chapman 2010 p. 361). This is the type of label that was given to some autistic adults before Asperger syndrome was recognized. Being labelled as mad by ordinary people but pronounced sane by qualified psychiatrists is an experience reported by some adults who have Asperger syndrome.
For a long time there has been speculation that he was autistic (Gallo 2006). Barrett's biographer Tim Willis described Barrett's mind as "...extraordinary... bordering on the autistic or Aspergic." (Willis 2006). Barrett had a talent for visual art, one of a group of talents that are characteristic of the autistic-type mind. Examples of technical creativity and experimentation that could be described a systemizing are easy to find in Barrett's life history. People who have Asperger syndrome (AS) typically develop a strong, sustained interest in a narrow, unusual subject or interest. Barrett's sister Rosemary has described his interest in Byzantine art "...it was an enormous interest of his and he said it was going to be a book but it was really just a collection of dates and facts that interested him." (Titchmarsh 2007). It is also worth noting that his painting from his school years to late in his life was done to please himself (Chapman 2010 p.8). Chapmans’s book Syd Barrett: a very irregular head gives a hint that Barrett might have had the long attention-span that is characteristic of autism – when he visited great art galleries with his girlfriend “he would sit for hours looking at one painting” rather than hang out with interesting people in the cafeteria (Chapman 2010 p. 44). While a lack of verbal ability is not a part of Barrett’s popular image, some accounts hint that he had some problems with verbal expression. Barrett’s nephew Ian Barrett described his uncle taking a long time to describe things in a very precise way (Chapman 2010 p. 366), a trait which apparently runs in the family. Barrett’s sister Rosemary theorized in the same book that because Barrett lived such a solitary life during his later years with no one to speak to, he got out of the habit of speaking and lost verbal ability (Chapman 2010 p. 377).
Toe-walking, habitual bouncing and an unusual walk, all persisting throughout Barrett's life, are some examples of obvious autistic traits. Reports of these odd motor traits can be found in biographies by Willis, and Watkinson & Anderson, and also in books about Pink Floyd. There is some evidence that Barrett’s unusual habit of bouncing on the balls of his feet while walking might have had advantages over the normal way that people walk and run. A study reported in New Scientist in January 2010 has found that running on the balls of the feet instead of the heels has much less physical impact on the feet, and two-thirds of endurance runners who habitually run barefoot run on the balls of their feet. Barrett was probably barefoot more often than is usual while growing up, because shoes do not accommodate toe-walking.
In his later years Barrett showed an unusual tolerance for cold, seen in public in unseasonal clothing and answering the door minimally clothed. This is typical of people who have AS. Barrett's reported tendency towards unusual outbursts of anger throughout his life (Willis 2002 book and extract in the Observer) could be consistent with AS or epilepsy of the temporal lobes. Barrett had many (hetero) sexual and romantic relationships from adolescence to the time of his withdrawal. There are reports of cross-dressing, and he wrote a hit single for Pink Floyd that was about a cross-dresser underwear thief.
There is no simple way to describe Barrett in relationships. He was socially popular but also independent and choosey about his friends. One source quoted by Rob Chapman in his 2010 book about Barrett described Barrett as kind, generous and sensitive but also in a world of his own. There is much anecdotal evidence that he had trouble tolerating crowds since his school years, but he still went to parties and got around. He was very popular with girls, women and groupies from his teens till his withdrawal from social life. He was attractive and charismatic and had some long-term relationships. He could also be violent towards some of the women in his life.
Barrett's sister and Tim Willis have described Barrett as a synaesthete or possible synaesthete "... he would say that a sound was a colour to him." (Titchmarsh 2007). This type of synaesthesia can be caused by high doses of LSD, so this statement raises questions. Early in his musical career Barrett described (to Rado Klose, an early Pink Floyd member) a C chord as yellow (Willis p. 21). Much later in Barrett's career, during the recording of his first solo album, one of Barrett's comments about the music provides further evidence of synaesthesia; "Perhaps we could make the middle darker and maybe the end a bit more middle-afternoonish [because] at the moment, it's too windy and icy" (Willis 2002 p. 106). Barrett "drew" songs (Willis 2002 p.21), representations that were most likely based on synaesthesia experiences. Miles' book about Pink Floyd gives fuller descriptions of Barrett's visual representations of his songs, in a book of coloured paintings (page 69) and drawings that resembled Venn diagrams (page 83). It would be fascinating to see these creations, if they still exist today. Some types of synaesthesia can be caused by high doses of LSD, so one could dismiss Barrett's synaesthesia as merely the side-effects of psychedelic drugs, but that could be a careless judgement. Drug-induced and genuine natural synaesthesia are different in a number of ways, so we might be able to tell which type Barrett experienced, based on descriptions of what his synaesthesia was like and how he used or described it. A group of researchers at Hannover Medical School has found that drug-induced synaesthesia does not have the consistency and automaticity that are the hallmarks of genuine synaesthesia (Sinke et al 2010). Because of this there would presumably be no point in making notes about drug-induced synaesthesia as a descriptive record to refer to later for re-creating musical triggers, because there would be no consistency between synaesthetic triggers and synaesthetic experiences. Based on the brief descriptions in Barry Miles’ book, I believe Barrett probably used his coloured representations of songs as working documents during song-writing, recording information about the songs to be referred to later. This means that if the colours represent experiences of musical synaesthesia, it must be genuine synaesthesia. Before we can categorize Barrett as a natural synaesthete with complete confidence, we would need to find evidence that he experienced synaesthesia early in life, before he started taking drugs. As an art school student Barrett had a very well developed sense of colour (Chapman 2010 p.50). One study had found that synaesthetes have an enhanced memory for colour (Yaro and Ward 2007). In his 2010 book Chapman asserted that the imagery in the song Astronomy Dominie by Barrett “conveys a strong sense of synaesthesia” (Chapman 2010 p.156).
It is possible that Barrett had a combination of different neurological or mental conditions. Autistic people have an increased susceptibility to epilepsy and to stress and anxiety, and researchers have reportedly found a possible genetic link between synaesthesia, autism and epilepsy (Robson 2009). A.
Béla Bártok (1881–1945, renowned Hungarian composer, pianist and collector of folk music, played piano at age of 4, might have had “perfect pitch”)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827, Prussian composer and pianist, displayed talent at a very young age, believed to have had “perfect pitch” and some evidence indicates that Beethoven possibly had synaesthesia, hand cast?? a biographer who knew Beethoven well claimed he was a left-hander but portraits show him as right-handed, L-H, 1)
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896, Austrian composer, an enigma to biographers, conservative and humble in outlook but radical as an artist, his career and talent bloomed late, never married)
David Byrne (b. 1952, Scottish-American musician, was a singer and songwriter with the defunct New Wave band Talking Heads, collaborated with Brian Eno, won a Golden Globe Award in 1988, an Academy Award in 1987 and a Grammy Award in 1988 with others for the score of the movie The Last Emperor, quote from Byrne’s blog from 2006 “I was a peculiar young man — borderline Asperger's, I would guess.”, in some 2007 media interviews Byrne speculated that he once had AS, one web site claims Byrne “was recently diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.” , in his teens Byrne did his own editing and layering musical experimentation with his father's reel-to-reel tape recorder, L-H, M)
Glenn Gould (1932–1982, legendary and eccentric Canadian pianist, was a child prodigy, had “perfect pitch” and an extraordinary memory for music. In 1987 a recording of “sounds from Earth” which included Gould playing Bach was sent into space on two Voyager spacecrafts. Gould has been labelled as a hypochondriac and he was an insomniac. His eccentricities include making odd noises when he played the piano, a monotonous diet and dressing in warm winter clothes out of season. Gould hated bright sunlight and bright colours. As a child he threw a tantrum after being given a red toy fire engine, because of the colour (Ostwald 1997 p.p.47). Gould also refused to play with a ball when he was a young child. Gray overcast days were Gould’s favourite weather. Gould did not enjoy playing in concerts, and his career moved towards studio recording. Many different writers have speculated about autism and Gould’s eccentricity. One biographer (Ostwald) has argued that Gould was possibly a case of AS, another biographer (Bazzana) arguing that Gould did not have AS, while presenting evidence suggesting that he did. Musical historian Dr Timothy Maloney has argued that Gould possibly did have AS. The married woman who had a five-year live-in affair with Gould was interviewed in the 2009 documentary Genius Within: the Inner Life of Glenn Gould. Gould never married and he lived a quite solitary life. L-H)
John Hartford (1937-2001, original name John Harford, American musician and composer of bluegrass, country and folk music, won 2 Grammy Awards in 1968, one for best country and western song and one for best folk performance, very knowledgeable of Mississippi River culture, had a steamboat pilot’s licence, was able to draw with both hands at once and did artwork for some LP covers, M)
Ladyhawke/Pip Brown (b.1979, full name Phillipa Brown, New Zealand pop music singer-songwriter, she plays all of the instruments in the studio but tours with a band. In 2009 Ladyhawke won 2 ARIA Awards and was nominated for some others. Brown claims to have been diagnosed with AS by a psychologist (Sauma 2008) and she has discussed AS in a number of press interviews. Pip prefers to wear casual boy's and men's clothing. Allergies to various important medications and a rare infectious disease caused problems for Brown during her childhood and she is also lactose intolerant. Courtney Love is reportedly one of Ladyhawke's fans. L-H?)
Oscar Levant (1906-1972, American pianist, composer, actor and author, from a Jewish family, famous for making witty, off-colour and cutting remarks on TV and radio talk shows, wrote three volumes of memoirs including one titled Memoirs of an Amnesiac, became addicted to prescription drugs later in life, M)
Courtney Love (b. 1965, American singer/songwriter and actress, a member of the alternative rock band Hole, widow of Kurt Cobain, left-handed lead singer/songwriter/guitarist from the alternative rock band Nirvana. According to a biographer Love was diagnosed as a child by a therapist as mildly autistic, and she had a very tough and troubled childhood. She has experienced a number of personal problems associated with drug abuse. Love has been described as the most controversial woman in rock. She made a spectacle of herself in 2004 on The Late Show with David Letterman. Love has been described as a “female rock star who’s made art out of anger...”. Courtney Love/Hole’s latest CD titled Nobody’s Daughter was released in 2010. M)
Reg Mombassa (b. 1951, real name Christopher O’Doherty, New Zealand born Australian artist and musician. O’Doherty was a co-founding member, lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter in the Australian band Mental as Anything which was most popular in the 1980s. He is also famous for his designs for the surfwear company Mambo Graphics, which are generally cartoon-like, vulgar, funny, disturbing and/or bizarre and likely to appeal to male adolescents. Some of O’Doherty’s Mambo designs were adapted as giant float displays for the Sydney 2000 Olympics closing ceremony.
O’Doherty enjoyed drawing since his early childhood, pictures with masculine themes such as warfare and weapons. He was anxious as a child and still retains a tendency to experience the unpleasant emotions. O’Doherty’s mother sold encyclopaedias and passed on her love of book-learning to her sons. Chris developed a fascination with history which lasted to his adult years. WWII and the American Civil War are particularly interesting to O’Doherty. During his high school years O’Doherty taught himself to paint by copying pictures in art books. He claimed that he generally learns best on his own. During his teen years O’Doherty was a “violence magnet” and got into the habit of heavy drinking. It is ironic that O’Doherty is famous for designs for a surfwear label, as he did not feel a part of surf culture in his youth, does not like the feel of cold water, does not enjoy visiting the beach and is generally not an outdoors type. O’Doherty also paints peaceful rural/outer suburban landscapes, and one could say his art turns the ordinary into something extraordinary. O’Doherty completed a questionnaire about Asperger syndrome published in a newspaper, and found that he “came up fairly high on it” (p. 395) and he concluded that “...I think I’ve got a mild case of that...” (p.55). Dog Trumpet, the band which O’Doherty and his brother Peter are currently members of, has released a CD titled Antisocial Tendencies, and in 2005 O’Doherty had an art exhibition titled Recent Developments in Anti-Social Realism. O’Doherty habitually wears a shirt with a suit jacket, even in the bush. M, R-H?)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791, Austrian composer and musician, a child prodigy, started playing piano at 3 years, composing at 5, had “perfect pitch”, as a young child could play pieces perfectly from memory after hearing them once, his eidetic memory for musical notes is recalled in the anecdote about Mozart transcribing the Miserere after hearing it performed. Mozart had a large income but was hopeless at managing money. He enjoyed vulgar humour and was thought by some to have had Tourette syndrome, a neurological condition sometimes diagnosed in autistics (see the bibliography about Mozart and Tourettes below the references section). PANDAS has also been suggested as an explanation for Mozart's idiosyncratic personality (Simkin 1999). Mozart died at the age of 35 due to ill health, L-H, M, 3)
Craig Nicholls (b. 1977, Australian lead singer/songwriter/guitarist in critically-acclaimed Australian rock band The Vines, childhood interests of painting and listening to the Beatles are evident in his adult career. The Vines started out playing Nirvana covers. The “F-word” can be heard in all of the Vines’ CDs to date, and many Vines tracks feature ferocious or anguished sounding screaming and shouting noises. The Vines' made a particularly wild appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2002 which can be viewed on YouTube. Nicholls was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in 2004 by AS expert Dr Tony Attwood after being charged with assault, Nicholls found touring with the band to be stressful, his parents were consulted for information about what he was like as a child during the diagnostic process, in 2008 Asperger syndrome was cited by many media sources as the cause of an apparent mental health crisis suffered by Craig Nicholls which lead to the cancellation of Vines appearances at a number of Australian rock festivals and an overseas tour, while cancellation announcements at the Vines own web site cited severe "flight related anxiety" as a cause of cancellation of WA dates, and made no explicit mention of AS or autism as the reason for the rest of the 2008 cancellations. The Vines are expected to release a new album in 2010 and are listed as a support band for Powderfinger’s farewell tour for three dates. L-H?)
Nico (1938-1988, born Christa Paffgen, German singer, songwriter, harmonium player, started her career as a fashion model then moved on to acting, one of Andy Warhol’s “superstars”, a singer in The Velvet Underground and had a solo career from the 60s to the 80s creating music in a unique gothic folk avant-garde style, Nico has been described as “the witchiest woman in rock history” (DeRogatis 2009 p. 156), “weird and untalkative” (DeRogatis 2009 p. 86, and “Half goddess, half icicle” (rock critic Richard Goldstein quoted in DeRogatis 2009 p. 49), and “the most beautiful creature that ever lived” (DeRogatis 2009 p. 86). Nico’s voice has been described as “deep narcotic monotone”, bland, “wind in a drainpipe”, hollow and an “IBM computer with a Garbo accent.” (DeRogatis 2009). She is believed to have been raped at the age of 15, a heroin addict for many years, fluent in a number of languages, died as the result of medical negligence following a bicycle accident, survived by a son. Nico’s article at the French version of the Wikipedia has for years included an assertion that behaviour of Nico’s attributed to heroin addiction was more likely due to Asperger syndrome. Nico’s friend Andy Warhol has also been identified posthumously as a probable autist, and he also died as the result of medical negligence. Both friends were often photographed displaying a cold, deadpan facial expression.)
Gary Numan (b. 1958, born Gary Webb, English electro-pop music pioneer, at the beginning of his career recorded under the name Tubeway Army, biggest hits were Are ‘Friends’ Electric? and Cars, an aviation enthusiast who has flown around the world, diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome by himself and his wife, Numan is also an atheist, M)
Tim Page (b. 1954, American music critic, writer, editor producer and professor. Page was written about classical music for the New York Times, Newsday and The Washington Post. In 1997 he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his work as a music critic. Page has also written professionally about film and literature. He wrote the first biography of American author Dawn Powell, and played a major part in the revival of interest in her work, in a prolific burst of work that is clearly an example of an autistic special interest. Page has written introductions to books about the music of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, who is also in this list. In 2007 Page revealed in an article in New Yorker magazine that he had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in 2000. In 2009 Page’s memoir was published in which he discussed life as an autist. M)
Paul Robeson (1898-1976, American singer, civil rights activist, actor, athlete and writer, qualified as a lawyer, of African-American heritage, was the only black student during his time at Rutgers University, condemned racism, segregation and lynching in the US, defended Stalin’s policies and won a Stalin Peace Prize in 1952, had a powerful bass-baritone singing voice, fluent in around 12 languages and studied other languages, M)
Erik Satie (1866–1925, born Eric Satie, French composer, pianist and writer, had a “… brief but frenziedly original career …” “Whatever was orthodox, Satie hated … his chamber pieces were designed to make the chamber uncomfortable.” (James 2007), Satie collected drawings of medieval buildings and many umbrellas, and had an obsession with cleanliness of the hands, wrote a book titled Memoirs of an Amnesiac based on his journals)
Screaming Lord Sutch (1940-1999, see description in Politicians and Leaders section)
Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins (1849-1908, American classical pianist and composer with African heritage, also known by his slave name Thomas Bethune, born blind, a musical prodigy and savant who played music before speaking first words, had an extraordinary memory for music and had a huge repertoire of mostly classical pieces, played for the President in the White House and toured the world in a busy and profitable career, born and died in slavery, the subject of a legal contest for custody)
Artists
Joseph Cornell (1903-1972, American sculptor, artist and filmmaker, pioneer and exponent of assemblage, which is three-dimensional compositions made out of found objects. Cornell was wary of strangers and shy. He was interested in women but had no attachments. He cared for a brother who had cerebral palsy. Cornell subscribed to the Christian Science faith.)
Henry Darger (1892-1973, American reclusive illustrator and writer, his paintings and drawings classified as “outsider art”, he wrote a 15,145 page fantasy manuscript In the realms of the unreal, the longest work of fiction in human history, written from 1911 to 1971, Darger also kept a diary/autobiography of 5084 pages, for a living Darger did menial work in a Catholic hospital, his creative work was discovered shortly before his death by his photographer landlord, accounts of Darger’s early life are inconsistent, one source claiming he was abandoned by his father another stating his old, lame father had to be cared for and young Henry placed in a Catholic boy’s home till his father’s death, then Henry was institutionalized in a place for “feeble-minded” children, once source citing “masturbation” as the diagnosis given to Darger, another quoting a doctor’s comment "Little Henry's heart is not in the right place.", Darger escaped some years later, as an adult he was concerned about child welfare issues, lived alone and attended mass daily, as strange as he was, he had one friend of 50 years according to author Paul Collins, Darger may have had Tourette syndrome at one time and was a hoarder)
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890, Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who’s works are popular and fetch very high prices, posthumously diagnosed by over 150 psychiatrists with many medical and mental conditions, including temporal lobe epilepsy, a condition thought by some to be associated with autism, schizophrenia, bipolar, acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), and absinthe poisoning. Van Gogh may have had epilepsy induced by absinthe intoxication. There is a lot of evidence that van Gogh was a synaesthete, as was his artist friend Gauguin (Gayford 2006 p. 190-1).)
Edward Hopper (1882-1967, American painter of realistic depictions of scenes of solitude and empty spaces)
Peter Howson OBE (b. 1958, Scottish painter, an official war artist in the Bosnian Civil War, war, religion, working-class men and the popular singer Madonna are some themes covered in his work, which has been collected by a number of celebrities, reportedly diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in 1993, a condition shared by his daughter. Howson has been treated for alcohol and cocaine addiction, and has converted to Christianity. M)
Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944, Russian painter, art theorist and printmaker, creator of the first modern abstract paintings, studied law and economics before becoming an artist, taught at the Bauhaus, synaesthesia was an idea that he used in his art work and there is evidence that Kandinsky was a synaesthete. Kandinsky was identified as a possible case of Asperger syndrome (AS) by Swedish AS expert Christopher Gillberg (Gillberg 2002). Kandinsky's first wife was a cousin. R-H, M)
Paul Laffoley (b. 1940, American architect and artist in the visionary style, classified by some in the outsider art genre, given electroshock treatments for neurasthenia when he was a university student, lost a job as a draughtsman working on one of the World Trade Center towers in New York after suggesting the towers be connected by a pedestrian bridge, worked for Andy Warhol, believed by some to have a metal implant of extraterrestrial origins lodged in his brain, reportedly lived and worked in a utility room for over 40 years, has claimed that “… he has a mild case of Asperger's disorder ...” (Johnson 2007)
L.S. Lowry (1887–1976, real name Lawrence Stephen Lowry, from Manchester, England, known as a painter of urban landscapes, received honorary awards from northern universities, but holds the record for the most national honours declined, kept a collection of clocks set at different times to prevent the noise of them all chiming at the same time)
Michelangelo (1475–1564, full name Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, poet and architect, famous for his fresco paintings in the Sistine Chapel in Rome and the statues Pieta and David, believed to have been a homosexual, L-H, 2)
Reg Mombassa/Christopher O’Doherty (b.1951, description in Musicians section)
Piet Mondrian(1872-1944, born Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, Dutch painter. Some of Mondrian’s abstract geometric paintings, including Broadway Boogie Woogie and Victory Boogie Woogie, evoke synaesthesia when viewed. According to the notes for the Mondrian work Ocean 5 in the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, "For him the vertical, such as the forest, was male, while the horizontal, such as the sea, female." This suggests that Mondrian possibly had a personification type of synaesthesia. Mondrian is one of the famous role models profiled in the children’s book Different like me: my book of autism heroes by Jennifer Elder.)
J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851, English painter and printmaker famous for landscape painting in a Romantic style. According to James “… seems to be a possible case.” (of Asperger syndrome) (James 2003). Turner never married but he had two daughters. He was a member of the Athenaeum Club.)
Maurice Utrillo (1883-1955, born Maurice Valadon, French painter of serene cityscapes, was awarded Cross of the Legion d'honneur in 1928, both parents were artists, as a child he was over-excitable, timid and serious, the only school subject he did well in was maths, early in life a truant and heavy drinker, went on to be an alcoholic who was repeatedly sent to mental institutions, in middle age religious fervor replaced drinking and he married late in life, M, R-H)
Louis Wain (1860-1939, English artist, born with a cleft lip, known for his drawings of anthropomorphized cats, was involved in animal welfare charities, a naïve man who became paranoid, like his youngest sister he was committed to a mental hospital. Wain spent the last 15 years of his life at the Napsbury Psychiatric Hospital with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, the institution in which the enigmatic writer Opal Whiteley, who is also in this list, would later spend the last 44 years of her life with a diagnosis of chronic schizophrenia. Wain continued to create art works at Napsbury. Prof. M. Fitzgerald has disputed Wain’s diagnosis of schizophrenia)
Andy Warhol (1928–1987, born Andrew Warhola, American artist with parents from Eastern Europe, avant-garde filmmaker and writer, a central figure and co-founder of the Pop Art movement, a homosexual and a regularly practicing Catholic, was shot and seriously wounded by a disgruntled member of the “factory” scene, his fear of doctors and hospitals justified when he died following a routine operation and the hospital was sued for negligence, was a shrewd investor and a hoarder, a selection of items from his many boxes of possessions, including a mummified foot, was the basis of a recent art gallery exhibition)
Stephen Wiltshire MBE (b.1974, English architectural artist with West Indian heritage. His electrical engineer father died when he was 3 years old. Stephen was diagnosed with autism at 3 years. Wiltshire’s first word was “paper”, uttered at the age of 6 (Treffert 2010). His talent for drawing was evident early, and he was drawing cityscapes before he learned to speak properly at the age of 9 with the help of special education teachers. Wiltshire was a teen before he was able to cross a road alone. He graduated from art school in 2008. Stephen is famous for his remarkable ability to remember and draw accurately buildings and cityscapes in detail after only one viewing, which is often a helicopter ride. Wiltshire’s art has been featured in a number of commercially successful books and a 2010 calendar. In 2006 Wiltshire was awarded an MBE for services to the art world. During that year he opened his own gallery in London. In addition to his drawing Wiltshire has musical talents and has perfect pitch. Stephen does not like swimming because “the water is always too cold.” Rain Man is his favourite movie. R-H.)
Jack B. Yeats (1871–1957, Irish artist, brother of poet W. B. Yeats)
Mathematicians
John Couch Adams (1819–1892, see description in Scientists section)
Robert Ammann (1946-1994, American amateur mathematician, computer programmer and mail sorter who made important contributions to the theory of quasicrystals and aperiodic tiling. Two papers published in Mathematical Intelligencer have included discussion of Ammann with regard to AS. The 2004 paper by Marjorie Senechal is a fascinating and touching account of Ammann’s short life and work by someone who knew him.)
Archimedes of Syracuse (287 BC-212 BC, mathematician, physicist, engineer and astronomer who lived in ancient Greece, it is not known whether he married or left offspring)
Charles Babbage FRS (1791-1871, English mathematician, mechanical engineer, philosopher, early pioneer of computer technology, was appointed as the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge at the age of 29, Babbage's brain has been preserved, M)
Stefan Banach (1892–1945, Polish mathematician who worked in Poland and Soviet Ukraine, founder of modern functional analysis and a founder of the Lwów School of Mathematics, and the author of the 1932 book Theory of Linear Operations. Banach was a self-taught mathematics prodigy, M)
Richard Borcherds (b. 1959, winner of the Fields Medal in 1998 (considered to be as prestigious as a Nobel Prize, for which there is no prize in mathematics), currently a professor of mathematics in the US. Born in Cape Town, a childhood special interest was constructing polyhedra, his talent in mathematics developed early, an accomplished chess player as a teen, educated in the UK, formerly at Cambridge University. In 1998 Borcherds had a consultation with Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, a leading autism expert, this lengthy process was described in detail in Chapter 11 of Baron-Cohen's book The essential difference, Prof. Borcherds’ parents were consulted for information about what he was like as a child. In this chapter Baron-Cohen refers to Borcherds as a person who has AS, but in the same chapter Baron-Cohen writes "Certainly, he is not currently severe enough in his symptoms to warrant a diagnosis in adulthood, as his symptoms are not interfering with his daily functioning ..." and later Baron-Cohen explains that in a different environment having AS could be a problem for Borcherds (Baron-Cohen 2003 p. 163-164), M)
Lewis Carroll (1832–1898, see description in Writers section)
Augustin Louis Cauchy (1789-1857, French mathematician, influential with regard to his contemporaries and successors, appointed to the chair of mathematical physics at the University of Turin, a staunch Catholic and royalist, M)
Paul Erdos (1913-1996, Hungarian of Jewish heritage, winner of Wolf Prize in mathematics in 1983/4, very prolific, worked with numerous collaborators at different times, a child prodigy displaying extraordinary calculating ability at 3 years of age, lived a “vagabond” lifestyle traveling between campuses, conferences and the homes of colleagues, kept few possessions, drank lots of coffee and a long-time user of prescription psychostimulant drugs, after he stopped taking amphetamines for a month to win a bet Erdos declared that mathematics had been set back by a month and he then resumed his habit, he made up his own idiosyncratic vocabulary, referred to alcoholic drinks as “poison”, the Erdos Number is a whimsical tribute by mathematicians to Erdos’ prolific career and large number of collaborators)
Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher FRS (1890 – 1962) English statistician, evolutionary biologist, geneticist and eugenicist. According to Ioan James, Fischer displayed more than a trace of "Asperger behaviour", but did not necessarily meet all of the diagnostic criteria (James 2009).
Evariste Galois (1811-1832, French mathematician, educated by his mother to the age of 12 even though offered a place in a college, as a school student he was a classic autodidact, reading professional mathematical works of his own choice while underperforming in class, twice failed the entrance exam to École Polytechnique, published papers in 1830 which laid the foundations for Galois Theory, Galois was a staunch republican in a time of political turmoil and he was arrested twice following political protests, died at age 20 from injuries that resulted from a duel)
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855, German mathematician and scientist, one of the most influential mathematicians in history, made important contributions to many fields of mathematics and science, a child prodigy from a working-class family, had a prodigious calculating ability, wrote a very important book about number theory at 21, a professor of astronomy and director of an observatory, Gauss’s style of working was similar to Newton’s, a perfectionist workaholic with little motivation to publish and share his important discoveries, rarely collaborated with other mathematicians and disliked teaching, a religious man with conservative views, did not get along with his sons, like Einstein, his brain was preserved and studied after his death, M)
Sophie Germain (1776-1831, French mathematician, physicist and philosopher, her gender was a barrier to making a living as a mathematician, but she worked on Fermat’s Last Theorem and was a pioneer of elasticity theory. Germain corresponded with Gauss, Lagrange and Legendre. She is one of the famous role models profiled in the children’s book Different like me: my book of autism heroes by Jennifer Elder.)
Kurt Godel (1906-1978, surname also spelt Goedel, European-born influential logician, mathematician and philosopher of mathematics, according to legend Godel was reluctant to become a citizen of the United States after he read it’s constitution and found a logical contradiction in it (Paulos 1991), M)
Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865, Irish mathematician, physicist, astronomer, polyglot, was a child linguistic prodigy, attended school with and was friends with child calculating prodigy Zerah Colburn, who taught Hamilton about calculating, kindling his interest in mathematics, is included in the 2006 book Unstoppable Brilliance by Walker and Fitzgerald, which suggests that many famous Irish people “…may have exhibited traits of Asperger's syndrome…”, but in a letter to an autism journal published in 2002 Fitzgerald wrote that Hamilton “did not meet criteria for Asperger’s disorder”, M)
G. H. Hardy (1877-1947, full name Godfrey Harold Hardy, English mathematician known for his work in mathematical analysis and number theory and as a mentor and collaborator with Srinivasa Ramanujan, was a professor of mathematics at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, a Fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the Cambridge Apostles, displayed mathematical talent from the age of 2 years, so shy he disliked seeing his own reflection in a mirror, an atheist and a cricket enthusiast, believed to have been a sexually inactive homosexual)
David Hilbert (1862-1943, German mathematician, one of the most influential mathematicians of his time and also displayed intellectual leadership in the world of mathematics, held positions of professor of mathematics and chairman of mathematics, his son had some kind of undiagnosed life-long mental illness or disability, M)
Joseph Louis Lagrange (1736-1813, Italian-born mathematician and astronomer, director of mathematics at the Prussian Academy of Sciences, later a professor of analysis at the École Polytechnique, elected to the Berlin Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and received French national honours, according to I. James he had depression, M)
Nikolai Lobachevsky (1792-1856, Russian mathematician, developed non-Euclidian geometry, a professor who taught mathematics, physics and astronomy, his magnum opus was not published till long after his death, M)
John F. Nash Jr. (b. 1928, American mathematician, won the Nobel Prize in economics in 1994 with two other game theorists, won the John von Neumann Theory Prize in 1978 for inventing Nash equilibria, known to the public as the subject of the biographical book and the Academy Award-winning movie both with the title A Beautiful Mind, in childhood showed advanced intellect a keen interest in science and was a loner, initially studied chemistry and engineering at university, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and mild depression in 1959, in 1970 chose to stop taking his schizophrenia medication, anecdotes of homosexual behaviour or overtures have been reported, according to legend Dr Nash had the habit of working on mathematics on university blackboards in the middle of the night, reported to have untidy handwriting, may have been a lefthander who was made to use his right hand for writing, one of his sons reportedly diagnosed with schizophrenia, in the paper in which Fitzgerald argued that Nash has AS he does not dispute the diagnosis of schizophrenia, M)
Grigori Perelman (b. 1966, (also known as Grisha Perelman, Grigoriy Perelman) Russian-Jewish mathematician. In 2002 Perelman published his proof of the Poincaré Conjecture, one of the most important and difficult problems in mathematics, proposed by Henri Poincare in 1904. In 2006 he was awarded the very prestigious Fields Medal, but Perelman declined the award and did not attend the IMU congress. He was the first person to decline this award. In March 2010 Perelman was awarded the million dollar Millennium Prize for his proof of the Poincare conjecture. There are reports that Perelman has said he does not need the money. There has been much speculation about whether or not Perelman will accept the prize. Perelman has expressed disappointment with the ethical standards of the field of mathematics. In 2009 Perelman was reportedly not working and was living with his mother in Russia, some sources claiming he has given up mathematics. A biography of Perelman was published in 2009 Perfect rigor, in which the author reportedly argued that Perelman has Asperger syndrome (Gessen 2009).)
Henri Poincare (1854-1912, born Jules Henri Poincare, French mathematician, theoretical physicist, philosopher of science, university professor and past president of the French Academy of Sciences. Poincaré's paper about relativity was published before Einstein's. Poincare was a polymath and as a mathematician he excelled in all fields of the discipline at the time. The Poincaré conjecture is one of the most famous problems in mathematics, and Poincare is famous for a number of other theorems, problems, numbers and ideas in mathematics and physics. He received a number of medals and awards, and had awards named in his honour. As a school student Poincare was an excellent all-round student except in physical education and music. He was known to be absentminded as a school student. A French psychologist wrote a book about Poincare in 1910. Poincare was physically clumsy, was probably a visual thinker, had a habit of neglecting details and was ambidextrous. M)
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920, Indian mathematician of the Brahmin caste but not wealthy, a child prodigy, very much self-taught in mathematics, failed high school exams because he was unable to concentrate on subjects other than mathematics, persuaded to go to Cambridge by mathematician G. H. Hardy, known for working long hours at maths then sleeping for an extended period, became a Fellow of the Royal Society, a religious man who’s mathematical work was inspired by the Hindu goddess Namagiri, died of ill health at age 32, M, 3, H?)
Bernhard Riemann (1826-1866, German mathematician who founded the field of Riemannian geometry, displayed extraordinary calculating and mathematical ability at an early age, studied mathematics and the Bible intensively in his youth, studied under Gauss at university, held the position of head of the mathematics department at Göttingen University, was very shy, M)
Julia Robinson (1919-1985)American mathematician. She is one of the famous role models profiled in the children’s book Different like me: my book of autism heroes by Jennifer Elder. M)
William James Sidis (1898-1944, became famous as a child prodigy, had Russian Jewish heritage, a very early reader, could speak many languages, received a degree from Harvard College at 16, taught mathematics at an institute at 17 but was treated poorly by his students who were older, sentenced to imprisonment after taking part in a socialist demonstration but kept in his parents’ sanitorium where they threatened him with transfer to a mental institution, after his escape from there he kept a low profile and wrote books under pseudonyms, won a settlement from a magazine that published a negative article about him, William Sidis was an atheist, his IQ has been estimated as 300 (compared to the normal IQ score of 100), he died at age 46 of a cerebral hemorrhage, the same illness that caused his father’s premature death. Boris Sidis, William's father, was a psychiatrist, psychologist, physician, philosopher of education, an author of many books and the medical director of an institution for persons who were "not actually insane" but had milder issues such as obsessions. An early description of synaesthesia can be found in a book by B. Sidis published in 1914. Boris became ostracized from his profession and written out of the history of psychology following his criticisms of Freudian theory and mainstream psychology.)
Alan Turing (1912–1954, English mathematician, cryptographer and logician, pioneer of modern computer science. The Turing Test and the “Universal Turing Machine” were his ideas and he played a major role in deciphering the Enigma code used by the Germans during WWII. The Turing Prize was named after him. Turing displayed precocious talents in mathematics and chemistry as a child, which he would study at school while neglecting other subjects. He was once caught doing algebra in religious classes and he had really bad handwriting. Turing also had a stutter. In his adult years Turing was known to work through the night on a computer, and his home would often resemble a workshop. After he admitted to a homosexual act (illegal at the time) he was convicted and forced to undergo hormone “therapy”, his death by poisoning is generally believed to have been suicide, but assassination or accident have been suggested. In 2009 the Prime Minister of the UK published an official posthumous apology to Turing for the terrible way that this national hero was treated because of his homosexuality. In 2009 an economist and an autistic university researcher published a paper in which they suggested an interpretation of Turing's paper that gave rise to the idea of the Turing Test, as an exploration of the possibility of unusual forms of intelligence, and Turing's possible AS and homosexuality are discussed with reference to the notion of imitation or "passing". L-H)
Andre Weil (1906-1998, influential mathematician, French-born with Jewish ancestry, brother of the philosopher Sophie Weil, who is also in this list, M)
Norbert Wiener (1894-1964, American mathematician with Jewish heritage, founder of cybernetics, home-schooled child prodigy, received a degree from Tufts College at age 14, later studied under Bertrand Russell, G. H. Hardy and David Hilbert, professor of mathematics at MIT, believed to have been very absent-minded, prone to depression and hypersensitive to criticism, according to legend a graduate student was assigned the task of making sure that Weiner reached destinations without getting lost, and in another anecdote Weiner decided to address his lectures to the only student in the room that he thought was paying proper attention, and one day when this student was absent he aborted the lecture claiming that there was nobody in the class (Paulos 1991), according to I. James he had bipolar M)
Politicians and Leaders
Gordon Brown (b. 1951, full name James Gordon Brown, born in Scotland, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, former Chancellor of the Exchequer of the UK, former leader of the Labour Party in the UK. Brown is a very intelligent man with a very strong work ethic. He was an academic high achiever in high school, was accepted into university at the age of 16 and completed a doctorate. In his teens a sport injury left Brown blind in one eye, and he came close to losing sight in his other eye. Many words have been written about the time when Brown was the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Tony Blair was the Prime Minister of the UK. Andrew Turnbull has been quoted in a book describing the Brown/Blair partnership “They were almost the exact opposite of each other in terms of personality types so they complemented each other,” (Rawnsley 2010 p.57). Unfortunately, it appears that there was much distrust, deception and conflict of interests in within this team, with Blair and Brown supported by their own opposing camps. Brown has been described as “the most powerful Chancellor of the Exchequer since William Gladstone in the middle of the 19th century.” (Osborne 2010). Brown has been described as “dour and often awkward in public”, has been accused by various political figures of being autistic, uncollegiate and psychologically flawed. It has been claimed that Brown has "steamrolling persistence." (Rawnsley 2010 p. 56) and a "depth of knowledge that is phenomenal." (Rawnsley p.543). Regarding Brown’s style of working, he has been described as "... the control freak's control freak." (Rawnsley 2010 p. 473), "addicted to headline chasing" (Rawnsley 2010 p.544), and a workaholic. Brown had the habit of working and making phone calls at unusual hours. On pages 41-42 of Whatever it Takes by Steve Richards is discussion of Brown dealing with co-workers one-on-one but not in group discussion. As a PM Brown has been described as "pathologically determined to try to run every bit of Government himself." (Rawnsley 2010 p. 545). Some commentators have stated that they find Brown’s smile unnatural-looking. Political journalist Andrew Rawnsley’s 2010 book The end of the party described a number of episodes of bad behaviour of PM Brown’s that appears to be evidence of a very bad temper. PM Brown was known to inflict terrible acts of violence against defenceless inanimate objects such as a waste-paper bin (Richards 2010 p.63) and a telephone (Seldon & Lodge 2010 p.432). It has also been observed that Brown can be very charming and funny at times, especially in the company of people that he likes. There has been speculation over the years that Brown may be autistic, and also speculation about Brown’s mental health, and a lot of this speculation has been within a context of vicious personal criticism from political enemies. Australian former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been described as a friend of Brown's, and both leaders had many characteristics in common during their terms as PMs. M)
Robert Emmet (1778-1803, Irish nationalist leader who was captured, tried and executed after leading an unsuccessful rebellion against British rule, a heroic figure in Irish history)
Tim Fischer AC (b. 1946, Australian ex-politician, was the Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government from 1996 until he retired from Cabinet in 1999. Fischer was also the Trade Minister and leader of the National Party of Australia. He retired from Parliament in 2001, and is currently the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See. Fischer was nominated into this position by the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, from the other side of Australian politics. Fischer has been described as “a good bloke” by Rudd in a recent Twitter post. Fischer left politics in 2001 to spend time with his family, including a son diagnosed with autism. He has a reputation for being inarticulate but is a well-respected public figure. Fischer has been a railway enthusiast since childhood. He was drafted into the army and led a platoon in Vietnam. He married at the age of 46. Fischer was quoted in 1999: “…to some extent I had a very mild form of autism in my early years.” Fischer credited his autism as the cause of some “intense areas of study and interests” (Rees 2001 p.319). As an adult Fischer has been described as a “self-sufficient loner” (Rees 2001 p. 318). M)
Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970, French statesman and military leader)
Sir Edward “Ted” Heath KG MBE (1916-2005) former Conservative Prime Minister of the UK from 1970 to 1974, leader of the Conservative Party from 1965-1975, Deputy Chief Whip and Chief Whip of the Tories in the 1950s. As a PM Heath took Britain into the EEC. He has been described as “the first modern Conservative leader”. In 1968 Heath sacked Enoch Powell from the shadow Cabinet following a negative response to Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech. Powell is also in this list. Sir Edward was not a great orator, but he was able to give speeches without consulting notes. When Heath was deposed as the leader of the Tory Party by Margaret Thatcher he was not a gracious loser, earning him the nickname “the incredible sulk”. Heath remained in politics until 2001, but refused to serve in Thatcher’s cabinet. Sir Edward’s political ambitions had an early origin – in an admission interview for an Oxford University college, Heath cited “a professional politician” as his chosen career (Thomson 1980). Sir Edward was a world-class yachtsman and an accomplished musician. Heath never married and one anecdote suggests that he did not feel comfortable in the company of women. According to one source there were women that he was fond of, but they married other men. Like a number of other unmarried men in this list, Heath has been the subject of speculation that he was a closet homosexual, despite a lack of evidence. Heath did not smoke and rarely drank. As a personality Heath has been described as “remote and aloof” (MailOnline 2005), “cool and withdrawn”, “a loner”, “Stiff and awkard (sic) socially” (Thomson 1980 p.248), a politician who did not have the benefit of being able to make small talk, outspoken, “an efficient and unpopular” whip (Thomson 1980 p.250), “a bloody bad-tempered man” (Thomson 1980 p.250) and an “extraordinarily self-sufficient” man who enjoyed people but possibly did not need them (Thomson 1980 p.250). It was argued that Heath might have had “mild” AS in 2005 a letter to the editor of the Independent in response to earlier articles and an obituary of Sir Edward Heath. There has also been online speculation about Heath and the autistic spectrum.)
Adolf Hitler (1889-1945, generally despised Austrian-born German politician, leader of the Nazi party, ruler of Germany from 1933 to 1945. Hitler transformed the government of Germany into a single-party dictatorship. Anti-semitism, anti-communism, racial supremacism and German nationalism were policies pursued by the Nazi Party. This included the systematic murder of an estimated 17 million civilians. This genocide of 6 million Jewish civilians is known as "the Holocaust". After Germany invaded Poland, France and the UK declared war on Germany, which was the beginning of WWII, a truly terrible war that resulted in the deaths of over 70 million people. Hitler's fascination with war can be traced back to his early childhood. He was close to his mother but had a rebellious and conflict-riddled relationship with his father. Hitler was at one time two years behind at technical school, Hitler claiming this failure was a deliberate rebellion against his father, who was opposed to Adolf's ambition to be an artist. The philosopher Wittgenstein was a classmate. Hitler was asked to leave technical school, and was later expelled from another school. He rebelled against his father's Austrian nationality and culture. Hitler was twice rejected by an arts academy and was advised to study architecture. After struggling to make a living as a painter Hitler descended into poverty. Hitler was twice decorated for bravery in WWI, fighting in a Bavarian regiment, but was not promoted. Later he was imprisoned following an unsuccessful coup. For years Hitler dodged taxes on the royalties of his book Mein Kampf. The idea that Hitler was completely devoid of emotional connection to others is contradicted by evidence of his deep distress at the deaths of his mother and the suicide of his half-niece Geli Raubal, who was rumoured to have been his lover. Hitler had a friendship with architect and Third Reich minister Albert Speer. All three of the women who had relationships with Hitler attempted suicide. Hitler had medical and dental problems and was possibly addicted to methamphetamine. He was a vegetarian who hated smoking. In the 2004 book Autism and creativity Prof. M. Fitzgerald posthumously diagnosed Hitler with “autistic psychopathy”, a diagnostic category that is not officially recognized. In 2009 a Swedish journal published a paper titled Hade Adolf Hitler Aspergers syndrom? M)
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826, US President, L-H)
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948, born with the name Mahomedali Jinnahbhai, Muslim politician, founder of Pakistan, first Governor-General of Pakistan, leader of the All India Muslim League, officially known as “Father of the Nation” and “The Great Leader” in Pakistan, a lawyer before he went into politics, M)
Sir Keith Joseph CH PC (1918-1994, British politician, has been described as “the founder of modern conservatism in Britain” and “one of the most influential politicians of the late twentieth century.”)
Patrick Pearse (1879- 1916, also known as Pádraig Pearse, Irish nationalist rebel and political activist, also a teacher, barrister, poet and writer, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916, may have been declared the President of the Provisional Government but this is unclear, was executed, was the subject of speculation during his life and after his death that he may have been homosexual despite there apparently being no evidence that he engaged in hetero or homo-sexual activity. There is a chapter about Pearse in the book Unstoppable brilliance: Irish geniuses and Asperger’s syndrome by Walker and Fitzgerald.)
Enoch Powell MBE (1912-1998, real name John Enoch Powell, controversial maverick Conservative Party and later an Ulster Unionist British politician. PM Edward Heath (who is also in this list) dismissed Powell from the Shadow Cabinet for his controversial 1968 anti-immigration "Rivers of Blood" speech. Powel learned 12 languages during his life, and could read Ancient Greek at the age of 5 years. As a school and university student Powell attained some impressive achievements in English and foreign languages. Powell is one of the famous people discussed in the book Asperger Syndrome - A Gift or a Curse? By Lyons and Fitzgerald. M)
Screaming Lord Sutch (1940-1999, born David Edward Sutch, changed his name to “Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow” even though he had no such title, British eccentric, rock musician, co-founder of a successful protest party, the Official Monster Raving Loony Party which had the election slogan "Vote for insanity: you know it makes sense", an LP of Sutch's was voted the worst album of all time, he combined horror themes with rock music in stage shows years before glam rock or Alice Cooper, disliked illicit drugs but drank a lot of tea, closet dyslexic and a poor speller but a fan of George Orwell, memorized the political satire novel Animal Farm, a house-clutterer, used note-taking for organization but had a reputation for being late, one ex-girlfriend reported to have claimed that she and Sutch knew he had Asperger syndrome, irregular sleeper, suffered from severe headaches, reported as diagnosed with depression, committed suicide late in life reportedly with depression and bipolar disorder drugs Prozac and Lithium in his system, never married but survived by a son)
Eamon de Valera (1882-1975, Irish president, author of Ireland’s constitution, professor of mathematics)
Royalty and Nobility
King Charles XII of Sweden (1682-1718, displayed talent as a tactician from a young age by defeating invading nations, Sweden reached it’s height of power under Charles’s reign but his decision to attack Russia lead to the end of the Swedish Empire, Charles abstained from alcohol and women, displayed a high tolerance for pain, and was thought to lack emotion, he was interested in mathematics and is thought to have invented an octal numeral system)
King Philip II of Spain (1527–1598, under Philip II Spain reached the peak of it’s power, Philip organized a Holy League between Spain and other states and assembled a fleet of ships which were used to destroy most of the fleet of the Ottoman Empire in the decisive Battle of Lepanto, in 1588 Philip sent the Spanish Armada in an attempt at a Catholic invasion of England, Philip was a “fervent Roman Catholic” who made a substantial contribution to opposing Protestantism in Europe, he showed consideration of some of his most humble subjects but had a bad relationship with his eldest son. Philip II was fastidious about order and cleanliness, and he liked to supervise to a level of detail. He had an authoritarian style of administration, with an exceptional memory for information. His manner was polite but cold. He was not much of a speaker and preferred to do business in writing. Philip has been described as having “almost albino colouring” (James 2006) with fair hair and pale skin. He inherited mandibular prognathism, also known as progenism, underbite or Habsburg lip, giving the appearance of a lower jaw projecting forward. Philip II also had a flat face. These characteristics were found among a number of generations of the Habsburg royalty. Philip’s father Charles V Holy Roman Emperor had epilepsy, and was unable to chew food properly due to his jaw. Later even more inbred generations of Spanish royalty were even more disabled and strange-looking, some intellectually disabled. Prof. I. James claims that the co-authors of a medical history of Philip published in the 1950s have identified his personality as “autistic or schizotypal”. A chapter about Philip II can be found in the 2006 book Asperger’s syndrome and high achievement by James. M)
Movie Directors, Actors and Entertainers
Dan Aykroyd CM (b. 1952, Canadian-American film actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter, one of the famous Blues Brothers, an original cast member of the Saturday Night Live TV show, was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2000, in a somewhat confusing radio interview Aykroyd claimed to have been diagnosed as a child with Asperger and Tourette syndromes, and schizophrenia was also mentioned (in those days autism was sometimes erroneously described as “childhood schizophrenia”, and this may have confused the issue), his autistic special interest is law enforcement, which may have been an influence on Aykroyd’s screenplay of The Blues Brothers, born with syndactyly (webbed toes) and like another person in this list, has eyes of different colours (heterochromia), Aykroyd is a spiritualist with a family tradition of spiritualism, and also has a strong interest in UFOs, L-H, M)
Tim Burton (b. 1958, American director of many popular films including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands, as well as some Batman blockbusters. Outsiders, loneliness and Gothic style are recurring themes in Burton’s movies. Burton’s long-term partner English actress Helena Bonham Carter has identified him as possibly autistic. It has been suggested that Burton was able to create a near-perfect allegory of a man with Asperger syndrome in the movie Edward Scissorhands because he has the condition himself (Sampson 2004). Burton's most recent movie is Alice in Wonderland, based on the story by Lewis Carroll, who is also in this list. A retrospective exhibition of Burton’s art at the Museum of Modern Art in New York has been very successful, and is scheduled to be shown in Melbourne in 2010 along with a retrospective festival of Burton’s movies. M)
Daryl Hannah (b. 1960, American film actress and campaigner for environmental causes, her lifestyle is also environmentally friendly, according to one press article Hannah lived in a fantasy world for years as a child, was “diagnosed borderline autistic”, at the age of 7, got kicked out of school and had medication recommended for her by doctors, but her mother decided to take her out of school for a year. Hannah had insomnia during childhood. 2009 press article about Hannah did not mention autism, but did describe her school rejecting her as a student at the age of 6, being given a battery of tests, giving an incorrect answer to what appears to have been a test of theory of mind, being recommended for institutionalization, and her mother taking her out of school for a year. Some of Hannah's most memorable roles include the bioengineered robot Pris in the cult science fiction movie Blade Runner and the mermaid in Splash)
Andy Kaufman (1949-1984, full name Andrew Kaufman, American performance artist who was funny but didn’t call himself a comedian, from a Jewish family, at 4 years started a daily ritual of performing 4 hour long variety shows alone to an imaginary TV camera in the wall of his bedroom, a ritual that would be carried on in lunch play times at school, taken to see a child psychiatrist and psychologists, an academic and sporting failure, but at 11 was running a successful business entertaining at kids’ parties that he ran for years, his live and TV performances often involved deceiving or angering the audience and impersonations, appeared on Saturday Night Live and was involved in a staged fight on The Late Show with Dave Letterman, had many fastidious personal habits, died from kidney failure from a rare form of lung cancer, survived by an adopted-out daughter, some have speculated that he faked his own death, in the biographical film Man on the Moon Kaufman was played by Jim Carrey and his girlfriend played by Courtney Love)
Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999, American Academy Award winning film director and producer, from a Jewish family, highly influential and innovative, considered one of the greatest movie directors of the 20th century, works include Dr Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining. Kubrick was known to collect obsolete personal computers and carry on telephone conversations lasting a number of hours. Kubrick planned to make a movie about Napoleon but his studio abandoned the project. Kubrick collected a room full of books about Napoleon and created thousands of file cards of information about Napoleon, an obsession lasting years that is a fine example of an autistic special interest. The 2008 documentary Stanley Kubrick's Boxes gave a fascinating insight into the obsessive, perfectionist and meticulous mind of this great and eccentric man. He was a workaholic and was most concerned with details. There was some speculation in the media about Kubrick’s mental health during his lifetime. Like Andy Warhol (who is also in this list), Kubrick left behind a massive collection of boxes of memorabilia when he died which were donated to a cultural organization, Kubrick's boxes (over 1000) going to the University of the Arts in London, the actual boxes had been manufactured to Kubrick's exact specifications so that the lids fit perfectly, M)
Orson Welles (1915-1985, American film director, theatre director, actor and radio broadcaster, was a child prodigy, Welles directed, co-wrote, produced and acted in his first feature movie Citizen Kane at the age of 26, considered by some to be the greatest film ever made, but the film was initially not a big commercial success due to the malign influence of the Hearst media empire (the film was loosely based in the life of William Randolph Hearst), Welles was given an honorary Academy Award in 1971)
Architects
Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926, full name Antoni Plà cid Guillem Gaudà i Cornet, also known as Antonio Gaudi, Spanish/Catalan architect, had a unique and fantastic style that could be described as Art Nouveau which drew inspiration from organic forms and the forces of physics. People have been campaigning to have Gaudi made into a saint for a number of years. Gaudi designed the La Sagrada Familia Roman Catholic basilica in Barcelona from his imagination rather than blueprints. In November 201 it was consecrated by the Pope, even though it is not expected to be completed until 2026 and has been under construction since 1882. Gaudi suffered from rheumatism as a child, missed some schooling and spent hours observing nature. He achieved mediocre grades when studying architecture and his work was initially ridiculed. Gaudi was a fervent Catalan nationalist, committed Catholic and a vegetarian. He had a brusque, moody personality but had many friends. Gaudi did not travel much and became more solitary and indifferent to success in the latter part of his life. He died in a pauper’s hospital after being run over by a tram.)
Michael Ventris (1922-1956, English architect, one of the two scholars who deciphered the Linear B script and figured out that it is an early form of Greek, Ventris’ correct theory about Linear B went against scientific thinking of the time, Ventris spoke a number of different languages, served as a navigator in the RAF, and died in a car crash)
People famous for being Synaesthete Memory Savants
Solomon V. Shereshevskii (1886-1958?, also known as “S”, "Shereshevsky", "Sherashevsky", “Sheresevsky”, “Cherechevski” and “Veniamin”, a Jewish Russian who worked as a journalist, a professional mnemonist (memory feat performer) in a stage show and had other jobs, married and was a father, he was the subject of the classic case study The mind of a mnemonist: a little book about a vast memory by Russian neuropsychologist Alexander R. Luria (Luriia, Aleksandr Lurija) , Shereshevskii’s extraordinary eidetic memory is thought to have been aided by his synaesthesia, of which he had a number of different types including projector-type synaesthesia, he was a vividly visual thinker but he reported trouble remembering faces. It is important to note that it is far from clear from the scant second-hand description of Shereshevskii's experience of face perception whether his experience was like that of a prosopagnosic (person with a face recognition disability) or typical of normal face perception, and scientific tests of face recognition did not exist in the age in which his case was explored. On page 127 Shereskevskii describes imagining "...a face familiar to me from childhood" and his recollections from his infancy include seeing his mother's face and recognizing his father's voice (p. 78). Shereshevskii was not blind to facial expressions, as some commentators have claimed, in fact he reported that facial expressions interfered with his ability to remember faces (p. 64 1987 HUP edition). His parents may have had unusual memory abilities and Luria (Luria 1968) described some of his siblings as "gifted individuals", Shereshevskii “seemed to have behaved not unlike someone with Asperger syndrome. Unfortunately, Luria did not give enough details to allow a diagnosis to be made.” (Wing 1981), M)
Daniel Tammet b.1979, born Daniel Corney and changed his surname in 2001 (Foer 2011) by deed poll reportedly because it did not fit his self-image (Johnson 2005). DT is the anonymous name given to Tammet when he is written about as a case study in science journal papers. Tammet is most famous as a well-presented autistic synaesthete mathematics, memory and language savant who writes autobiographies. Tammet has created and operates an online educational company, and has a background in teaching English as a second language (Tammet 2006). In 1999 and 2000 Tammet competed in the World Memory Championships (WMC) (under his original surname), attaining a rating of fourth in the world in 2000 (Foer 2011 p.219). Tammet's WMC achievements include winning a gold medal in the "names and faces" event (Foer 2011 p.230). In 2001 Tammet was describing himself as a “World-class mentathlete, memory sport pioneer, personal empowerment coach, spiritual development teacher and speaker and a leading authority on Mindpower and Human Potential” at the website that he published at the time: www.DanielTämmet.com In 2002 Tammet was one subject in a study of a group of WMC participants by Maguire et al which found that their memory superiority was not driven by exceptional intellectual ability or structural brain differences but was instead due to "a spatial learning strategy". Tammet and other “superior memorizers” were tested for face memory. As a group their performance was superior but comparable to the controls. I found no mention of synaesthesia in that paper, published in the prestigious journal Nature Neuroscience in 2002-3. In 2004 Tammet reportedly became the holder of the British/European record (under his new surname) for remembering and recounting the number Pi to 22,514 decimal places, an event held to raise money for a charity, but according to the “Pi World Ranking List” website, Tammet made an error at 2,964 decimal places limiting his record to that lower figure.
Being featured in the award-winning documentary Brainman (alternative title The Boy with the Incredible Brain) appears to have been a turning point for Tammet. Tammet met Dr Darold Treffert “in the summer of 2004, during filming for the documentary Brainman” (foreword by Tammet of Treffert 2010). Treffert is considered to be an authority on “savant syndrome”, and he told Tammet he met the diagnostic criteria for the condition (Tammet 2006, p. 236). Tammet was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (AS) at age 25 at the Autism Research Centre (ARC) (Tammet 2006, p.6) and his consultation with Prof. Simon Baron-Cohen of the ARC, considered a leading authority on autism, was shown in the Brainman documentary. Tammet was also examined by the US neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran and his research team in the documentary, and they wrote a short paper about Tammet. In 2005 two popular UK press articles were published reviewing the Brainman doco broadcast on UK television, both including claims that Tammet can “recall the face of every person he has ever met” (Bletchley 2005). In 2006 Tammet’s first autobiography Born on a Blue Day was published, and Baron-Cohen and Treffert both wrote forewords for it. In 2007 two journal papers about Tammet, both by Baron-Cohen and co-authors, were published in different science journals. One of these papers explained that Tammet was given a test of face memory and it was concluded that “...his face memory appears impaired...” (Baron-Cohen et al 2007). Both 2007 papers mentioned Tammet’s Pi record (reported as a European record to 22,514 places) under his new name but did not mention his WMC participation under his old name which included the “names & faces” task. In his 2009 autobiography Embracing the Wide Sky Tammet claimed that “...I have great difficulty remembering faces, even of those of people I have known for many years” (Tammet 2009 p.61) and he then discussed his perception of faces in a way that is eerily similar to the way that the famous synaesthete memory savant Shereshevskii’s perception of faces was described in the classic case study by Luria The Mind of a Mnemonist (Luria 1987 edition p. 64).
A centrally important feature of the explanation for Tammet's memory feats that has been put forward by Tammet, Baron-Cohen, Treffert, the Brainman documentary and many media reports is that Tammet's performances of superior memory are claimed to be effortless and the result of inborn neurological differences such as autism, synaesthesia and the after-effects of an epileptic childhood, and are not the result of mnemonic techniques or memory training as practiced by memory competition participants. One of the 2007 papers about Tammet by Baron-Cohen and his research team included the assertion that "While some memory experts accomplish similar feats after extensive training, this does not explain DT's abilities, since he has had no explicit training." (Bor, Billington & Baron-Cohen 2007).
Doubts have been raised about Tammet's savantism, synaesthesia and his claimed severe disability in recognizing faces (prosopagnosia). Much of what has been written about Tammet fails to mention his World Memory Championship achievements in 1999 and 2000, his 2001 name change or his participation in the 2002 study of memory contest participants. In the 2011 book Moonwalking With Einstein by WMC champion Joshua Foer, Foer explores the argument that Tammet's achievements are due to well-known memory training techniques and not savantism, synaesthesia, autism or any other inborn peculiarity.
Tammet was reportedly diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy during childhood (Tammet 2006 p.35), and had a paternal grandfather whose life was ruined by adult-onset epilepsy (Tammet 2006 p.36-37). Tammet has a brother who is also diagnosed with AS (Tammet 2006 p.13) (Baron-Cohen et al 2007 p.8). In his first autobiography Tammet described his father’s curiously unnamed mental illness involving physical collapse which had an onset well into adulthood (Tammet 2006 p.99-102), but I found no mention of schizophrenia in this book. In his second autobiography Tammet identified his father as a long-time sufferer of schizophrenia, and one of the 2007 journal papers about Tammet includes a claim that his father has diagnosed with schizophrenia (Baron-Cohen et al 2007). Tammet has claimed to have a WAIS IQ score of 150 (Tammet 2009). He also reportedly has vivid synaesthesia, speaks 11 languages and is creating a new language, has trouble telling left from right, and cannot drive a motor vehicle (Tammet 2006). In the book Born on a Blue Day Tammet identified himself as a Christian in a long term same-sex relationship, and in a 2009 interview Tammet explained that they had parted amicably and he was now with a new partner (Wilson 2009). In his foreword to the 2010 book Islands of Genius by Darold Treffert, Tammet wrote that he was currently working on a novel. R-H, H, M, A.
Military Leaders
Major-General Charles George Gordon CB (1833-1885, British administrator and army officer, known by a number of nicknames, famous for campaigns in northern Africa and China, short in height, a Christian with some eccentric religious beliefs, subject of speculation that he was a closet homosexual because he did not marry and enjoyed the company of boys, Gordon explained his single status as a decision made because he thought it unlikely that he would find a suitable wife. An article titled “Did General Charles Gordon Have Aspergers Syndrome?” is available to read that The Victorian Web website.)
General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson (1824-1863, confederate general in the American Civil War, considered to have been one of the most brilliant tactical commanders in US military history)
Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein KG GCB DSO PC (1887-1976, his nickname was Monty, British army officer, successfully commanded allied forces during WWII, opinions differ regarding his performance as a military commander)
Uncategorized Famous or Important People
Joy Adamson (1910-1980, maiden name Joy Gessner, born in Europe, naturalist and author of Born Free, in a recent documentary that is critical of conservationists Adamson was accused of mistreating Africans, she was murdered by an employee, M)
Daisy Bates (1863-1951, real name Daisy May (O'Dwyer) Bates, Irish-Australian journalist, welfare worker and amateur anthropologist involved with the Australian Aboriginal people, her research remains controversial to this day because she claimed Aboriginal people practiced cannibalism and she believed they were a doomed race, Bates applied for position Protector of Aborigines in the Northern Territory in 1912, rejected due to being female, appointed Honorary Protector of Aborigines at Eucla, her welfare work financed by sale of her cattle station, in later years she advised the federal government on Aboriginal affairs, made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1934, briefly married to “Breaker” Morant, both of her husbands were breakers of wild horses and both marriages failed, at one time she was a bigamist married to another bigamist, she lied about her humble Irish origins, disliked socialism, spiritualism and feminism, described as “a consummate social networker” and “A brilliant mimic and conversationalist” (Reece 2007) which does not fit the autistic stereotype, wore Edwardian fashions including boots, gloves and veil her whole life, is believed to have worn pistols even in old age and was prepared to use them, M)
“Dibs” (“Dibs” a pseudonym given to the central figure in the popular book Dibs in Search of Self, by psychologist and play therapist/psychotherapist Virginia Axline, it is standard practice for health professionals to use pseudonyms in cases studies to protect the identity of patients, this book is described as “semi-true” and much of the book stretches credibility, but libraries catalogue it as non-fiction and it has been a set text in academic courses, so it is hard to judge whether Dibs should be written about as a real boy or fictional character, the continuing popularity and academic acceptance of this book has angered some autists and parents of autistic children because it presents a boy with many unmistakably autistic characteristics as being highly intelligent but severely emotionally damaged by cold and inept parenting, the book was first published in 1964 when “refrigerator mother” theories about the causation of autism were widely accepted, the book has been variously described as an advertisement for play therapy and as an autism conversion narrative)
Robert “Bobby” Fischer (1943-2008, US born with Jewish ancestry, taught himself to play chess when he was 6 and displayed exceptional talent, his mother took him to see a doctor in a children’s psychiatry division in a hospital as she was concerned by his obsession with chess, the doctor reassured Fischer’s mother, in 1956 the youngest player to ever win the US Junior Championship, in 1958 the youngest chess grandmaster in history, reputed to have been a disinterested, low-achieving school student who would not sit still in class, dropped out of high school, his school records are believed to include an IQ score of 184, World Chess Champion from 1972-1975, single-handedly took on excellent Soviet players and their team tactics, ranked at 2nd or 3rd place in lists of all-time best chess players (Buzan 2005), regarded as the best by some, often complained about light and sound distractions in chess tournaments, dropped out of serious chess competition from 1972 to 1992, in 1992 broke a UN embargo by playing a chess match in Yugoslavia resulting in an arrest warrant issued by the US government, deported from Japan in 2000, granted Icelandic citizenship, in recent years made many controversial anti-US and anti-Semitic statements, died after reportedly refusing medical treatment, survived by a defacto wife, a Japanese chess champion, and a Filipina daughter. In June 2010 the Iceland Supreme Court ordered that Fischer’s body be exhumed for DNA testing as the result of conflict over Fischer’s estate. M, R-H)
John Howard (1726–1790, English philanthropist and prison reformer)
Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974, American pilot who made the first lone continuous flight across the Atlantic Ocean, was awarded the Medal of Honor (USA) and the French Legion of Honor, and a Pulitzer Prize in 1954 in the category of biography or autobiography, a friend of automotive pioneer Henry Ford, who is also in this list.)
Darius McCollum (b. 1965, American with African heritage, urban legend, impersonator of New York City Transit Authority employees, has been imprisoned, obsessed with trains since early childhood, at age 11 was stabbed and seriously injured by another student in his special-education class in an unprovoked attack, has a lengthy criminal record as a result of his interference with the New York rail and subway system, although it is widely believed that McCollum has AS, an insanity defence in court based on an AS diagnosis failed, a request that the transit authority hire McCollum in some capacity was refused, M)
Moe Norman (1929-2004, Canadian professional golfer, real name Murray Norman, self-taught, had an unconventional and very accurate style of play, his career was probably limited by his shyness and preference to remain in Canada, reputedly drank 24 Cokes a day)
L-H denotes people identified as left-handed or initially left-handed in any reputable source or from photographs
R-H denotes people identified as right-handed in any reputable source of from photographs
M denotes those who have been at any time formally married or in a long-term defacto or homosexual relationship that has been described as a marriage - I have not checked all biographies for marital status, so some people in this list could be without an M when they should have one.
FRS after someone’s name stands for Fellow of the Royal Society
Numbers at the end of individual descriptions are the number of publications cited in the references section in which the person described has been identified in any way as in any way autistic. I have not added numbers for all people listed. By default, all people in this list have a number 1 at least.
* The Cambridge Apostles was an elite intellectual secret society with links with the Bloomsbury Group and the Cambridge spy ring. Former members include Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, physicist James Clerk Maxwell, a brother of Charles Darwin and mathematician G. H. Hardy.
* The Athenaeum Club in London has included in its membership Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Darwin, J. M. W. Turner, Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington and Y. B. Yeats.
References and other interesting things
Publications which identify more than one famous person as autistic or possibly autistic, or mention such speculation by others, or dispute such speculation
Attwood, Tony (2000) The autism epidemic – real or imagined. Autism Asperger’s Digest. November/December 2000.
http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/pdfs/attwood4.pdf
[Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, Mozart, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Glenn Gould, Alan Turing]
Baron-Cohen, Simon (2003) The essential difference. Penguin Books.
[Richard Borcherds (his formal diagnosis described in detail), Paul Dirac, Einstein, Newton, William Shockley, Michael Ventris]
Blakemore, Colin (2008) Hunting the genes of genius. Telegraph.co.uk February 25th 2008.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2008/02/25/hgenius125.xml
[discusses the book by Fitzgerald and O’Brien “Genius genes”]
Brown, Julie (2010) Writers on the spectrum: how autism and Asperger syndrome have influenced literary writing. Jessica Kingsley, 2010.
[writers discussed in this book by a literary academic include Hans Christian Andersen, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Lewis Carroll, William Butler Yeats, Sherwood Anderson and Opal Whiteley.]
Condon, Deborah (2004) Did Yeats and de Valera have autism? irishhealth.com 9/1/2004.
http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&id=5508
[brief review of the book “Autism and Creativity” by Fitzgerald, many discussion postings follow the review]
Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are discussed with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Autism as academic paradigm. Chronicle Review. July 13th 2009.
http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=sv9qrqwtrhyhYMYSc5n6DqwQhHFJdvdv
[This excellent article mentions economist and Nobel laureate Vernon L. Smith, Fields Medalist Richard Borcherds and academic Temple Grandin as autistic high achievers. The author is a professor of economics and he writes that he is a former colleague of Smith's.]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are all discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Albert Einstein, Dian Fossey, Andy Warhol, Benjamin Banneker, Andy Kaufman, Wassily Kandinsky, Julia Bowman Robinson, Piet Mondrian, Alan Turing, Sophie Germain, Lewis Carroll, Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla, Paul Erdos, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Barbara McClintock, Joseph Cornell, Hans Christian Andersen and Temple Grandinare all discussed this lovely book for a junior readership which was written by the mother of an autist]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and creativity. Autism2006: AWARES Conference Centre. October 4th 2006.
http://212.74.184.44:8083/BM_DIRECTORY/E/BM000001662/7679/FIT1.PDF
http://awares.nemisys.uk.com/conferences/show_paper.asp?section=000100010001&conferenceCode=000200020002&id=42
[Stanley Kubrick, George Orwell, Andy Warhol, Temple Grandin, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Simone Weil, Joy Adamson, Wittgenstein, Sir Keith Joseph, W. B. Yeats, Lewis Carroll, Newton, Gregor Mendel, Kant, Spinoza, Charles Lindbergh]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Gaudi, Hopper, Quine, Wittgenstein, Maxwell, Swift, H. Christian Andersen, Melville, Carroll, W. B. Yeats, Conan Doyle, Orwell, Chatwin, Spinoza, Kant, Weil, A. J. Ayer, Mozart, Beethoven, Satie, Bartok, Gould, van Gogh, J. B. Yeats, L.S. Lowry, Warhol]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2004) Autism and creativity: is there a link between autism in men and exceptional ability? Brunner-Routledge.
[Wittgenstein, Sir Keith Joseph, Eamon de Valera, W. B. Yeats, Lewis Carroll, Ramanujan, Socrates, this book is at least partially available to read through Google Book Search]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2002) Asperger's disorder and mathematicians of genius. (letter) Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. February 2002, 32(1) p.59-60.
Abstract: http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/cognitive.html
[G. H. Hardy, Gauss, Lagrange, Cauchy, Riemann, Galois, Lobatchensky, Archimedes, Wittgenstein, Eamon De Valera, Paul Erdos, the author writes that William Hamilton is the only person described in the table in this paper who “did not meet criteria for Asperger’s disorder”]
Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
[Boris Sidis, William James Sidis, Norbert Weiner, Leo Wiener, Hamilton, Hardy, Ramanujan, Dirac, Godel, Newton, Einstein and Wittgenstein and Temple Grandin identified as having AS or autism, "Poincare had many of the characteristic features of high-functioning autism" (p. 124), Cauchy and Kovalevskaya displayed some traits of AS, Hilbert - AS doubtful (p. 130), book can be seen at Google Book Search]
Fitzgerald, Michael, and O’Brien, Brendan (2007) Genius genes: how Asperger talents changed the world. Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2007.
[Archimedes, Newton, Henry Cavendish, Jefferson, Charles Babbage, Darwin, Gregor Mendel, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Nikola Tesla, David Hilbert, H.G. Wells, John B. Watson, Einstein, Bernard Montgomery (of Alamein), Charles de Gaulle, Alfred Kinsey, Norbert Wiener, Charles Lindbergh, Kurt Godel, Paul Erdos, parts of this book available to read free through Google Book Search]
Gernsbacher, Morton Ann (2007) A conspicuous absence of scientific leadership: the illusory epidemic of autism. http://jepson.richmond.edu/academics/projects/ESSAYGernsbacher.pdf
[Henry Cavendish, Nikola Tesla, Glenn Gould, Moe Norman, Michael Ventris, Einstein, Jefferson, Newton]
Gillberg, Christopher (2002) A guide to Asperger Syndrome. Cambridge University Press.
[Ludwig Wittgenstein, Anton Bruckner, Erik Satie, Bela Bartok, Wassilij Kandinskij, Einstein]
Gold, Karen (2000) The high-flying obsessives. Guardian. Guardian Unlimited. December 12th 2000.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4103969,00.html
[Wittgenstein, Einstein, Bill Gates, Richard Borcherds, Temple Grandin]
Grandin, Temple (1995) Thinking in pictures: and other reports from my life with autism. 1st edition. Doubleday. 1995.
[Einstein, Wittgenstein, van Gogh, Bill Gates]
Grinker, Roy (2007) Unstrange minds: remapping the world of autism. Basic Books.
[Bobby Fischer, Vincent van Gogh, Leo Kanner]
Harpur, John, Lawlor, Maria & Fitzgerald, Michael (2004) Succeeding in college with Asperger syndrome: a student guide. Jessica Kingsley, 2004.
[many famous people mentioned including the philosopher Quine and the architect Gaudi, can be seen thru Google Book Search]
James, Ioan (2010) Autism and mathematical talent. Mathematical Intelligencer. vol. 32 number 1 March 2010 p. 56-58.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/p076mj558w614854/?p=a33888fd64494c4f86ab323a01d1c0b4&pi=0
[a number of mathematicians mentioned as having some degree of autism, including Robert Ammann, Andre Weil, Ronald Fisher, Norbert Weiner, Erdos, G. H. Hardy, William Sidis, Alan Turing and the physicist Paul Dirac]
James, Ioan (2009) Psychologists look at mathematicians. Mathematics Today. February 18th 2009, vol.45 no.1, p. 26-29.
[AS and mathematicians discussed, including Ronald Fischer]
James, Ioan (2005) Asperger syndrome and high achievement: some very remarkable people. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Michelangelo, Philip of Spain, Newton, Swift, John Howard, Cavendish, Jefferson, van Gogh, Satie, Russell, Einstein, Bartók, Ramanujan, Wittgenstein, Kinsey, Weil, Turing, Highsmith, Warhol, Glenn Gould]
James, Ioan (2004) Remarkable physicists: from Galileo to Yukawa. Cambridge University Press.
[Newton, Cavendish, Einstein, Dirac]
James, Ioan (2003) Autism in mathematicians. Mathematical Intelligencer. Volume 25 number 4 2003 p. 62-66.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/5mvu40023521gp3x/
http://europa.sim.ucm.es/compludoc/AA?a=James%2c+Ioan+M&donde=otras&zfr=0
[Kandinski, Turner, Utrillo, Bartok, Bruckner, Wittgenstein, Marie Curie, Irene Joliot-Curie, and mathematicians Banach and Riemann mentioned as possible cases of AS, Fitzgerald's arguments about Ramanujan and Nobel laureate John Nash and AS mentioned, and Newton, Cavendish, Einstein and Dirac mentioned as probable cases of AS, the author incorrectly describes AS as a personality disorder]
James, Ioan (2003) Singular scientists. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. January 2003. Vol. 96, number 1, p. 36-39.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=12519805
[Irene Joliot-Curie, J. M. W. Turner, Paul Dirac, Bela Bartok, Wittgenstein, Cavendish, Newton, Einstein]
Ledgin, Norman (2002) Asperger’s and self-esteem: insight and hope through famous role models. Future Horizons, 2002.
[Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Orson Welles, Marie Curie, Carl Sagan, Glenn Gould, Mozart, Thomas Jefferson, Bela Bartok, Paul Robeson, Gregor Mendel, Oscar Levant, John Hartford, Temple Grandin, a book that is supposed to be an esteem-builder that appears to be loaded with negative and antiquated language, parts of the book available to read through Google Book Search]
Lloyd, John and Mitchinson, John (2009) The QI book of the dead. Faber and Faber, 2009.
[Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Babbage, Jeremy Bentham, Salvador Dali, Richard Feynman, Henry Ford, Buckminster Fuller, Francis Galton, Oliver Heaviside, Howard Hughes, Alfred Kinsey, Ada Lovelace, Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla and H. G. Wells are some of the interesting people discussed in this book. Newton is identified as a possible case of AS based on his obsessiveness on page 14. Tesla is identified as autistic with OCD on page 344.]
Lyons, Viktoria and Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) Asperger Syndrome - A Gift or a Curse? Nova Science Publishers Inc.
[Kinsey, Kubrick, Patricia Highsmith, Charles Darwin, Bertrand Russell, Robert Walser, Joy Adamson, Enoch Powell, William James Sidis, Kurt Godel, can be seen thru Google Book Search]
Lyons V., Fitzgerald M. (2004). The case of Robert Walser. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. 21, 4, 138-142.
http://www.ijpm.net/index.html
http://www.ijpm.org/index.html?level=3&artid=262
[Robert Walser, also refers to “John Nash who won the Nobel prize for economics …”]
Murray, Dinah (2006) Coming out Asperger: diagnosis, disclosure and self-confidence. Jessica Kingsley, 2006.
[Alan Turing, Einstein and Wittgenstein briefly discussed as autistics on page 57]
Ortiz, John M. (2008) The myriad gifts of Asperger's syndrome. Jessica Kingsley, 2008.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=KhcwBn-9fMQC&vq=famous&source=gbs_navlinks_s
[includes brief descriptions of Bram Cohen, Richard Brocherds, Paul Dirac, Michael Ventris, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Sir Keith Joseph, Eamon de Valera, W. B. Yeats and Lewis Carrol]
Osborne, Lawrence (2002) American normal: the hidden world of Asperger syndrome. Springer.
[Glenn Gould, Thomas Jefferson, Temple Grandin, at least part of this book is available to read through Google Book Search]
Ostwald, Peter (1997) Glenn Gould: the ecstasy and tragedy of genius. W. W. Norton & Company. 1997.
[Glenn Gould, Wittgenstein, Bartok]
Paradiz, Valerie (2002) Elijah’s cup: a family’s journey into the community and culture of high-functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome. The Free Press, 2002.
[Andy Kaufman, Andy Warhol, Einstein, Wittgenstein, Glenn Gould, Temple Grandin]
Royal College of Psychiatrists (2008) Royal College of Psychiatrists: link between creativity and psychiatric disorder ‘not a myth’. (press release) Politics.co.uk February 21st 2008.
http://www.politics.co.uk/press-releases/royal-college-psychiatrists-link-between-creativity-and-psychiatric-disorder-not-myth-$1206253.htm
[Charles de Gaulle, H. G. Wells, discusses the book by Fitzgerald and O’Brien “Genius genes”]
Royal College of Psychiatrists (2006) Royal College of Psychiatrists Annual Meeting 2006 Glasgow: Thatcherism founder had Asperger's Syndrome. (press release) The Royal College of Psychiatrists. 11th July 2006.
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pressparliament/pressreleases2006/pr820.aspx
[Sir Keith Joseph, Enoch Powell, Eamon de Valera, W. B. Yeats, Sir Isaac Newton]
Sacks, Oliver (2004) Autistic geniuses?: we’re too ready to pathologize (letter). Nature. May 20th 2004, Vol. 429, p. 241.
[a letter in which Sacks states that he does not believe that Wittgenstein, Einstein nor Newton “were significantly autistic”]
Sacks, Oliver (2002) Uncle Tungsten: memories of a chemical boyhood. Picador, 2002.
[in the notes from page 119-121 Sacks discusses Henry Cavendish, describing him as an “autistic genius” while diagnosing Newton with “neurosis” rather than autism]
Sullivan, Rachel (2008) A different path to genius. ABC Science. May 22nd 2008.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/05/22/2252608.htm
[Picasso, Helen Dale (Darville), other famous people mentioned]
Treffert, Darold A. (2010) Islands of genius: the bountiful mind of the autistic, acquired, and sudden savant. Jessica Kingsley, 2010.
[Blind Tom Wiggins, Temple Grandin, Flo and Kay Lyman, Daniel Tammet, Stephen Wiltshire, James Henry Pullen and hyperthymestic syndrome are discussed]
Walker, Antionette and Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Unstoppable brilliance: Irish geniuses and Asperger’s syndrome. Liberties Press. 2006.
[“… many of the most notable people in Irish politics, the arts and sciences may have exhibited traits of Asperger's syndrome …”, Robert Emmet, Pádraig Pearse, Éamon de Valera, Robert Boyle, William Rowan Hamilton, Daisy Bates, WB Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett]
Westfahl, Gary (2006) Homo aspergerus: evolution stumbles forward. Locus Online. March 6th 2006.
http://www.locusmag.com/2006/Features/Westfahl_HomoAspergerus.html
http://www.locusmag.com/
[H. L. Gold, H. P. Lovecraft, Greg Egan]
About John Couch Adams
Sheehan, W. & Thurber, S. (2007) John Couch Adams's Asperger syndrome and the British non-discovery of Neptune. Notes & Records of the Royal Society. volume 61 number 3, September 22nd 2007, p. 285-99.
http://rsnr.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/61/3/285.full
[full text of paper available free online]
About Robert Ammann
James, Ioan (2010) Autism and mathematical talent. Mathematical Intelligencer. vol. 32 number 1 March 2010 p. 56-58.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/p076mj558w614854/
[a number of mathematicians mentioned as having some degree of autism, including Robert Ammann, Andre Weil, Ronald Fisher, Norbert Weiner, Erdos, G. H. Hardy, William Sidis, Alan Turing and the physicist Paul Dirac]
Senechal, Marjorie (2004) The mysterious Mr Ammann. Mathematical Intelligencer. vol. 26 number 4. December 2004 p. 10-21.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/ct873r41m7605p44/
[A fascinating and touching account of Ammann’s life and work by someone who knew him. The title of article is sometimes given as “Mathematical communities”.]
About Hans Christian Andersen Brown, Julie (2010) Writers on the spectrum: how autism and Asperger syndrome have influenced literary writing. Jessica Kingsley, 2010.
[writers discussed in this book by a literary academic include Hans Christian Andersen, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Lewis Carroll, William Butler Yeats, Sherwood Anderson and Opal Whiteley.]
Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Andersen and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership written by the mother of an autist]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Andersen and many other famous people discussed in this book]
About Hans Asperger
Asperger, Hans ‘Autistic psychopathy’ in childhood (translated and annotated by Uta Frith)
Chapter 2 in:
Frith, Uta (ed) (1991) Autism and Asperger syndrome. Cambridge University Press, 1991.
http://books.google.com/books?id=HoRX8s8V8WYC
[Asperger’s famous paper translated, I do not believe he refers to himself in it]
Draaisma, Douwe and Fasting, Barbara (translator) (2009) Disturbances of the Mind. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
[includes a chapter about Hans Asperger, I do not know if it includes speculation about Asperger as a case of autism
Lyons V, Fitzgerald M (2007). Did Hans Asperger (1906–1980) have Asperger Syndrome? (letter). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Volumer 37, number 10, November 2007. p. 2020-2021.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/n00w0xl46510v681/?p=4cff7f36c3b2461b918cf2bf081aabcd&pi=18
Wikipedia contributors. (accessed 2007) Hans Asperger. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hans_Asperger&oldid=125162845
About Julian Assange
Barrowclough, Nikki (2010) The secret life of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Sydney Morning Herald. smh.com.au May 22, 2010.
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/the-secret-life-of-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-20100521-w1um.html
Cadwalladr, Carole (2010) Julian Assange, monk of the online age who thrives on intellectual battle. Scot Network. August 5th 2010.
http://www.scotnetwork.com/technology/julian-assange-monk-of-the-online-age-who-thrives-on-intellectual-battle
[“At times, he can seem almost autistic, although “he doesn’t lack charm””]
Carrick, Damien (2010) Julian Assange. Law Report. ABC Radio National. December 14th 2010. http://abc.com.au/rn/lawreport/stories/2010/3091827.htm
Cjb (accessed 2011) Things People Say About Julian Assange. (blog)
http://thingspeoplesayaboutjulianassange.blogspot.com/
[good for a laugh]
Dreyfus, Suelette & Assange, Julian (researcher) (1997) Underground: Tales of Hacking, Madness and Obsession on the Electronic Frontier. Reed Books Australia.
http://www.xs4all.nl/~suelette/underground/justin/contents.html
http://www.underground-book.net/
Fowler, Andrew (2010) Truth or dare. Foreign Correspondent. ABCTV. Broadcast 22nd June 2010.
http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2010/s3040234.htm
[about WikiLeaks, includes a link to video and a transcript]
Hosenball, Mark (2010) Special Report: Julian Assange versus the world. Reuters. December 13th 2010.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BB1LG20101213
[includes a claim that Assange has described himself only partly in jest as somewhere on the autistic spectrum]
Khatchadourian, Raffi (2010) No secrets: Julian Assange’s mission for total transparency. New Yorker. June 7th 2010.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/06/07/100607fa_fact_khatchadourian?currentPage=all
Kenber, Billy and Whitworth, Damian (2010) Pied Piper Julian Assange brooks no dissent in land of WikiLeaks. Times. December 18, 2010.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/wikileaks/pied-piper-julian-assange-brooks-no-dissent-in-land-of-wikileaks/story-fn775xjq-1225972952396
Rintoul, Stuart, Parnell, Sean, Elks, Sarah, Rout, Milanda & Owens, Jared (2010) Julian Assange, wild child of free speech. Australian. December 11, 2010. Weekend Australian. December 11-12 2010. p. 1, 8.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/wikileaks/julian-assange-wild-child-of-free-speech/story-fn775xjq-1225969230839
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2010) Julian Assange. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julian_Assange&oldid=402697838
Wilson, Lauren (2011) Assange 'addicted' to computer as a boy. Weekend Australian. January 15-16th 2011. (The Nation).
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-was-hooked-to-coputer-as-a-boy/story-e6frg6nf-1225988020380
About W. H. Auden Auden, Wystan Hugh (1970) A certain world: a commonplace book. Viking Press.
[contains selections of work of other writers in a dictionary format, thought to be loosely autobiographical, has an entry with the heading “Children, Autistic” with a piece written by discredited autism “expert” Bruno Bettelheim]
Davenport – Hines, Richard (2004) Auden’s life and character. [Chapter 2]
In Smith, Stan (2004) The Cambridge companion to W. H. Auden. Cambridge University Press. 2004.
[can be seen thru Google Book Search]
About Sir A. J. Ayer McLynn, Frank (1999) Fond, foolish Freddie. New Statesman. 28th June 1999.
http://www.newstatesman.com/199906280042.htm
Rogers, Ben (2002) A. J. Ayer: a life. Chatto and Windus, 1999.
[on pages 4 and 5 Rogers mentions why he and Sir Ayer’s widow considered that Ayer may have been autistic, and why the biographer decided that “this approach was unfruitful.”, on pages 20, 21, and 287 characteristics that could be relevant to AS are described]
About Dan Aykroyd CM
Gross, Terri. (2004) Comedian – and writer – Dan Aykroyd. Fresh Air. NPR. November 22 2004.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4181931
[discusses his childhood diagnosis at around 29 minutes into this radio interview]
About Syd Barrett/Roger Barrett AtomicSpiderProductions (2000) Set The Controls Interviews Ian Barrett. Dolly Rocker. (tribute web site).
http://www.pink-floyd.org/barrett/ianintw.htm
Blake, Mark (2007) Pigs might fly: the inside story of Pink Floyd. Aurum Press, 2007.
[a substantial book]
Chapman, Rob (2010) Syd Barrett: a very irregular head. Faber and Faber, 2010.
Gallo, Phil (2006) Reclusive Floyd founder Barrett dies. Variety. July 11th 2006.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117946576.html?categoryid=25&cs=1&query=syd+barrett
[schizophrenia and autism mentioned in this obituary]
Geiger, John (2006) The mystery of Syd. National Post. July 12th 2006.
http://www.johngeiger.co.uk/uk/ar-the-mystery.html
[Asperger syndrome mentioned]
Manning, Toby & Dodd, Philip (2006) The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd. Rough Guides, 2006.
Miles, Barry (2006) Pink Floyd: the early years. Omnibus Press, 2006.
[The author appears to subscribe to the theory that Barrett had schizophrenia. Barrett's visual representations of songs described on pages 69 and 83 were possibly records of musical synaesthesia.]
Pareles, Jon (2006) Syd Barrett, a Founder of Pink Floyd, Dies at 60. New York Times. July 12th 2006.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/12/arts/music/12barrett.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
Pink Floyd legend Syd Barrett 'never wanted fame'. (2008) NME. August 27th 2008.
http://www.nme.com/news/syd-barrett/39292
[Barrett's sister Rosemary interviewed]
Rolling Stone (1971) The madcap who named Pink Floyd. Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10829789/the_madcap_who_named_pink_floyd
Run on tiptoe like your ancestors. New Scientist. January 30th 2010. p.15.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527455.000-were-built-to-run-barefoot-on-our-tiptoes.html
Sinke, C. Passie, T. Neufeld, J. Emrich, H. & Zedler, M (2010)
Comparing drug-induced synaesthesia and genuine synaesthesia. http://www.uksynaesthesia.com/programme%20jan10.pdf
[poster presentation to be presented at the March 2010 meeting of the UK Synaesthesia Association]
Sore, David (2006) The genius next door. Mail on Sunday. December 3rd 2006.
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-9311110/THE-GENIUS-NEXT-DOOR.html
[I have not checked any complete online or hardcopy publication of this article from a British tabloid newspaper. I have only read republications and reviews of it online, and part of it available through a business article seller. I could find no trace of the article through searching Mail Online. It appears to be an unsympathetic account of Barrett's reclusive years by someone who claimed to have been his neighbour for many years.]
Titchmarsh, Ben (2007?) Rosemary shares memories of her brother and her hopes for ‘The City Wakes’. The City Wakes (web site).
http://www.thecitywakes.org.uk/syd_barrett_memories.htm
[Synaesthesia is mentioned in this interview with Barrett's sister.]
Watkinson, Mike & Anderson, Pete (2006) Crazy diamond: Syd Barrett & the dawn of Pink Floyd. Omnibus Press, 2006.
[The authors subscribe to the theory that Barrett had schizophrenia. Parts of the 2001 edition of this book can be read at Google Book Search]
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2009) Syd Barrett. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Willis, Tim (2006) My lovably ordinary brother Syd. Sunday Times. Timesonline July 16th 2006.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article688189.ece
http://www.sydbarrett.net/subpages/articles/ordiinary_brother.htm
[autism and synaesthesia mentioned]
Willis, Tim (2002) Madcap : the half-life of Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd's lost genius. Short Books, 2002.
[A short book but an enjoyable read, Asperger syndrome and synaesthesia mentioned, a report by Barrett of an experience of synaesthesia is described on page 21, and more evidence of synesthesia in a quote on page 106]
Willis, Tim (2002) You shone like the sun. Observer. Guardian.co.uk October 6th 2002.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/oct/06/biography.music
[Asperger syndrome mentioned]
Willis, Tim (2002) Extracts from the Book "Madcap - the half-life of Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd's lost Genius". Dolly Rocker (tribute web site).
http://pink-floyd.org/barrett/madcbarr.htm
[Asperger syndrome mentioned]
Yaro C, Ward J. (2007) “Searching for Shereshevskii: what is superior about the memory of synaesthetes?” Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 60(5):681-695.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17455076
About Daisy Bates Walker, Antionette and Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Unstoppable brilliance: Irish geniuses and Asperger’s syndrome. Liberties Press. 2006.
[“… many of the most notable people in Irish politics, the arts and sciences may have exhibited traits of Asperger's syndrome …”, Robert Emmet, Pádraig Pearse, Éamon de Valera, Robert Boyle, William Rowan Hamilton, Daisy Bates, WB Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett]
Reece, Bob (2007) Daisy Bates: grand dame of the desert. National Library of Australia.
[warts-and-all biography by a professor of history in Western Australia, no mention of AS or autism found]
About Ludwig van Beethoven Deutch, Diana (2006) The enigma of absolute pitch. Acoustics Today. 2006, 2, p.11-19.
http://philomel.com/pdf/Acoustics_Today_2006.pdf
[Mozart’s perfect pitch described, also identifies Beethoven and other musicians as possessors of perfect pitch]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Wittgenstein, Kant, Mozart, Beethoven, Satie, Bartok, Glenn Gould, van Gogh and other famous people in the arts identified as having autism or Asperger syndrome in this book]
Scholes, Percy A. & Ward, John Owen (editor) (1970) The Oxford companion to music. 10th edition. Oxford University Press, 1970.
[Beethoven’s possible synaesthesia mentioned on page 203 in the section about “Colour and music”]
Wright, Ed (2007) A left-handed history of the world. Pier 9 (Murdoch Books Pty Limited).
[“Left-handers have a disproportionate presence in the history of the world.” Some of the famous people written about in this book include Michelangelo, Newton, Beethoven, Lewis Carroll, Henry Ford, Marie Curie, Alan Turing and Bill Gates. Wright explains the evidence about Beethoven’s handedness on page 108.]
About David Bellamy OBE
Bellamy, David (2002) A natural life: the autobiography of David J. Bellamy OBE, Hon FLS, an Englishman. Arrow Books.
[David Bellamy, “some special sort of autism” is mentioned briefly in Chapter 18, on page 238 of the paperback edition]
Bellamy, David (2003) Jolly green giant: the autobiography of David J. Bellamy OBE, Hon FLS, an Englishman. (large print edition, first published 2002) Chivers Press.
[David Bellamy, appears to be the same book as A natural life, “some special sort of autism” is mentioned briefly in Chapter 18, on page 325 of the large print edition]
Hattenstone, Simon (2002) The green man. Guardian Unlimited. September 30 2002.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0%2C3604%2C801411%2C00.html
About Jeremy Bentham Lucas, Philip and Anne Sheeran (2006) Asperger’s syndrome and the eccentricity and genius of Jeremy Bentham. Journal of Bentham Studies Number 8
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/journal/aspergers.pdf
About Richard Borcherds Baron-Cohen, Simon (2003) The essential difference. Penguin Books.
[Richard Borcherds' diagnostic consultation described in detail in Chapter 11]
http://leitl.org/docs/a-professor-of-mathematics.pdf
[Chapter 11 A professor of mathematics from the book The essential difference]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Autism as academic paradigm. Chronicle Review. July 13th 2009.
http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=sv9qrqwtrhyhYMYSc5n6DqwQhHFJdvdv
[This excellent article mentions economist and Nobel laureate Vernon L. Smith, Fields Medalist Richard Borcherds and academic Temple Grandin as autistic high achievers. The author is a professor of economics and he writes that he is a former colleague of Smith's.]
Gold, Karen (2000) The high-flying obsessives. Guardian. Guardian Unlimited. December 12th 2000.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4103969,00.html
[Wittgenstein, Einstein, Bill Gates, Richard Borcherds, Temple Grandin]
Singh, Simon (1998) Interview with Richard Borcherds (Fields medallist). The Guardian. simon singh.net August 28th 1998.
http://simonsingh.com/Fields_Medallist.html
About Robert Boyle Hunter, Michael (2009) Boyle: between God and science. Yale University Press, 2009.
[The author mentions the possibility that Boyle was “mildly autistic” on page 35]
Walker, Antionette and Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Unstoppable brilliance: Irish geniuses and Asperger’s syndrome. Liberties Press. 2006.
[“… many of the most notable people in Irish politics, the arts and sciences may have exhibited traits of Asperger's syndrome …”, Robert Emmet, Pádraig Pearse, Éamon de Valera, Robert Boyle, William Rowan Hamilton, Daisy Bates, WB Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett]
About Gordon Brown Blair, Tony (2010) A journey. Hutchinson, 2010.
[Blair shares his opinions about Brown. No mention of autism or AS found]
Brown, Gordon (2010) Beyond the Crash: Overcoming the First Crisis of Globalization. Free Press, Simon & Schuster, 2010.
Harris, Robert (2006) “Autistic” Brown loses the plot. The Sunday Times. TimesOnline. September 10, 2006.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2350740.html
Osborne, Peter (2010) The paradoxical premier: a man of massive talents, huge contradictions and tragic flaws, Gordon Brown’s achievements – and they were towering – were more than matched by his disastrous misjudgements. MailOnline. May 13th 2010.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1277698/GORDON-BROWN-RESIGNS-Towering-achievements-matched-misjudgments.html
Rawnsley, Andrew (2010) The end of the party. Viking, March 2010.
[lots of interesting info about Brown and his working relationship with Blair]
Richards, Steve (2010) Whatever it takes: the real story of Gordon Brown and new labour. Fourth Estate, 2010.
[interesting insights]
Seldon, Anthony and Lodge, Guy (2010) Brown at 10. Biteback, 2010.
[Brown's personality and bad temper discussed pages 431-433]
About Anton Bruckner Gillberg, Christopher (2002) A guide to Asperger Syndrome. Cambridge University Press.
[Ludwig Wittgenstein, Einstein, Anton Bruckner, Erik Satie, Bela Bartok, Wassilij Kandinskij identified as possible or very likely cases of Asperger syndrome]
James, Ioan (2003) Autism in mathematicians. Mathematical Intelligencer. Volume 25 number 4 2003 p. 62-66.
http://europa.sim.ucm.es/compludoc/AA?a=James%2c+Ioan+M&donde=otras&zfr=0
http://aspergerhelp.net/files/Autism%20in%20Mathematicians.pdf
[Bruckner mentioned as possible case of AS, the author incorrectly describes AS as a personality disorder]
About Warren Buffett Numerous clips of interviews with Mr Buffett can be found on YouTube and Google Videos.
Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are discussed with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are all discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Lawson, Dominic (2008) The snowball: Warren Buffet and the business of life by Alice Schroeder. Sunday Times. TimesOnline October 12th 2008.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article4914636.ece
[Lawson argues that Buffet possibly has AS, based on info presumably found in the biography that is reviewed]
Rushe, Dominic (2008) Warren Buffet lifts the lid on his secrets. Sunday Times. TimesOnline September 28th 2008.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article4837164.ece [an interesting article about the man and the story behind the biography, no mention of AS or autism]
Schroeder, Alice (2008) The snowball: Warren Buffett and the business of life. Bantam, 2008.
http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/snowball/
[apparently this authorized biography does not mention AS or autism, but does mention Buffett’s “social skill deficiencies” a number of times]
About Michael Burry
60 Minutes (2010) Extra: the $8.4 billion bet. 60 Minutes. CBS News.com March 14th 2010.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6298038n&tag=contentMain;contentBody
60 Minutes (2010) Extra: Wall Street misfit. 60 Minutes. CBS News.com March 14th 2010.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6298040n&tag=contentMain;contentBody
Burry, Michael (2010) I saw the crisis coming. Why didn’t the fed? New York Times. April 3rd 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/opinion/04burry.html?scp=2&sq=Michael%20Burry&st=cse
[autism or AS not mentioned]
Kroft, Steve, Devine, L. Franklin (producer) and MacDonald, Jennifer (producer) (2010) Inside the collapse. 60 Minutes. CBS News.com March 14th 2010.
video part 1
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6298082n&tag=contentBody;housing
video part 2
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6298084n&tag=contentBody;housing
text
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/12/60minutes/main6292458.shtml
[Asperger syndrome mentioned]
Lewis, Michael (2010) Betting on the blind side. Vanity Fair. Number 596 April 2010. p. 76-81, 121-126.
http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/04/wall-street-excerpt-201004
[An interesting extract from Michael Lewis’ book, Asperger syndrome described and revealed]
Lewis, Michael (2010) The big short: inside the doomsday machine. W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.
[Asperger syndrome mentioned]
Pressler, Jessica (2009) Bad news bears: the guys who bet against the bubble and won. New York. November 3rd 2009.
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/11/bad_news_bears_2.html
[brief review of Zuckerman’s book, Asperger syndrome mentioned]
Zuckerman, Gregory (2009) The greatest trade ever: the behind-the-scenes story of how John Paulson defied Wall Street and made financial history. Broadway Business, 2009.
[Asperger syndrome mentioned]
About Tim Burton Billen, Andrew (2010) We’re all a bit mad. Weekend Australian. Review. March 27-28th 2010 p. 14-15.
[no mention of AS or autism in this article about Helena Bonham Carter and her private life with Tim Burton]
Billen, Andrew (2010) Helena Bonham Carter on bullies, Tim Burton and Alice In Wonderland. Times. TimesOnline March 5th 2010.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article7049878.ece
[same article as above]
Bodey, Michael (2010) Adventures in wonderland. Weekend Australian. June 12-13 2010 Review. p.6-8.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/tim-burtons-adventures-in-wonderland/story-e6frg8n6-1225876945416
[no mention of AS or autism. Quote from article: "I used to draw because I didn't speak and I would just communicate through drawings..."]
Breskin, David (1992) Tim Burton: the Rolling Stone interview. Rolling Stone. n 634-635, 07.09.1992-07.23.1992. republished at The Tim Burton Collective.
http://www.timburtoncollective.com/articles/misc5.html
[an interesting interview that includes much talk of depression but no mention of AS or autism]
Burton, Tim and Salisbury, Mark (2000) Burton on Burton. revised edition, Faber & Faber, 2000.
Entertainment News Staff (2005) Helena Bonham Carter’s child craving. Softpedia. November 17th 2005.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Helena-Bonham-Carter-s-Child-Craving-12651.shtml
Hanke, Ken (1999) Tim Burton: an unauthorized biography of the filmmaker. Renaissance Books, 1999.
[I believe does not mention autism or AS]
O’Brien, Kerry (2010) Interview with the king of quirk Tim Burton. (video) ABC News. June 28th 2010
http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/06/28/2939267.htm
[was broadcast on the 7.30 Report, includes discussion of Burton’s 2010 art exhibition in Melbourne and depression, no mention of AS or autism]
Sampson, Cory (2004) Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands as a psychological allegory. The Tim Burton Collective. http://www.timburtoncollective.com/edwardpsycho.html
World Entertainment News Network (2005) Burton may be autistic. Hollywood.com.
http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/id/3468620
About David Byrne BBC.co.uk Music: Artists: Talking Heads
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artist/9fw6/
Byrne, David (accessed 2007) David Byrne Journal. http://journal.davidbyrne.com/
[quote from entry dated 4/15/06; “I was a peculiar young man — borderline Asperger's, I would guess.”]
Purcell, Andrew (2007) Imelda: the nightclub years. The Guardian. January 29 2007.
http://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/comment/story/0,,2000888,00.html
Seed (magazine) editorial staff (2007) David Byrne + Daniel Levitin: the singer/songwriter and the neuroscientist meet up to discuss music. Seedmagazine.com April 30 2007. http://seedmagazine.com/news/2007/04/david_byrne_daniel_levitin.php?page=all
About Lewis Carroll/Charles Dodgson
Bayley, Melanie (2010) Alice’s secrets in wonderland. New Scientist. Number 2739/40/41, December 19th, 26th January 2nd, p.38-41.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427391.600-alices-adventures-in-algebra-wonderland-solved.html?full=true
[a researcher argues that some of the scenes in Alice’s adventures in wonderland are satire of then-new mathematical ideas, ]
Brown, Julie (2010) Writers on the spectrum: how autism and Asperger syndrome have influenced literary writing. Jessica Kingsley, 2010.
[writers discussed in this book by a literary academic include Hans Christian Andersen, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Lewis Carroll, William Butler Yeats, Sherwood Anderson and Opal Whiteley.]
Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Carroll and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership which was written by the mother of an autist]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and creativity. Autism2006: AWARES Conference Centre. October 4th 2006.
http://212.74.184.44:8083/BM_DIRECTORY/E/BM000001662/7679/FIT1.PDF
http://awares.nemisys.uk.com/conferences/show_paper.asp?section=000100010001&conferenceCode=000200020002&id=42
[Stanley Kubrick, George Orwell, Andy Warhol, Temple Grandin, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Simone Weil, Joy Adamson, Wittgenstein, Sir Keith Joseph, W. B. Yeats, Lewis Carroll, Newton, Gregor Mendel, Kant, Spinoza, Charles Lindbergh]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Gaudi, Hopper, Quine, Wittgenstein, Maxwell, Swift, H. Christian Andersen, Melville, Carroll, W. B. Yeats, Conan Doyle, Orwell, Chatwin, Spinoza, Kant, Weil, A. J. Ayer, Mozart, Beethoven, Satie, Bartok, Gould, van Gogh, J. B. Yeats, L.S. Lowry, Warhol]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2004) Autism and creativity: is there a link between autism in men and exceptional ability? Brunner-Routledge.
[Wittgenstein, Sir Keith Joseph, Eamon de Valera, W. B. Yeats, Lewis Carroll, Ramanujan, Socrates, this book is at least partially available to read through Google Book Search]
West, Thomas G. (2009) In the mind's eye: creative visual thinkers, gifted dyslexics, and the rise of visual technologies. 2nd ed. Prometheus Books, 2009.
[includes discussion of Faraday, Maxwell, Einstein, Lewis Carroll (Dodgson), Poincare, Edison, Tesla, da Vinci, Churchill, Patton, Yeats, William J. Dreyer and John R. (Jack) Horner. Not sure if autism or AS mentioned]
Wilson, Robin (2008) Lewis Carroll in numberland: his fantastical mathematical logical life: an agony in eight fits. Allen Lane, 2008.
[Looks like an entertaining book about Carroll's life and contributions to mathematics, literature and logic. I found no mention of AS or autism. Carroll's method for the savant-like skill of calculating the day of the week for any date is explained on page 167.]
Woolf, Jenny (2010) The mystery of Lewis Carroll: understanding the author of Alice’s adventures in wonderland. Haus Books, 2010.
[don’t think AS or autism mentioned]
Wright, Ed (2007) A left-handed history of the world. Pier 9 (Murdoch Books Pty Limited).
[“Left-handers have a disproportionate presence in the history of the world.” Some of the famous people written about in this book include Michelangelo, Newton, Beethoven, Lewis Carroll, Henry Ford, Marie Curie, Alan Turing and Bill Gates.]
About Augustin Louis Cauchy Fitzgerald, Michael (2002) Asperger's disorder and mathematicians of genius. (letter) Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. February 2002, 32(1) p.59-60.
Abstract: http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/cognitive.html
[the author writes that William Hamilton is the only person described in the table in this paper who “did not meet criteria for Asperger’s disorder”, G. H. Hardy, Gauss, Lagrange, Cauchy, Riemann, Galois, Lobatchensky, Archimedes, Wittgenstein, Eamon De Valera, Paul Erdos]
Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
[Cauchy displayed some traits of AS p.81]
About Henry Cavendish Sacks, Oliver (2001) Henry Cavendish: an early case of Asperger's syndrome? Neurology. 2001 Oct 9;57(7):1347.
http://www.neurological.org.nz/html/article.php?documentCode=26
About King Charles XII of Sweden
Gillberg, C. (2002) [Charles XII seems to have fulfilled all the criteria of Asperger syndrome] (article in Swedish) Lakartidningen. 2002 Nov. 28;99 (48):4837-8.
Lagerkvist, B. (2002) [Charles XII had all symptoms of Asperger syndrome: stubbornness, a stereotyped existence and lack of compassion] (article in Swedish) Lakartidningen. 2002 Nov. 28;99(48):4874-8.
About Bram Cohen
Berfield, Susan (2008) BitTorrent's Bram Cohen isn't limited by Asperger's. BusinessWeek. October 16th 2008.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_43/b4105046863317.htm
[includes video clip of interview with Cohen in which he discusses the influence on AS on his career. This clip is titled BitTorrent’s founder on his Asperger.]
Cohen, Bram (accessed 2008) Bram Cohen quotes. Brainy Quote. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/bram_cohen.html
[some revealing quotes by Bram Cohen, AS is mentioned]
Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are discussed with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are all discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Fonda, Daren (2005) Bram Cohen downloading for the people. Time. 2005.
http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/2005/time100/builders/100cohen.html
[autism mentioned]
Grossman, Lev (2010) Time frames: The Men Who Stole the World. Time. November 24th 2010.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2032304_2032746_2032903,00.html
Lee, Ellen (2006) Founder of BitTorrent unlocks the secrets of online file sharing. San Francisco Chronicle. August 8th 2006 Edition: final, Section: business, p. F1.
Ortiz, John M. (2008) The myriad gifts of Asperger's syndrome. Jessica Kingsley, 2008.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=KhcwBn-9fMQC&vq=famous&source=gbs_navlinks_s
[includes brief descriptions of Bram Cohen and many other famous people]
Roth, Daniel (2006) Torrential reign. p. 201-209 In:
Greene, Brian (editor) (2006) The best American science and nature writing 2006. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
Roth, Daniel (2005) Torrential reign. CNNMoney.com. Fortune. October 31 2005. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/10/31/8359146/index.htm
Seabrook, Andrea (2008) The Young Genius Behind BitTorrent. All Things Considered. NPR. December 16th 2008.
[radio show, Asperger syndrome discussed]
Thompson, Clive (2005) The BitTorrent effect. Wired. Issue 13.01 January 2005.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.01/bittorrent.html?pg=1&topic=bittorrent&topic_set=
Twomey, Robyn (2010) Techies in Time Mag. New2Me. December 13th 2010.
http://newtwomey.com/2010/12/13/techies-in-time-mag/#comment-12
[recent photos of Cohen]
WrongPlanet.net (2005) Bram Cohen: creator of BitTorrent. WrongPlanet.net.
http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php?name=Articles&pa=showpage&pid=98
About Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Calamai, Peter (2008) The real Sherlock Holmes. Cosmos. Number 19, 2008. p. 44-45.
[does not mention AS or autism]
Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are discussed with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and many other famous people are discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum. There is also detailed discussion of the autistic characteristics of the fictional characters Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft Holmes and Professor Moriarty.]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Gaudi, Hopper, Quine, Wittgenstein, Maxwell, Swift, H. Christian Andersen, Melville, Carroll, W. B. Yeats, Conan Doyle, Orwell, Chatwin, Spinoza, Kant, Weil, A. J. Ayer, Mozart, Beethoven, Satie, Bartok, Gould, van Gogh, J. B. Yeats, L.S. Lowry, Warhol]
About Marie Curie and Irene Joliot-Curie James, Ioan (2003) Singular scientists. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. January 2003. Vol. 96, number 1, p. 36-39.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=12519805
[Irene Joliot-Curie, J. M. W. Turner, Paul Dirac, Bela Bartok, Wittgenstein, Cavendish, Newton, Einstein]
James, Ioan (2003) Autism in mathematicians. Mathematical Intelligencer. Volume 25 number 4 2003 p. 62-66.
http://europa.sim.ucm.es/compludoc/AA?a=James%2c+Ioan+M&donde=otras&zfr=0
http://aspergerhelp.net/files/Autism%20in%20Mathematicians.pdf
[Kandinski, Turner, Utrillo, Bartok, Bruckner, Wittgenstein, Marie Curie, Irene Joliot-Curie, and mathematicians Banach and Riemann mentioned as possible cases of AS, Fitzgerald's arguments about Ramanujan and Nobel laureate John Nash and AS mentioned, and Newton, Cavendish, Einstein and Dirac mentioned as probable cases of AS, the author incorrectly describes AS as a personality disorder]
Ledgin, Norman (2002) Asperger’s and self-esteem: insight and hope through famous role models. Future Horizons, 2002.
[Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Orson Welles, Marie Curie, Carl Sagan, Glenn Gould, Mozart, Thomas Jefferson, Bela Bartok, Paul Robeson, Gregor Mendel and other famous people mentioned in this book. Parts of the book available to read through Google Book Search]
Thompson, Ben (2009) The badass of the week: Marie Curie. Badass of the Week. September 4th 2009.
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/curie.html
[an amusing online biography not to be taken too seriously]
Uglow, Jennifer (editor), Hinton, Frances (editor) & Hendry, Maggie (editor) (1999) The Macmillan dictionary of women’s biography. 3rd edition, Papermac (Macmillan Publishers Ltd), 1999.
About Helen Dale/Darville/Demidenko Dale, Helen (2006) My life as a young Australian novelist. Quadrant. May 2006 p. 14-21.
http://alsblog.wordpress.com/2006/08/27/my-life-as-a-young-australian-novelist-quadrant-may-2006/#more-83
[article with comments, I found Dale’s explanation of why she chose to enter the world of literature, in comment no. 17, interesting]
http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/archives
[not currently in Quadrant archives]
Dale, Helen (2006) The Hand Behind The Hand that Signed. Skeptic. Autumn 2006 Volume 26 No 1. (journal of Australian Skeptics Inc.)
http://www.skeptics.com.au/journal/2006/2006.htm
[this is the same article as above, info given about childhood, family, the Demidenko affair, her treatment by journalists, “the chattering classes” and literary people at the time, and her life in recent years. Interestingly, Dale described a childhood in an itinerant family with debt problems which seems incompatible with her private (high) school education at Redeemer Lutheran College, which was not explicitly mentioned. Dale’s most negative description of her father in this article and in other media stories seems inconsistent with the info given on p.47 of the 1996 book by Prior listed below, which says that Dale/Darville’s father was reported in the press as being the same “Harry Darville” who was a candidate for the Greens in the 1993 federal election (winning 4.5% of the vote in Fadden), “and that Helen was his election manager.” In the All in the Mind radio interview listed below Dale/Darville gives 1996 as the date of her father’s appearance in court on a soliciting charge – running for federal parliament in 1993 and in court for soliciting 3 years later? Hard to believe. No mention of AS or autism in this article.]
Dalley, Helen (1997) Helen Darville breaks her silence. Sunday. Ninemsn. June 8th 1997.
http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/cover_stories/transcript_163.asp
[feature story/interview on a current affairs TV show, I found the bit where they discussed Demidenko as a persona interesting, no mention of AS or autism]
Jensen, Erik & Harvey, Ellie (2008) The pain that may explain Helen Darville. Sydney Morning Herald. Smh.com.au May 9th 2008.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-pain-that-may-explain-helen-darville/2008/05/08/1210131165910.html
[“Helen Darville … suggests characteristsics of Aspergers syndrome may explain her aloofness.” In this brief article promoting a feature article it is claimed that Dale is "severely dyslexic".]
Malcolm, Lynne (2006) Whatever happened to Helen Demidenko? All in the Mind. ABC Radio National. April 29th 2006.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/mind/stories/s1622778.htm
[transcript of interesting radio interview, discusses her childhood, family, the Demidenko affair and recent life, gives a negative description of her father]
Prior, Natalie Jane (1996) The Demidenko diary. Mandarin, 1996.
[a very interesting account of the Demidenko affair from the point of view of a writer “friend” of Dale’s who sheltered her while she was in hiding from hostile journalists, “What immediately caught my attention on this first meeting – apart from her striking appearance – was the way she totally failed to be absorbed into the group.” (p. 15), some unusual autistic behaviour (of Dale’s) described on p. 79]
Wheatley, Jane (2008) Reinventing Helen. West Australian. WestWeekend Magazine. September 6th 2008 p.24-28.
[feature article, Wheatley claims she was considering whether Dale has AS before Dale brought up the subject, Wheatley appears to have summarized and accepted Dale’s description of her childhood in an itinerant family with debt problems from the Skeptic/Quadrant article, which seems incompatible with her private (high) school education at Redeemer Lutheran College, which I could find no mention of in this article, gives a negative description of her father]
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2008) Helen Darville. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helen_Darville&oldid=237002952
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2008) Redeemer Lutheran College. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Redeemer_Lutheran_College&oldid=232696788
[the college gives it’s side of some stories, and this seems to be confirmation that Helen Dale/Darville did attend this school]
Wilson, Katherine (2006) The blogger formerly known as Demidenko. Crikey. September 11th 2006.
http://www.crikey.com.au/Media-Arts-and-Sports/20060911-The-blogger-formerly-known-as-Demidenko.html
Works by Helen Demidenko
Demidenko, Helen (1994) The hand that signed the paper. Allen and Unwin.
[the novel that started it all]
Papaellinas, George (editor) (1995) RePublica: issue 3: Scarred for life. Angus and Robertson, 1995.
[Other places by Helen Demidenko is on p. 93-97, about a blonde Ukrainian girl who has won an award and fame, and is invited to make a speech at the outer-suburban Australian public high school that she graduated from. There nothing to indicate whether this is presented as an autobiographical essay or a fictional short story. This volume includes a diverse mixture of genres.]
About the Demidenko Affair
Cultures of forgery: making nations, making selves. (2003) editors: Judith Ryan & Alfred Thomas. Routledge.
[includes a chapter about the Demidenko affair]
The Demidenko file. (1996) editors: John Jost, Gianna Totaro & Christine Tyshing. Penguin.
Manne, Robert (1996) The culture of forgetting : Helen Demidenko and the Holocaust. Text Publishing.
Manne, Robert (2005) Left right left: political essays 1977-2005. Black Inc.
[includes material from his book about the Demidenko affair]
Prior, Natalie Jane (1996) The Demidenko diary. Mandarin.
[a very interesting account of the Demidenko affair from the point of view of a writer friend of Dale’s who sheltered her while she was in hiding from hostile journalists]
Riemer, Andrew (1996) The Demidenko debate. Allen and Unwin.
[described as sympathetic to Helen D, but even-handed]
Warren, Agnes (1995) Why it took the media so long to write a story about the life of prize-winning author Helen Demidenko. The Media Report. ABC Radio National. August 24th 1995.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/mediarpt/mstories/mr240801.htm
[“a language therapist” associated with Dale’s high school is mentioned as one of the people who identified “Helen Demidenko” as Helen Darville]
Who's who?: hoaxes, imposture and identity crises in Australian literature. (2004) editors: Maggie Nolan & Carrie Dawson. University of Queensland Press.
[essays]
About Henry Darger Collins, Paul (2004) Not even wrong: adventures in autism. Bloomsbury.
[reclusive artists Joseph Cornell and Henry Darger are some of the people described in this most entertaining and interesting book about autism and synaesthesia]
In the Realms of the Unreal (documentary) (2004) Director – Jessica Yu
[A biographical documentary about Henry Darger which features a lot of his art and excerpts from his huge novel, and interviews with people who knew the man. Schizophrenia mentioned as an amateur diagnosis, but I recall no mention of autism or AS]
MacGregor, John M. (2002) Henry Darger: in the realms of the unreal. Delano Greenridge Editions.
Prokopoff, Stephen (accessed 2007) Realms of the unreal. Carl Hammer Gallery.
http://www.hammergallery.com/Artists/darger/Darger.htm
[does not mention AS or autism]
Rhodes, Colin (2000) Outsider art: spontaneous alternatives. Thames and Hudson.
[gives short biography of Henry Darger, does not mention autism]
Walton, Henry (2003) Henry Darger: in the realms of the unreal by John MacGregor. The British Journal of Psychiatry. 2003 182: 85.
About Charles Darwin Brilliant minds linked to autism. (2004) BBC.co.uk January 8th 2004.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3380569.stm
[about Prof. Fitzgerald’s book Autism and creativity]
Coghlan, Andy (2010) Darwin dynasty’s ill health blamed on inbreeding. New Scientist. May 3rd 2010.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18847-darwin-dynastys-ill-health-blamed-on-inbreeding.html
[no mention of AS or autism]
Creation (movie) (2009) Director – Jon Amiel
[Biographical feature movie about the life of Charles Darwin, who is played by Paul Bettany.]
Fitzgerald, Michael, and O’Brien, Brendan (2007) Genius genes: how Asperger talents changed the world. Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2007.
[Newton, Henry Cavendish, Jefferson, Charles Babbage, Darwin, Gregor Mendel, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Nikola Tesla, David Hilbert, H.G. Wells, John B. Watson, Einstein, Bernard Montgomery (of Alamein), Charles de Gaulle, Alfred Kinsey, Norbert Wiener, Charles Lindbergh, Kurt Godel, Paul Erdos and other famous people discussed in this book. Parts of this book available to read free through Google Book Search]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and creativity. Autism2006: AWARES Conference Centre. October 4th 2006.
http://212.74.184.44:8083/BM_DIRECTORY/E/BM000001662/7679/FIT1.PDF
http://awares.nemisys.uk.com/conferences/show_paper.asp?section=000100010001&conferenceCode=000200020002&id=42
[Stanley Kubrick, George Orwell, Andy Warhol, Charles Darwin, Albert Einsten and many other famous people discussed in this conference paper]
Hooper, Rowan (2009) Back to the beginning. New Scientist. February 7th 2009. Number 2694. p.49.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126943.000-review-the-young-charles-darwin-by-keith-thomson.html
[This brief review of The Young Charles Darwin by Keith Thomson mentions the fact that Darwin has been subject of the suggestion that he had Asperger syndrome, but it is not clear whether Thomson addresses this possibility in his book.
Houston, Muiris (2009) Darwin is the origin of new thesis on Asperger's. IrishTimes.com Irish Times. February 24th 2009.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2009/0224/1224241701332.html
Ledgin, Norman (2002) Asperger’s and self-esteem: insight and hope through famous role models. Future Horizons, 2002.
[Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Orson Welles, Marie Curie, Carl Sagan, Glenn Gould, Mozart, Thomas Jefferson, Bela Bartok, Paul Robeson, Gregor Mendel and other famous people mentioned in this book. Parts of the book available to read through Google Book Search]
Lyons, Viktoria and Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) Asperger Syndrome - A Gift or a Curse? Nova Science Publishers Inc.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=eMunoqn0iU8C
[Kinsey, Kubrick, Patricia Highsmith, Charles Darwin, Bertrand Russell, Robert Walser, Joy Adamson, Enoch Powell, William James Sidis, Kurt Godel]
Pickover, Clifford A. (1998) Strange brains and genius: the secret lives of eccentric scientists and madmen. Plenum, 1998.
[Charles Darwin and many other famous people discussed in this dated but entertaining book. Darwin not identified as autistic in this book.]
Smith, Rebecca (2009) Charles Darwin had autism, leading psychiatrist claims. Telegraph.co.uk February 18th 2009.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4680971/Charles-Darwin-had-autism-leading-psychiatrist-claims.html
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2010) Charles Darwin's health. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Darwin%27s_health&oldid=365808618
About Eamon de Valera Fitzgerald, Michael (2001) Did President Eamon De Valera have a developmental disorder? Journal of Medical Biography. Vol. 9, no. 4 November 2001.
About “Dibs” Axline, Virginia (1990, c 1964) Dibs, in search of self: personality development in play therapy. Penguin, 1990, c 1964.
Dibs in Search of Self. (accessed 2008) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dibs_in_Search_of_Self&oldid=181456992
Osteen, Mark (editor) (2007) Autism and representation. Routledge, 2007.
http://routledgemedia.com/books/Autism-and-Representation-isbn9780415956444
Chapter 1
http://www.case.edu/affil/sce/Texts_2005/Autism%20and%20Representation%20fisher.htm
Roberts, Chris (2002) Book perpetuates outdated myths about Autism. Amazon.com December 25th 2002.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R6KQ90QAPI4J1
About Emily Dickinson Brown, Julie (2010) Writers on the spectrum: how autism and Asperger syndrome have influenced literary writing. Jessica Kingsley, 2010.
[writers discussed in this book by a literary academic include Hans Christian Andersen, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Lewis Carroll, William Butler Yeats, Sherwood Anderson and Opal Whiteley.]
Gilbert, Avery (2008) What the nose knows: the science of scent in everyday life. Crown/Random House, 2008.
[an interesting description of Dickinson's fascination with floral fragrance on pages 137-139, no mention of AS or autism]
Gordon, Lyndall (2010) Lives like loaded guns: Emily Dickinson and her family’s feuds. Virago, 2010.
Gordon, Lyndall (2010) A bomb in her bosom: Emily Dickinson's secret life. Guardian. February 13th 2010.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/13/emily-dickinson-lyndall-gordon
[no mention of AS or autism, but includes discussion of epilepsy]
Koval, Ramona (2010) Lyndall Gordon on Emily Dickinson. Book Show. ABC Radio National. March 12th 2010.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2010/2837497.htm
[an interesting discussion with no mention of AS or autism, but epilepsy is discussed, audio and transcript available]
About Paul Dirac Baron-Cohen, Simon (2003) The essential difference. Penguin Books.
[Richard Borcherds (his formal diagnosis described in detail), Paul Dirac, Einstein, Newton, William Shockley, Michael Ventris]
Farmelo, Graham (2009) The strangest man : the hidden life of Paul Dirac, quantum genius. Faber And Faber, 2009.
[Farmello presents the case that Dirac (and his father) were on the autistic spectrum over several pages]
Ferreira, Pedro G. (2009) Review: The hidden life of Paul Dirac by Graham Farmelo. New Scientist. Issue 2690. January 7th 2009. p.43.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126905.400-review-ithe-hidden-life-of-paul-diraci-by-graham-farmelo.html
Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
[Dirac identified as meeting criteria for AS on p. 59]
James, Ioan (2003) Singular scientists. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. January 2003. Vol. 96, number 1, p. 36-39.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=12519805
[Irene Joliot-Curie, J. M. W. Turner, Paul Dirac, Bela Bartok, Wittgenstein, Cavendish, Newton, Einstein]
McKie, Robin (2009) Anti-matter and madness. The Observer. Guardian.co.uk February 1st 2009.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/feb/01/strangest-man-paul-dirac-review
[a review of Farmello's biography, autism mentioned]
Magueijo, Joao (2009) A brilliant darkness: the extraordinary life and disappearance of Ettore Majorana, the troubled genius of the nuclear age. Basic Books, 2009.
[Dirac as an autist discussed on pages 108-109]
Randerson, James (2009) A prenatal test for autism would deprive the world of future geniuses. Science Blog. Guardian.co.uk January 7th 2009.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2009/jan/07/autism-test-genius-dirac
[About the probable autism of Dirac, Farmelo's biography and ethical concerns about autism prenatal testing]
Strange tales about Paul Dirac. New Scientist. Issue 2690. January 7th 2009. p. 43.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126905.500-strange-tales-about-paul-dirac.html
[autism or AS not mentioned]
About Greg Egan Greg Egan's Home Page
http://www.gregegan.net/
Hassler, Donald M. & Wilcox, Clyde (2008) New boundaries in political science fiction. University of South Carolina Press, 2008.
[Egan not identified as autistic here, but the autism of two fictional characters created by Egan discussed, can be previewed at Google Books]
Westfahl, Gary (2006) Homo aspergerus: evolution stumbles forward. Locus Online. March 6th 2006.
http://www.locusmag.com/2006/Features/Westfahl_HomoAspergerus.html
http://www.locusmag.com/
[H. L. Gold, H. P. Lovecraft, Greg Egan]
About Albert Einstein and family members
Many books briefly identify Einstein as a possible case of autism, but fewer items give a detailed argument.
Attwood, Tony (2000) The autism epidemic – real or imagined. Autism Asperger’s Digest. November/December 2000.
http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/pdfs/attwood4.pdf
Baron-Cohen, Simon (2003) The essential difference. Penguin Books, 2003.
Discover presents Einstein (2009) Discover. Spring 2009.
[a special issue of Discover magazine all about Einstein, his hand print published on page 38]
Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Einstein and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership which was written by the mother of an autist]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and creativity. Autism2006: AWARES Conference Centre. October 4th 2006.
http://212.74.184.44:8083/BM_DIRECTORY/E/BM000001662/7679/FIT1.PDF
http://awares.nemisys.uk.com/conferences/show_paper.asp?section=000100010001&conferenceCode=000200020002&id=42
Fitzgerald M. (2000) Einstein: Brain and behaviour. (letter) Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. vol.30, no. 6 December 2000, p. 620 – 621.
Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
Fitzgerald, Michael, and O’Brien, Brendan (2007) Genius genes: how Asperger talents changed the world. Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2007.
[Includes a chapter about Einstein, parts of this book are available to read free through Google Book Search]
Gernsbacher, Morton Ann (2007) A conspicuous absence of scientific leadership: the illusory epidemic of autism. http://jepson.richmond.edu/academics/projects/ESSAYGernsbacher.pdf
Gillberg, Christopher (2002) A guide to Asperger Syndrome. Cambridge University Press.
Gold, Karen (2000) The high-flying obsessives. Guardian. Guardian Unlimited. December 12th 2000.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4103969,00.html
Grandin, Temple (1995) Thinking in pictures: and other reports from my life with autism. 1st edition. Doubleday. 1995.
James, Ioan (2005) Asperger syndrome and high achievement: some very remarkable people. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[includes a chapter discussing Einstein]
James, Ioan (2004) Remarkable physicists: from Galileo to Yukawa. Cambridge University Press.
James, Ioan (2003) Autism in mathematicians. Mathematical Intelligencer. Volume 25 number 4 2003 p. 62-66.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/5mvu40023521gp3x/
http://europa.sim.ucm.es/compludoc/AA?a=James%2c+Ioan+M&donde=otras&zfr=0
James, Ioan (2003) Singular scientists. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. January 2003. Vol. 96, number 1, p. 36-39.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=12519805
Ledgin, Norman (2002) Asperger’s and self-esteem: insight and hope through famous role models. Future Horizons, 2002.
Murray, Dinah (2006) Coming out Asperger: diagnosis, disclosure and self-confidence. Jessica Kingsley, 2006.
[Alan Turing, Einstein and Wittgenstein briefly discussed as autistics on page 57]
Paradiz, Valerie (2002) Elijah’s cup: a family’s journey into the community and culture of high-functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome. The Free Press, 2002.
Pinker, Steven (1999) His brain measured up. The New York Times on the Web. June 24th 1999.
http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/articles/media/1999_06_24_newyorktimes.html
[interesting editorial article reviewing a study of Einstein’s brain published in The Lancet in which Pinker explains the “nuts and bolts” of how development of verbal ability, and mathematical and spatial reasoning might be, to a degree, mutually exclusive, due to brain structure.]
Sacks, Oliver (2004) Autistic geniuses?: we’re too ready to pathologize (letter). Nature. May 20th 2004, Vol. 429, p. 241.
[a letter in which Sacks states that he does not believe that Wittgenstein, Einstein nor Newton “were significantly autistic”]
West, Thomas G. (2009) In the mind's eye: creative visual thinkers, gifted dyslexics, and the rise of visual technologies. 2nd ed. Prometheus Books, 2009.
[includes discussion of Faraday, Maxwell, Einstein, Lewis Carroll (Dodgson), Poincare, Edison, Tesla, da Vinci, Churchill, Patton, Yeats, William J. Dreyer and John R. (Jack) Horner. Not sure if autism or AS mentioned]
Zackheim, Michele (2008) Children of a lesser god. Discover. March 2008. p. 32-36.
[a very interesting article about Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric’s many talented offspring, and one adopted family member thought to be an illegitimate child of Albert’s]
About Einstein’s brain
Diamond, MC, Scheibel, AB, Murphy, GM Jnr, Harvey, T (1985) On the brain of a scientist: Albert Einstein. Experimental Biology. 1985 Apr;88(1):198-204.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3979509
Diamond, Marian C. (1999) Why Einstein’s brain? New Horizons for learning. http://www.newhorizons.org/neuro/diamond_einstein.htm
Pinker, Steven (1999) His brain measured up. The New York Times on the Web. June 24th 1999.
http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/articles/media/1999_06_24_newyorktimes.html
[interesting editorial article reviewing a study of Einstein’s brain published in the Lancet in which Pinker explains the “nuts and bolts” of how development of verbal ability, and mathematical and spatial reasoning might be, to a degree, mutually exclusive, due to brain structure.]
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2010) Albert Einstein's brain. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein%27s_brain&oldid=378327971
Yuan, Ti-Fei (2009) Einstein’s brain: Gliogenesis in autism? Medical Hypothesis. Volume 72 Issue 6, June 2009 p.753.
http://www.medical-hypotheses.com/article/S0306-9877(09)00071-1/abstract
About Paul Erdos Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Erdos and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership which was written by the mother of an autist]
Fitzgerald, Michael, and O’Brien, Brendan (2007) Genius genes: how Asperger talents changed the world. Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2007.
[Archimedes, Newton, Henry Cavendish, Jefferson, Charles Babbage, Darwin, Gregor Mendel, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Nikola Tesla, David Hilbert, H.G. Wells, John B. Watson, Einstein, Bernard Montgomery (of Alamein), Charles de Gaulle, Alfred Kinsey, Norbert Wiener, Charles Lindbergh, Kurt Godel, Paul Erdos, parts of this book available to read free through Google Book Search]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2002) Asperger's disorder and mathematicians of genius. (letter) Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. February 2002, 32(1) p.59-60.
Abstract: http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/cognitive.html
[the author writes that William Hamilton is the only person described in the table in this paper who “did not meet criteria for Asperger’s disorder”, G. H. Hardy, Gauss, Lagrange, Cauchy, Riemann, Galois, Lobatchensky, Archimedes, Wittgenstein, Eamon De Valera, Paul Erdos]
Fitzgerald, Michael (1999) "Did "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers", Paul Erdos, Have Asperger syndrome?" Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. 53.6 (1999): 465-466.
Hoffman, Paul (1998) The man who loved only numbers: the story of Paul Erdos and the search for mathematical truth. Fourth Estate, 1998.
[An enjoyable and recommended book. I found no mention of AS or autism, but did find much evidence indicating autism. The title is somewhat misleading - Erdos was unmarried but he did love children and was friendly and compassionate (see p. 9)]
About Robert “Bobby” Fischer Edmonds, David and Eidinow, John (2004) Bobby Fischer goes to war: the true story of how the Soviets lost the most extraordinary chess match of all time. Faber and Faber, 2004.
[No mention of autism or AS, gives information about Fisher’s childhood and parents]
Reuters (press agency) (2008) Bobby Fischer: genius to recluse. ABC News. January 19th 2008.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/19/2142205.htm
[AS or autism not mentioned]
Robert Bobby Fischer (accessed 2007)
http://www.worldtopix.com/bobby_fischer.html
[AS or autism not mentioned]
About Tim Fischer Fischer `mildly autistic' as child (1999) The Newcastle Herald (includes the Central Coast Herald). Dec 14, 1999. Edition: Late, Section: News, pg. 5
McLeonard, Kieran (1999) Tim Fischer tells of life with autism. AM Archive. ABC Local Radio. 13th December 1999.
http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s72724.htm
On the brink 1 – Tim Fischer. Life Matters. ABC Radio National. 13th December 1999.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/1999/60356.htm
[“The first of our series 'On the Brink', about the teenage years…” Fischer claimed to have had a degree of autism]
Rees, Peter (2001) The boy from Boree Creek: the Tim Fischer story. Allen and Unwin, 2001.
[Tim Fischer and autism discussed on pages 318-319, parts can be read through Google Book Search]
Wright, Tony and Gray, Darren (1999) Fischer claims autistic links with his child. The Age (Melbourne). December 14th 1999. Edition: National, Section: News, pg. 3
About Henry Ford Duncan, John (2008) Any colour so long as it's black: designing the Model T Ford 1906-1908. Renniks Publications, 2008.
[“The personality of Henry Ford and the design features of the Model T are inextricably linked.”, no mention of AS or autism]
Lacey, Robert (1986) Ford: the men and the machine. Little Brown & Co.
http://www.amazon.com/Ford-Men-Machine-Robert-Lacey/dp/0316511668
[about Henry Ford and his automaker descendants, I do not know whether AS or autism is mentioned]
The life of Henry Ford. (2003?) The Henry Ford. http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/hf/default.asp
[web site giving biographical info created by the museum “The Henry Ford”, no mention of AS or autism as far as I can tell]
Williams, Robyn (2008) Ford’s Model T – 100 years old. The Science Show. Radio National, ABC. 7th June 2008.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2267280.htm
[An interview in which Prof. John Duncan, author of a book about Henry Ford and the Model, T speculated briefly that Ford might have had AS]
There are also some excellent books about Henry Ford in the junior non-fiction sections of public libraries.
About Janet Frame ONZ CBE
Abrahamson, Sarah (2007). Did Janet Frame have high-functioning autism? The New Zealand Medical Journal. October 12th 2007. Vol. 120 No. 1263.
http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/abstract.php?id=2747
Abrahamson, Sarah (2007) Author responds to criticism of her 'Did Janet Frame have high-functioning autism?' viewpoint article. [letter] The New Zealand Medical Journal. October 26th 2007. Vol. 120 No. 1264.
http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/120-1264/
An Angel at My Table (movie) (1990) Director – Jane Campion (won a number of awards for this movie)
[Based on the autobiographies by Janet Frame, Kerry Fox played Frame as an adult. No mention of AS or autism]
Autistic diagnosis proposed for Frame: celebrated author Janet Frame may have been autistic. (2007) The Press. Press.co.nz October 12th 2007.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/4234410a24035.html
Bragan, K. (1987) Medicine and literature: Janet Frame: contributions to psychiatry. New Zealand Medical Journal. February 11th 1987 Vol. 100 No. 817 p.70-73.
[unchecked reference – do not know if autism or AS mentioned]
Campion, Jane (2008) In search of Janet Frame. The Guardian. guardian.co.uk January 19th 2008.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/jan/19/fiction5
[a brief article in which Campion recalls her meetings with Frame, giving some interesting insights into the way Frame lived and worked, autism or AS not mentioned]
Cohen, David (2007) Autistic licence. New Zealand Listener. November 10-16 2007 Vol. 211 No. 3522.
http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3522/artsbooks/9949/autistic_licence.html
Frame, Janet (c1982) To the is-land. The Women’s Press, 1983.
[Frame’s first volume of autobiography, no mention of AS or autism to my knowledge]
Frame, Janet (1984) An angel at my table. The Women’s Press, 1984.
[Frame’s second volume of autobiography, no mention of AS or autism to my knowledge]
Frame, Janet (c1984) Envoy to the mirror city. The Women’s Press, 1985.
[Frame’s third volume of autobiography, no mention of AS or autism to my knowledge]
Frame, Janet (c1963?) Towards another summer. Vintage, 2007.
[described as a semi-autobiographical novel written in 1963 but not previously published, in which Frame “wittily spoofs her own social gauchness”, "It's a highly personal work that she did not want published until after her death."]
Frizelle, Frank A. (2007) Peer review of NZMJ articles: issues raised after publication of the viewpoint article on Janet Frame. [editorial] The New Zealand Medical Journal. October 26th 2007. Vol. 120 No. 1264.
http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/120-1264/
Hann, Arwen (2007) Autism claim draws fire from family, mum. The Press. Press.co.nz October 22nd 2007.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4245818a6530.html
Johnston, Martin (2007) Author Janet Frame suffered from “high functioning autism”. The New Zealand Herald. nzherald.co.nz October 12th 2007.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10469459
King, Michael (2000) Wrestling with the angel: a life of Janet Frame. Picador, 2000.
[a biography, on pages 417-418 can be found a very revealing excerpt from a letter written by Frame in which she described and explained an example of behaviour that she had in common with her niece’s autistic daughter]
Koval, Ramona (2008) Posthumous publishing - Janet Frame's poetry. The Book Show. ABC Radio National. September 17th 2008.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2008/2366763.htm
[Australian radio interview with Pamela Gordon and publisher Andrew Wilkins, discussion of “Towards another summer”, autism or AS not mentioned]
Matthews, Philip (2008) Back on the page. The Press. Press.co.nz July 26th 2008.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4631086a13135.html
[about the posthumous publication of “Towards another summer” and other works by Frame, Pamela Gordon’s role as literary executor, and the autism controversy]
Oettli, Simone (2007) Janet Frame and autism? Response from a Frame scholar. The New Zealand Medical Journal. November 9th 2007, Vol. 120 No. 1265.
http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/120-1265/
ONE News (2007) Frame autism claim rubbished by family. tvnz.co.nz October 12th 2007.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411423/1401306
[with a link to a clip of New Zealand TV coverage of this story]
Sharp, Iain (2007) Frame of mind. Sunday Star Times. Section C8 (books) October 21st 2007.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4245062a6619.html
[gives Pamela Gordon’s view on the controversy, Frame’s literary executor and niece reveals that she has a daughter with “severe autism”]
Stace, Hilary (2007) Janet Frame and autism. [letter] The New Zealand Medical Journal. October 26th 2007. Vol. 120 No. 1264.
http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/120-1264/
Stace, Hilary (2007) Was Janet Frame on the autistic spectrum? humans.org.nz November 8th 2007.
http://humans.org.nz/2007/11/08/was-janet-frame-on-the-autistic-spectrum/
[interesting blog article with comments]
Tramposch, B. (2007) "Diagnosis by mail": a response to the viewpoint article on Janet Frame. [letter] The New Zealand Medical Journal. October 26th 2007, Vol. 120 No. 1264.
http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/120-1264/
Wikipedia contributors. (accessed 2007) Janet Frame. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Janet_Frame&oldid=177157065.
About Rosalind Franklin Ganguli, Ishani (2005) Double helix double take. The Scientist. October 24th 2005, 19(20) p.13. http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15789/
Hunt-Grubbe, Charlotte (2007) The elementary DNA of Dr Watson. The Sunday Times. Timesonline October 14th 2007.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2630748.ece
Sanjay (2007) Racial remark puts Watson in troubled waters. Merinews. October 19th 2007.
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=127100
Valley, Paul (2007) James Watson: genetic disorder. The Independent. October 20th 2007.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/james-watson-genetic-disorder-395100.html
About Sir Francis Galton FRS
Davis, Lennard (2008) Obsession: a history. University of Chicago Press, 2008.
[Galton and novelist Emile Zola are both discussed in this book as “obsessive” cases. The author writes from a psychoanalytic perspective.]
galton.org http://galton.org/
[an archive of Galton’s impressive body of work and biographical sources]
James, Ioan (2009) Remarkable biologists. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
[Evidence for and against Galton having Asperger syndrome is briefly mentioned on pages 104-105. Other biologists profiled in this book include Charles Darwin, Gregor Mendel, Alfred Wallace, Sir Ronald Fisher, Alfred Kinsey and Barbara McClintock.]
Lloyd, John and Mitchinson, John (2009) The QI book of the dead. Faber and Faber, 2009.
[Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Babbage, Jeremy Bentham, Salvador Dali, Richard Feynman, Henry Ford, Buckminster Fuller, Francis Galton, Oliver Heaviside, Howard Hughes, Alfred Kinsey, Ada Lovelace, Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla and H. G. Wells are some of the interesting people discussed in this book.]
Post, Felix (1994) Creativity and psychopathology: a study of 291 world-famous men. British Journal of Psychiatry. 1994. Volume 165. p. 22-34.
[While I don’t think much of this study which appears to be the work of a psychoanalytic/Freudian researcher, it is interesting that a number of famous people who have been identified by other sources as possibly autistic, synaesthete or possibly synaesthete have been categorized in this study as having had mild, marked or severe “psychopathology”. According to Post, the scientist “Galton” had severe psychopathology, but I could find no explanation for this dire-sounding categorization.]
About Bill Gates Autism - Repetitive Behaviors Like Rocking and Flapping. (accessed 2010) YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f15JexiQt4U
[3 sped-up videos of Bill Gates rocking are used at the end of this video]
Benaron, Lisa (2000) Autism. Greenwood Press, 2009.
[book series: “Biographies of disease”. A discussion box on pages 56-57 checks Gates against DSM-IV criteria for AS and the author concludes that “it seems highly likely that Gates would be given a diagnosis of AS if he were to seek out an evaluation”. ]
Bill Gates Netscape Navigator lawsuit. (1998) YouTube. recorded Sept. 2nd 1998.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tr7_T_M0g4
[video of a tense Bill Gates rocking during a government deposition]
Bill Gates: rain man. (1998) Spike. Recorded September 2nd 1998.
http://www.spike.com/video/bill-gates-rain-man/2712141
[same video as above]
Bill Gates rocking. YouTube. Added July 31st 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTfWAZVd-Bo
[An old video of Bill Gates rocking on a chair while interviewed.]
Caplan, Arthur (2005) Would you have allowed Bill Gates to be born?: advances in prenatal genetic testing pose tough questions. MSNBC.com May 31 2005.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7899821/
[it might be worth noting that when this article was published MSNBC.com was half owned by Microsoft and half owned by NBC Universal, MSNBC.com was a component of MSNBC which was 18% owned by Microsoft]
Elmer-DeWitt, Philip & Farley, Christopher Joh (1994) Diagnosing Bill Gates. Time. Vol. 142 Issue 4:p 25.
Isaacson, Walter (1997) In search of the real Bill Gates. Time. Time.com January 13th 1997.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1120657,00.html
[a revealing old article about Gates’ personality that discusses his friendship with Warren Buffett, but no mention of AS or autism]
Lowe, Janet (1998) Bill Gates speaks: insight from the world’s greatest entrepreneur. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
[the discussion of Gates and autism only summarizes the Time magazine article, but this book contains much information about Gates’ early life, personality and eccentricities]
Manes, Stephen and Andrews, Paul (1993) Gates: how Microsoft’s mogul reinvented an industry – and made himself the richest man in America. Doubleday, 1993.
[lots of info about a young Bill Gates]
Pirates of Silicon Valley (movie) (1999) Director – Martyn Burke
[Made for TV semi-humorous documentary-drama about the men who created Microsoft and Apple corporations. Bill Gates is played by Anthony Michael Hall. I don’t believe it contains any mention of AS or autism.]
Rivlin, Gary (1999) The plot to get Bill Gates: an irreverent investigation of the world's richest man and the people who hate him. Random House.
Seabrook, John (1994) E-mail from Bill. New Yorker. January 10th 1994.
http://www.booknoise.net/johnseabrook/stories/technology/email/index.html
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1994/01/10/1994_01_10_048_TNY_CARDS_000368366 [lengthy old article about Gates’ personality, no mention of AS or autism]
About Antoni Gaudi Botsford, Flora (2000) 'Saint Gaudi' movement gains momentum. BBC News. July 17th 2000.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/838148.stm
[no mention of autism or AS]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Gaudi and many other famous people identified as autistic or possibly autistic]
Harpur, John, Lawlor, Maria & Fitzgerald, Michael (2004) Succeeding in college with Asperger syndrome: a student guide. Jessica Kingsley, 2004.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=5MuJPRuRYSYC&pg=PA195&dq=succeeding+in+college+fitzgerald&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=8#v=onepage&q=&f=false
[many famous people mentioned including the philosopher Quine and the architect Gaudi]
About Kurt Godel Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
[Godel identified as meeting criteria for AS on p.59]
Fitzgerald Michael and Lyons Viktoria (2004). Kurt Godel: The mathematical genius who had Asperger’s syndrome. Autism/Asperger’s Digest. May/June 2004, 46-47.
http://www.autismdigest.com/past_issues/MayJune2004.htm
About Major-General Charles George Gordon CB
Mersh, Paul (2000?) Did General Charles Gordon Have Aspergers Syndrome? The Victorian Web. http://victorianweb.org/history/empire/gordon/mersh1.html
About Glenn Gould Bazzana, Kevin (2004) Wondrous strange: the life and art of Glenn Gould. Yale University Press.
[Bazzana argues that Glenn Gould did not have Asperger syndrome, but nevertheless I believe the descriptions in this book are convincing evidence for that diagnosis, even better evidence than some of the writing about Gould that I have read by his other biographers Ostwald and Maloney, who did argue that Gould was autistic]
Bourke, Kelly (1999) It’s not easy being a genius. The Sydney Morning Herald. October 20th 1999. Edition: late, Section: news and features, page 19.
[about Dr Timothy Maloney’s theory that Glenn Gould had Asperger syndrome]
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (2000) Medical clues about what made Gould Gould. CBC Archives, CBC.CA. http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-68-320-1705/arts_entertainment/glenn_gould/clip11
[online video clip of Glenn Gould from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television show "The National" broadcast in 2000, with Dr Timothy Maloney a guest]
Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are discussed with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are all discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Gould and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership which was written by the mother of an autist]
Ford, Andrew (2010) Glenn Gould: the untold story of his personal life. The Music Show. Radio National. June 12th 2010.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/musicshow/stories/2010/2925482.htm
[no mention of AS or autism]
Friedrich, Otto (1989) Glenn Gould: a life and variations. Random house, 1989.
[includes information about Gould’s personality, eccentricities and childhood, I found no mention of autism or AS]
Genius Within: the Inner Life of Glenn Gould (movie) (2009) Director – Michele Holzer and Peter Raymont
http://glenngouldmovie.com/
[A documentary about Glenn Gould which reportedly includes interviews with the married woman who had a five-year live-in affair with Gould, and her son and daughter.]
Glenn Gould - life & times. (TV documentary) (1998) Director – David Langer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jiuw44HHb4g
[an episode from a CBC television biography series broadcast in 1998, apparently includes some commentary by autistic music critic Tim Page, I do not know if autism or AS mentioned]
Newmark, J. (2009) Neurological problems of famous musicians: the classical genre. Journal of Child Neurology. 2009 Aug;24(8):1043-50.
[Gould identified as a “hypochondriacal pianist with obsessive-compulsive disorder and suspected Asperger syndrome”]
NPR (2002) The variations of Glenn Gould. NPR. September 21st 2002.
http://www.npr.org/programs/wesat/features/2002/sept/gould/
Ostwald, Peter (1997) Glenn Gould: the ecstasy and tragedy of genius. W. W. Norton & Company. 1997.
[On page 42 Glenn Gould, Wittgenstein and Bartok are all identified as possible cases of “Asperger Disease”.]
About Temple Grandin Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are discussed with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are all discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Grandin and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership written by the mother of an autist]
Grandin, Temple (2008) The way I see it: a personal look at autism and Aspergers. Future Horizons, 2008.
Grandin, Temple (1995) Thinking in pictures: and other reports from my life with autism. 1st edition. Doubleday. 1995.
Grandin, Temple (with Margaret Scariano) (1991) Emergence: Labeled Autistic. Arena Press, 1991.
Ratey, J., Grandin, T. Miller, A. (1992) Defense behavior and coping in an autistic savant: the story of Temple Grandin, PhD. Psychiatry. 1992 Nov;55(4):382-91.
Temple Grandin (movie) (2010) Director – Mick Jackson
[Made for TV biographical movie about Temple Grandin, who is played by Claire Danes.]
Treffert, Darold A. (2010) Islands of genius: the bountiful mind of the autistic, acquired, and sudden savant. Jessica Kingsley, 2010.
[Blind Tom Wiggins, Temple Grandin, Flo and Kay Lyman, Daniel Tammet, Stephen Wiltshire, James Henry Pullen and hyperthymestic syndrome are discussed]
About Franz Grillparzer Lyons V, Fitzgerald M (2007). Did Hans Asperger (1906–1980) have Asperger Syndrome? (letter). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Volumer 37, number 10, November 2007. p. 2020-2021.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/n00w0xl46510v681/?p=4cff7f36c3b2461b918cf2bf081aabcd&pi=18
[includes speculation that Asperger’s favourite poet, Grillparzer might have had AS]
About Sir William Rowan Hamilton Collins, Paul (2007) Have prodigy, will travel. New Scientist. April 7th 2007 Number 2598 p. 50-51.
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19425981.900-histories-have-prodigy-will-travel.html
[about prodigy Zerah Colburn, friend of William R. Hamilton]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2002) Asperger's disorder and mathematicians of genius. (letter) Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. February 2002, 32(1) p.59-60.
Abstract: http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/cognitive.html
[the author writes that William Hamilton is the only person described in the table in this paper who “did not meet criteria for Asperger’s disorder”, G. H. Hardy, Gauss, Lagrange, Cauchy, Riemann, Galois, Lobatchensky, Archimedes, Wittgenstein, Eamon De Valera, Paul Erdos]
Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
[Hamilton identified as meeting criteria for AS on page 59]
Walker, Antionette and Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Unstoppable brilliance: Irish geniuses and Asperger’s syndrome. Liberties Press. 2006.
[“… many of the most notable people in Irish politics, the arts and sciences may have exhibited traits of Asperger's syndrome …”, Robert Emmet, Pádraig Pearse, Éamon de Valera, Robert Boyle, William Rowan Hamilton, Daisy Bates, WB Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett]
About Daryl Hannah Erickson, Hal (2006) Daryl Hannah. Allmovie.com. http://allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:93354
Green with envy at Daryl Hannah. MailOnline. April 21st 2007.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-449730/Green-envy-Daryl-Hannah.html
[according to this article Hannah was diagnosed as "borderline autistic" at age of 7]
TV.com (2006) Daryl Hannah. TV.com CNET Networks Inc.
http://www.tv.com/daryl-hannah/person/126002/biography.html
Wood, Gaby (2009) A bigger splash. Weekend Australian. July 18-19 2009 Review p. 22-23.
[autism not mentioned but other details of childhood given "They wanted to institutionalise me."]
Wood, Gaby (2009) I'm a little bit of a nerd. Observer. June 7th 2009.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jun/07/interview-daryl-hannah
[same article as above]
About G. H. Hardy Fitzgerald, Michael (2002) Asperger's disorder and mathematicians of genius. (letter) Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. February 2002, 32(1) p.59-60.
Abstract: http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/cognitive.html
[G. H. Hardy, Gauss, Lagrange, Cauchy, Riemann, Galois, Lobatchensky, Archimedes, Wittgenstein, Eamon De Valera, Paul Erdos, the author writes that William Hamilton is the only person described in the table in this paper who “did not meet criteria for Asperger’s disorder”]
Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
[Hardy identified as meeting criteria for AS on p.59]
About Sir Edward Heath BBC News (2005) Former PM Sir Edward Heath dies. BBC News. July 18th 2005.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4691051.stm#
[includes links to videos and an audio documentary, no mention of AS or autism]
Evans, Katherine (2005) Condition can mean a lifelong struggle. (letter) Independent. August 5th 2005.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/letters-science-and-the-theories-of-evolution-501512.html
http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/archive/index.php/thread-1782.html
[a brief counter-argument to the earlier letter to the editor by Patience]
Heath, Edward (1998) The course of my life: the autobiography of Edward Heath. Hodder and Stoughton, 1998.
[According to an Amazon.co.uk review this autobiography “is at times oddly impersonal”.]
Heffer, Simon (2010) Tony Blair’s memoirs: a strange book by a gifted man. Telegraph.co.uk September 2nd 2010.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/7976873/Tony-Blairs-memoirs-a-strange-book-by-a-gifted-man.html
[This review of Tony Blair’s memoir A Journey makes reference to “the autism of the Heath memoirs”.]
MailOnline (2005) The incredible sulk. MailOnline. July 18th 2005.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-356140/The-Incredible-Sulk.html
[no mention of AS or autism]
Patience, Linda (2005) Signs of Asperger’s syndrome? (letter) Independent. August 3rd 2005.
http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/archive/index.php/thread-1782.html
[a letter to the editor in response to earlier articles and obituary of Sir Edward Heath, arguing that Heath could have had “mild” AS]
Thomson, George Malcolm (1980) The prime ministers: from Robert Walpole to Margaret Thatcher. Nationwide Book Service, 1980.
[I do not think AS or autism are mentioned in this book]
About Hermann Hesse Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are discussed with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Hermann Hesse and many other famous people are discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Freedman, Ralph (1978) Hermann Hesse: a pilgrim of crisis: a biography. Jonathan Cape, 1978. [I do not know if AS or autism mentioned]
Herocious (2010) Synesthesia in Hermann Hesse’s Magister Ludi. The Open End. (blog) February 3rd 2010.
http://theopenend.com/2010/02/03/synesthesia-in-hermann-hesses-magister-ludi/
Hesse, Hermann (1969) The glass bead game (Magister Ludi). Richard and Clara Winston translation, 1969.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/821980/Magister-Ludi
About Patricia Highsmith
James, Ioan (2005) Asperger syndrome and high achievement: some very remarkable people. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Michelangelo, Philip of Spain, Newton, Swift, John Howard, Cavendish, Jefferson, van Gogh, Satie, Russell, Einstein, Bartók, Ramanujan, Wittgenstein, Kinsey, Weil, Turing, Highsmith, Warhol, Glenn Gould]
Lyons, Viktoria and Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) Asperger Syndrome - A Gift or a Curse? Nova Science Publishers Inc.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=eMunoqn0iU8C
[Kinsey, Kubrick, Patricia Highsmith, Charles Darwin, Bertrand Russell, Robert Walser, Joy Adamson, Enoch Powell, William James Sidis, Kurt Godel]
Wilson, Andrew (2003) Beautiful shadow: a life of Patricia Highsmith. Bloomsbury, 2003.
[speculation that Highsmith might have had AS is found on page 394]
About David Hilbert Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
[Hilbert - AS doubtful (p. 130)]
Fitzgerald, Michael, and O’Brien, Brendan (2007) Genius genes: how Asperger talents changed the world. Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2007.
[Archimedes, Newton, Henry Cavendish, Jefferson, Charles Babbage, Darwin, Gregor Mendel, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Nikola Tesla, David Hilbert, H.G. Wells, John B. Watson, Einstein, Bernard Montgomery (of Alamein), Charles de Gaulle, Alfred Kinsey, Norbert Wiener, Charles Lindbergh, Kurt Godel, Paul Erdos, parts of this book available to read free through Google Book Search]
About Adolf Hitler Fitzgerald, Michael (2004) Autism and creativity: is there a link between autism in men and exceptional ability? Brunner-Routledge, 2004.
[in this book the author posthumously diagnosed Hitler with “autistic psychopathy”, a diagnostic category that is not officially recognized. This book is at least partially available to read through Google Book Search]
Fries, Andreas (2009) Hade Adolf Hitler Aspergers syndrom? Lakartidningen. April 22-28th 2009, Volume 106, Number 17 p. 1201-4.
http://www.lakartidningen.se/store/articlepdf/1/11854/LKT0917s1201_1204.pdf
[I don't understand Swedish, the language that this article is written in, but I believe this is an argument that Hitler had AS]
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2009) Adolf Hitler. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adolf_Hitler&oldid=316808191
About John Howard (1726–1790)
Lucas, Philip (2001) John Howard and Asperger's Syndrome: psychopathology and philanthropy. History of Psychiatry. 2001 12: p.73-101.
http://hpy.sagepub.com/content/vol12/issue45/
http://www.palucas.co.uk/john_howard_aspergers.htm
About Peter Howson Art Company Scotland
http://www.peterhowson.co.uk/
http://www.peterhowson.co.uk/news/index.html
Deveney, Catherine (2007) Autistic temperament. Scotsman.com Scotland on Sunday. March 11 2007.
http://heritage.scotsman.com/people/Autistic-temperament.3354078.jp
MacDonald, Stuart (2008) Peter Howson: my 'murderous' rage. The Sunday Times. July 27th 2008.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article4407301.ece
Mc Fadden, Joan (2008) Glasgow artist Peter Howson talks to Joan McFadden about faith in God, addiction to alcohol and why he is using his skills to draw attention to disability. Scotsman. Scotsman.com News. July 29th 2008.
http://news.scotsman.com/health/Glasgow-artist-Peter-Howson-talks.4332683.jp
Tierney, Michael (1998) The haunting. The Herald. 26th December 1998.
www.peterhowson.co.uk/news/press/herald_26dec98.doc
About Stonewall Jackson Fitzgerald M. (2003) Did ‘Stonewall’ Jackson have Asperger’s syndrome? Society of Clinical Psychiatrists http://www.scpnet.com/paper2_2.htm
Fitzgerald M. (2003) Did ‘Stonewall’ Jackson have Asperger’s syndrome? Irish Psychiatrist. 3,6, p.223-224.
About Thomas Jefferson Attwood, Tony (2000) The autism epidemic – real or imagined. Autism Asperger’s Digest. November/December 2000.
http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/pdfs/attwood4.pdf
[Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, Mozart, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Glenn Gould, Alan Turing]
Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are all discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are all discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Fitzgerald, Michael, and O’Brien, Brendan (2007) Genius genes: how Asperger talents changed the world. Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2007.
[Archimedes, Newton, Henry Cavendish, Jefferson, Charles Babbage, Darwin, Gregor Mendel, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Nikola Tesla, David Hilbert, H.G. Wells, John B. Watson, Einstein, Bernard Montgomery (of Alamein), Charles de Gaulle, Alfred Kinsey, Norbert Wiener, Charles Lindbergh, Kurt Godel, Paul Erdos, parts of this book available to read free through Google Book Search]
Gernsbacher, Morton Ann (2007) A conspicuous absence of scientific leadership: the illusory epidemic of autism. http://jepson.richmond.edu/academics/projects/ESSAYGernsbacher.pdf
[Henry Cavendish, Nikola Tesla, Glenn Gould, Moe Norman, Michael Ventris, Einstein, Jefferson, Newton]
James, Ioan (2005) Asperger syndrome and high achievement: some very remarkable people. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Michelangelo, Philip of Spain, Newton, Swift, John Howard, Cavendish, Jefferson, van Gogh, Satie, Russell, Einstein, Bartók, Ramanujan, Wittgenstein, Kinsey, Weil, Turing, Highsmith, Warhol, Glenn Gould]
Ledgin, Norman (2002) Asperger’s and self-esteem: insight and hope through famous role models. Future Horizons, 2002.
[Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Orson Welles, Marie Curie, Carl Sagan, Glenn Gould, Mozart, Thomas Jefferson, Bela Bartok, Paul Robeson, Gregor Mendel, Oscar Levant, John Hartford, Temple Grandin, a book that is supposed to be an esteem-builder that appears to be loaded with negative and antiquated language, parts of the book available to read through Google Book Search]
Ledgin, Norman (2000) Diagnosing Jefferson: evidence of a condition that guided his beliefs, behavior and personal associations. Future Horizons, 2000.
[This book appears to be available to read through Google Book Search]
About Muhammad Ali Jinnah Arshad M., Aslam U., Fitzgerald M. (2006). Did MA Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, have Asperger’s syndrome? Irish Psychiatrist. February/March 2005 6(1) p.17-18.
http://www.irishpsychiatrist.ie/irish_psychiatrist/pdfs/irish_psych_feb_mar.pdf
Jinnah (movie) (1998) Director – Jamil Dehlavi
[About the life of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan. A young Jinnah played by Richard Lintern, an adult Jinnah played by Christopher Lee. I do not know if autism or AS mentioned in movie.]
About Sir Keith Joseph CH PC Laurance, Jeremy (2006) Keith Joseph, the father of Thatcherism, 'was autistic'. The Independent (London). July 12, 2006. FindArticles.com. 13 Dec. 2007. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20060712/ai_n16527646
About James Joyce and family members
Various journal papers about the life, health, literature and mind of James Joyce and family can be found by doing a phrase search on "James Joyce" on PubMed - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
Andreasen, N. J. (1973) James Joyce. A portrait of the artist as a schizoid. Journal of the American Medical Association. April 1973 2;224(1):67-71.
Correia, Arlindo (2004) Lucia Joyce (1907-1982) (web site)
http://www.arlindo-correia.com/140504.html
[an interesting compilation of reviews and links to reviews of the biography Lucia Joyce: To Dance in the Wake or the play about Lucia Joyce titled Calico, no mention of autism/AS]
Kaplan, Robert (2002) Madness and James Joyce. Australasian Psychiatry. 2002, Vol. 10, No. 2, Pages 172-176.
Walker, Antionette and Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Unstoppable brilliance: Irish geniuses and Asperger’s syndrome. Liberties Press. 2006.
[“… many of the most notable people in Irish politics, the arts and sciences may have exhibited traits of Asperger's syndrome …”, Robert Emmet, Pádraig Pearse, Éamon de Valera, Robert Boyle, William Rowan Hamilton, Daisy Bates, WB Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett]
Whelan, Paul. J. (2009) James Joyce and Asperger syndrome. (letter) British Journal of Psychiatry. December 2009. 195(6):555-6.
[Whelan suggests that “a psychotic trait” is a more plausible diagnosis for Joyce than AS.]
Wikipedia contributors. (accessed 2007) Lucia Joyce. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucia_Joyce
About Wassily Kandinsky Campen, Cretien van (2008) The hidden sense: synesthesia in art and science. The MIT Press, 2008.
[Kandinsky and synaesthesia discussed p. 55-57]
Campen, Cretien van (1997) Synesthesia and artisitc experimentation. Psyche. 3 (6) November 1997.
http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/v3/psyche-3-06-vancampen.html
[Van Campen argues that Scriabin and Kandinsky were geniune synaesthetes]
Cytowic, Richard (1993) The man who tasted shapes:a bizarre medical mystery offers revolutionary insights into emotions, reasoning, and consciousness. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1993. [see pages 55-56 for discussion of Kandinsky and synaesthesia]
Elder, Jennifer & Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Kandinsky, Mondrian, Tesla and many other famous people are featured in this children’s book which was written by the mother of an autist. The description of synaesthesia in the section about Kandinsky is a bit fanciful.]
Gillberg, Christopher (2002) A guide to Asperger Syndrome. Cambridge University Press.
[Ludwig Wittgenstein, Einstein, Anton Bruckner, Erik Satie, Bela Bartok, Wassilij Kandinskij identified as possible or very likely cases of Asperger syndrome]
Ione, Amy & Tyler, Christopher (2003) Neurohistory and the arts: was Kandinsky a synesthete? Journal of the History of the Neurosciences. 2003, Vol. 12, No. 2, p. 223–226.
http://www.amyione.com/kand.pdf
Kandinsky, Nina (1947) Some notes on the development of Kandinsky’s painting. In:
Kandinsky, V. (editor) Concerning the Spiritual in Art and On Painting. Wittenborn Art Books, p. 9–11.
[I have not checked this book myself, synaesthesia apparently mentioned]
Maur, Karin von (1999) The sound of painting: music in modern art. Prestel, 1999.
[Maur wrote on page 30 that Kandinsky “was convinced that colours could be heard and himself possessed this gift in high degree,”]
Sweet, Matthew (1999) Was it all in the eye's ear? The Independent. independent.co.uk March 28th 1999.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/was-it-all-in-the-eyes-ear-1083467.html
[Examines the arguments that Kandinsky was or was not a genuine synaesthete. Beware - this article is old and contains information about synaesthesia that recent research has shown to be incorrect, and it also gives a description of what synaesthesia is like that does not apply to all synaesthetes.]
About Leo Kanner Grinker, Roy (2007) Unstrange minds: remapping the world of autism. Basic Books.
[Bobby Fischer, Vincent van Gogh, Leo Kanner]
Kanner, Leo (posted 2008) Kanner memoir. American Psychiatric Association.
http://www.psych.org/search.aspx?SearchPhrase=kanner
About Immanuel Kant Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are discussed with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are all discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Kant and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership which was written by the mother of an autist]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and creativity. Autism2006: AWARES Conference Centre. October 4th 2006.
http://212.74.184.44:8083/BM_DIRECTORY/E/BM000001662/7679/FIT1.PDF
http://awares.nemisys.uk.com/conferences/show_paper.asp?section=000100010001&conferenceCode=000200020002&id=42
[Kant and many other famous people discussed]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Gaudi, Hopper, Quine, Wittgenstein, Maxwell, Swift, H. Christian Andersen, Melville, Carroll, W. B. Yeats, Conan Doyle, Orwell, Chatwin, Spinoza, Kant, Weil, A. J. Ayer, Mozart, Beethoven, Satie, Bartok, Gould, van Gogh, J. B. Yeats, L.S. Lowry, Warhol]
About Andy Kaufman
Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Kaufman and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership which was written by the mother of an autist]
Man on the Moon (movie) (1999) Director – Milos Forman
[An entertaining movie about the life of Andy Kaufman who is played by Jim Carrey (who won a Golden Globe Award for this performance in 2000). Other actors - Danny De Vito, Courtney Love]
Paradiz, Valerie (2002) Elijah’s cup: a family’s journey into the community and culture of high-functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome. The Free Press, 2002.
[Andy Kaufman, Andy Warhol, Einstein, Wittgenstein, Glenn Gould, Temple Grandin]
Zehme, Bill (1999) Lost in the funhouse: the life and mind of Andy Kaufman. Fourth Estate Ltd.[biography of Kaufman, I don’t believe it mentions autism or AS]
About Alfred Kinsey Fitzgerald M. (1999) Alfred Kinsey: Asperger disorder. (letter) Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 1999 Aug., 29(4) 346-7.
Kinsey (movie) (2004)
Director – Bill Condon
[About the life of Alfred Kinsey who is played by Liam Neeson.]
About Stanley Kubrick
Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and creativity. Autism2006: AWARES Conference Centre. October 4th 2006.
http://212.74.184.44:8083/BM_DIRECTORY/E/BM000001662/7679/FIT1.PDF
http://awares.nemisys.uk.com/conferences/show_paper.asp?section=000100010001&conferenceCode=000200020002&id=42
Lyons, Viktoria and Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) Asperger Syndrome - A Gift or a Curse? Nova Science Publishers Inc.
Ronson, Jon (2004) Citizen Kubrick. Guardian. March 27th 2004.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/mar/27/features.weekend
[fascinating article about Kubrick's massive collection of boxes and possessions, AS and autism not mentioned]
Ronson, Jon (Director) (2008) Stanley Kubrick's Boxes. (documentary film).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JwAnMUavzA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Kubrick%27s_Boxes
http://www.channel4.com/more4/documentaries/doc-feature.jsp?id=215
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1263704/
[A documentary about the 1000 odd boxes of memorabilia in Kubrick’s estate, and what their contents, and the boxes themselves, reveal about the legendary movie director.]
The Stanley Kubrick Archive arrives at University of the Arts London. (2005) University of the Arts London. http://www.arts.ac.uk/kubrick.htm#what_arc
About Ladyhawke/Pip Brown
Cochrane, Greg (2008) Ladyhawke speaks about Asperger's. BBC News. November 24th 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7745000/7745453.stm
Lester, Paul (2008) Asperger's, allergies and aubergines. Guardian.co.uk September 11th 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/sep/11/popandrock
NME (2008) Ladyhawke: 'People shouldn't be scared of Asperger's Syndrome'. NME. November 24th 2008.
http://www.nme.com/news/ladyhawke/41253
Sauma, Luiza (2008) Ladyhawke: 'You have no idea what I have been through'. Independent. November 16th 2008.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/ladyhawke-you-have-no-idea-what-i-have-been-through-1017492.html
About Paul Laffoley
Coleman, Michael (accessed 2008) Laffoley archive: Paul Laffoley biographical info. LaffoleyArchive.com
http://www.laffoleyarchive.com/laffoley_writings/bio_laffoley.html
Johnson, Ken (2007) A beautiful mind. The Boston Globe. Boston.com February 11th 2007.
http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2007/02/11/a_beautiful_mind/?page=1
About Deborah Locke Biennial Australian Autism Conference Rydges Lakeside, Canberra
Friday, 1 October - Sunday, 3 October, 2004
http://autismact.homemail.com.au/Conferencepapers.html
http://autism.anu.edu.au/conference.htm
http://www.autismaspergeract.com.au/conference04
[includes an abstract of a talk scheduled to be given by Deborah Locke about working as a policewoman on the autistic spectrum]
Deborah Locke: former NSW detective. http://www.deborahlocke.com.au/
Kym, Ali and Dzelde (2010) Underbelly: the real Debbie Webb. Kym Ali and Dzelde blog. Triple M. May 24th 2010.
http://www.triplem.com.au/adelaide/shows/kymalianddzelde/blog/underbelly-the-real-debbie-webb/20100524-8lck.html
[no mention of AS or autism in this interesting commercial radio interview]
Lane, Terry (2003) Fair Cop*. The National Interest. ABC Radio National. September 28th 2003.
http://abc.com.au/rn/nationalinterest/stories/2003/953604.htm
[Terry Lane interviews Deborah Locke and Dr Janet Chan, no
mention of AS or autism]
Locke, Deborah Lee (2003) Watching the detectives. ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
[It looks just like a non-fiction biography/police/crime book, it is catalogued by the National Library of Australia as a non-fiction book (it has a Dewey call number and non-fiction subject headings in it’s Cataloguing-in-Publication data), and it is cataloged and shelved as non-fiction in my local public library, but on the copyright page there is a disclaimer stating that it is a work of fiction based on actual events. If it’s true it’s an amazing story. The trials of parenting a child diagnosed with “severe ADHD, moderate to severe autism and global delay” who was born prematurely are described]
Masters, Chris (2004) Corruption Inc. Four Corners. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14th June 2004.
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2004/s1131829.htm
[investigative journalism, no mention of AS or autism]
Masters, Chris (2004) Training day. Four Corners. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 27th July 2004.
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2004/s1162570.htm
[investigative journalism, no mention of AS or autism]
Ramsay, Stephen (2008?) Oops, wrong planet.
[a documentary film in which Locke is featured and is described as an aspie]
Rotary Down Under Issue 520 August 2010.
http://www.rotarydownunder.com.au/RDU/pdf-archives/RDU520%20%5BWeb%5D.pdf
[includes info and photo about Locke being awarded the Outstanding Woman of Achievement Award]
Silvester, John and Rule, Andrew (2010) Underbelly: the golden mile. Floradale Productions and Sly Ink, 2010.
[Chapter 8 “Debbie does detectives” p.118-150 is about Deborah Locke]
Underbelly: the Golden Mile. http://channelnine.ninemsn.com.au/underbelly
[the character Debbie Webb is actually Deborah Locke]
Whistleblowers Australia. (2004) The Whistle: newsletter of Whistleblowers Australia. No. 36. January 2004.
http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/contacts/au_wba/whistle200401.pdf
[photo of Debbie Locke with NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney after receiving her Certificate of Merit]
Williams, Robyn (2008) Living with Asperger’s. The Science Show. ABC Radio National. September 13th 2008.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2359536.htm
[the soundtrack of the documentary film Oops, wrong planet by Stephen Ramsay, in which Locke is featured and described as an aspie]
About Courtney Love Brite, Poppy Z. (1997) Courtney Love: the real story. Orion Books.
[diagnosis described on p.7-8]
About L.S. Lowry O'Connell, H, Fitzgerald, M. (2003) Laurence Stephen Lowry and Asperger's syndrome. Irish Journal of Medical Science. 2003 Jul-Sep; 172(3):147-8.
About Darius McCollum
Haberman, Clyde (2005) Back in Prison, Guilty Mainly of a Fixation. The New York Times. April 12th 2005.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/12/nyregion/12nyc.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Knight, Sam (2005) On the wrong track. Times Online. April 18th 2005.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article382503.ece
Murphy, Dean E. (2001) Crimes of Passion, for Trains; Where the Courts See Guilt, Others Find an Affliction. The New York Times. March 15th 2001.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9504E5D6163DF936A25750C0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
[includes comments by AS expert Tony Attwood]
Tietz, Jeff (2002) The boy who loved transit: how the system failed an obsession. Harper’s Magazine. May, 2002.
http://web.archive.org/web/20030927155810/www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1111/1824_304/85882845/print.jhtml [lengthy article]
About James Clerk Maxwell FRS Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Maxwell briefly identified as a person with “high-functioning autism” on p.218]
West, Thomas G. (2009) In the mind's eye: creative visual thinkers, gifted dyslexics, and the rise of visual technologies. 2nd ed. Prometheus Books, 2009.
[includes discussion of Faraday, Maxwell, Einstein, Lewis Carroll (Dodgson), Poincare, Edison, Tesla, da Vinci, Churchill, Patton, Yeats, William J. Dreyer and John R. (Jack) Horner. Not sure if autism or AS mentioned]
About Herman Melville
Brown, Julie (2010) Writers on the spectrum: how autism and Asperger syndrome have influenced literary writing. Jessica Kingsley, 2010.
[writers discussed in this book by a literary academic include Hans Christian Andersen, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Lewis Carroll, William Butler Yeats, Sherwood Anderson and Opal Whiteley.]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Melville and many other famous people discussed in this book]
About Michelangelo Arshad, M, Fitzgerald, M. (2004) Did Michelangelo (1475-1564) have high-functioning autism? Journal of Medical Biography. 2004 May;12(2):115-20.
http://www.rsm.ac.uk/media/downloads/j05-04michelangelo.pdf
[also identifies architect John Nash (1752–1835) as having had high-functioning autism]
Michelangelo a ‘Renaissance Rain Man’. The Sydney Morning Herald smh.com.au May 31st 2004.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/31/1085855482069.html?from=storyrhs
[also identifies architect John Nash (1752-1835) as having had high-functioning autism]
Michelangelo ‘linked’ with autism. BBC News BBC.co.uk 1st June 2004.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3765509.stm
[also identifies “Regency architect John Nash” as autistic]
About Reg Mombassa (Christopher O’Doherty) Kaye, Lorien (2010) 100% creative: uncovering Reg Mombassa. Age (The Melbourne). January 30th 2010. 1st edition section A2 p. 21.
[a short review of Waldren’s book in which Kaye criticises Waldren for not paying enough attention to Mombassa’s claims about Asperger syndrome and his “melancholia”.]
Keenan, Haydn (director) (2006) Golden sandals: the art of Reg Mombassa. [a 26 minute PG rated documentary about Mombassa featuring animated versions of his artwork, broadcast on SBS in 2007]
L’Estrange, Sarah (2009) Off the shelf with Reg Mombassa. The Book Show. ABC Radio National. February 15th 2010.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2010/2819588.htm
[famous Australians discuss their favourite books in this regular radio series]
Reg Mombassa’s Web Site
http://www.regmombassa.com/
Thompson, Peter (2007) Reg Mombassa. Talking Heads. ABC TV. first screened 23rd July 2007.
http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1982349.htm
[transcript of this interview available, no mention of AS or autism]
Waldren, Murray (2009) The mind and times of Reg Mombassa. Harper Collins, 2009.
[A detailed and personal biographical and art book including history of the band Mental as Anything, featuring a lot of eye-catching art and photographs. Asperger syndrome mentioned on pages 32, 55 and 395.]
Waldren, Murray (2009) High anxiety. Weekend Australian. Review. October 24-25th 2009. p. 6-7.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/high-anxiety/story-e6frg8nf-1225788838289
[an extract from the book, illustrated with Mombassa’s art, no mention of AS or autism]
About Caiseal Mor
Caiseal Mor (web site)
http://www.mahjee.com/
Mor, Caiseal (2007) A blessing and a curse: autism and me. Jessica Kingsley, 2007.
http://www.amazon.com/Blessing-Curse-Autism-Me/dp/184310573X
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2009) Caiseal Mor. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caiseal_Mor&oldid=305798829
Williams, Donna (2007) Audio interview with Caiseal Mor. Oddpod. May 6th 2007.
http://oddpod.donnawilliams.net/2007/05/06/audio-interview-with-caiseal-mor/
Williams, Donna (2007) Bestselling novelist, Caiseal Mor comes out as autistic. Donna Williams' Blog. April 22nd 2007.
http://blog.donnawilliams.net/2007/04/22/bestselling-novelist-caiseal-mor-comes-out-as-autistic/
[a transcript of an interview with Donna Williams]
About Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (see also reference list below regarding Mozart and Tourettes)
Amadeus (movie) (1984) Director - Milos Forman (won an Academy Award for this movie)
[An entertaining movie about the life of Mozart, who was played by Tom Hulce, autism or AS not mentioned]
Ashoori, Aidin, Jankovic, Joseph (2007) Mozart’s movements and behaviour: a case of Tourette’s syndrome? Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. 2007.
http://jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/78/11/1171
[argues that the evidence that Mozart had Asperger syndrome, autism, Tourette syndrome and some other neurological and psychiatric conditions is lacking]
Classical Net (accessed 2007) Gregorio Allegri: Miserere. Classical.net http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/allegri/miserere.html
[recounts the well-known anecdote about Mozart transcribing the Miserere after hearing it performed]
Deutch, Diana (2006) The enigma of absolute pitch. Acoustics Today. 2006, 2, p.11-19.
http://philomel.com/pdf/Acoustics_Today_2006.pdf
[Mozart’s perfect pitch described, also identifies Beethoven and other musicians as possessors of perfect pitch]
Simkin, Benjamin (1999) Was PANDAS Associated with Mozart's Personality Idiosyncrasies? Medical Problems of Performing Artists. volume 14, number 3, September 1999, p. 113.
http://www.sciandmed.com/mppa/journalviewer.aspx?issue=1095&article=1046
About Les Murray Alexander, Peter F. (2000) Les Murray: a life in progress. Oxford University Press.
[Les Murray’s autism mentioned on page 25, his heterochromia mentioned on page 27, his son’s autism described in chapter 18]
Baird, Julia (2006) Les Murray: the poet who helped save the Snowy. Sunday Profile. ABC Local Radio. June 4, 2006.
http://www.abc.net.au/sundayprofile/stories/s1654645.htm
Clark, Sue (presenter) & Koval, Ramona (interviewer) (2009) The Biplane Houses - Les Murray. Life & Times. ABC Radio National. August 29th 2009.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifeandtimes/stories/2009/2668463.htm
[a repeat of a 2006 interview from The Book Show in which Murray discussed Asperger syndrome, poetry and reading postcode books, and he read two of his poems that are about AS/autism]
Gray, Robert (2010) The omnivorous writer. Weekend Australian. April 10-11 2010 review p.18-19.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/les-murray-the-omnivorous-writer/story-e6frg8nf-1225850820037
[autism mentioned briefly in this review of Taller when prone]
Les Murray
http://www.lesmurray.org/index.htm
Mares, Peter (2009) Les Murray and the black dog. Book Show. ABC Radio National, October 8th 2009.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2009/2708117.htm
[Interview with Murray to promote the republication of his essay Killing the black dog, in which Murray discusses the impact of depression on his writing, and autism briefly mentioned]
Mitchell, Paul (2006) Paul Mitchell reviews Les Murray. Cordite Poetry Review. Number 24, 1st July 2006.
http://www.cordite.org.au/archives/001184.html
[A review of the book The biplane houses in which Mitchell discusses the influence that he believes Murray's AS has had on Murray's poetry and personality]
Moran, Rod (2007) Murray’s troubled waters run deep. West Australian. Weekend Extra, page 4, February 10, 2007.
Murray, Les (2010) Infinite anthology: adventures in lexiconia. Monthly. August 2010 p.56-60.
http://www.themonthly.com.au/books-les-murray-infinite-anthology-adventures-lexiconia-2636
[This article about obscure words and the Macquarie Dictionary irrefutably confirms Murray’s status as a weird-wired word nerd. No mention of AS or autism]
Murray, Les, with introd. by Potts, Robert (2009) It allows a portrait in line scan at fifteen. Times Literary Supplement. TimesOnline. March 30th 2009.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article6003570.ece
[The TLS Poem of the Week, which is about the autistic characteristics of Murray's autistic son]
Murray, Les (2009) Killing the black dog. (revised edition) Black Inc, 2009.
[Murray makes reference to his own and his son's autism on pages 22, 32 and 36. The poems Demo and The Averted appear to be about the experience of being autistic.]
Murray, Les (1997) Killing the black dog: essay and poems. The Federation Press.
[Murray claims to be “very mildly autistic” on page 17]
Neill, Rosemary (2006) Songs of experience. Australian. April 8 2006.
http://www.assn.org.au/assn/articles/080406_songs.htm
Phillips, Juanita (2007) Lunch with Les Murray. Bulletin. March 20 2007.
http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=229653
Potts, Robert (2004) The voice of the outback. Guardian. May 15, 2004.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1216273,00.html
Thompson, Peter (2010) Les Murray. Talking Heads. ABCTV. broadcast June 21st 2010.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/talkingheads/txt/s2927060.htm
[transcript available, autism mentioned a couple of times]
Wootten, William (2006) Salt, land and tears. Guardian. October 21, 2006.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/poetry/0,,1927616,00.html
About John F. Nash Jr. Arshad M, Fitzgerald M. (2002) John Nash: Asperger’s syndrome and schizophrenia? Irish Psychiatrist. 2002; 3(3) 90-94.
Brooks, Michael (2004) The return of a beautiful mind. New Scientist. December 18th 2004 vol. 184 issue 2478 p.46-49.
[an interesting interview, AS or autism not mentioned]
Lyons V., Fitzgerald M. (2004). The case of Robert Walser. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. 21, 4, 138-142.
http://www.ijpm.net/index.html
http://www.ijpm.org/index.html?level=3&artid=262
[about Robert Walser, also refers to “John Nash who won the Nobel prize for economics …”]
About Craig Newmark Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are discussed with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton Adult, 2009.
[Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen and Temple Grandin are reportedly mentioned in this book]
Newmark, Craig (2009) My nerd thing and Asperger's Syndrome. cnewmark (Newmark's personal blog). January 6th 2009.
http://www.cnewmark.com/2009/01/my-nerd-thing-and-aspergers-syndrome-.html
[Newmark wonders if he has AS and lists some traits]
Newmark, Craig (2003) Craigslist documentary update. cnewmark (Newmark's personal blog). September 27th 2003.
http://www.cnewmark.com/2003/09/craigslist_docu.html
[Newmark explains that he has been interviewed for a documentary about Asperger syndrome, referring to himself as a "(recovering) nerd".]
Uygur, Cenk (2008) Craig Newmark on the phone with The Young Turks. The Young Turks (website). "07/09/2008"
http://www.theyoungturks.com/story/2008/7/9/204914/5825/tytvideoclips/Founder-of-Craigslist-on-The-Young-Turks
[video of an interview with Newmark]
Wolf, Gary (2009) The tragedy of Craigslist. Wired. September 2009 17.09 p. 98-109, p.138.
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/magazine/17-09/ff_craigslist
[some obvious hints that Newmark has autistic traits on p. 102, but no explicit mention of AS or autism.]
About Sir Isaac Newton Baron-Cohen, Simon (2003) The essential difference. Penguin Books.
[some discussion of Newton in this book about Asperger syndrome]
Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Newton and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership which was written by the mother of an autist]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and creativity. Autism2006: AWARES Conference Centre. October 4th 2006.
http://212.74.184.44:8083/BM_DIRECTORY/E/BM000001662/7679/FIT1.PDF
http://awares.nemisys.uk.com/conferences/show_paper.asp?section=000100010001&conferenceCode=000200020002&id=42
[many famous people discussed including Newton]
Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
[many famous people discussed including Newton]
Fitzgerald, Michael, and O’Brien, Brendan (2007) Genius genes: how Asperger talents changed the world. Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2007.
[many famous people discussed including Newton, parts of this book available to read free through Google Book Search]
James, Ioan (2005) Asperger syndrome and high achievement: some very remarkable people. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2005.
[many famous people discussed including Newton]
James, Ioan (2004) Remarkable physicists: from Galileo to Yukawa. Cambridge University Press.
[Newton, Cavendish, Einstein and Dirac identified as autistic]
James, Ioan (2003) Singular scientists. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. January 2003. Vol. 96, number 1, p. 36-39.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=12519805
[Irene Joliot-Curie, J. M. W. Turner, Paul Dirac, Bela Bartok, Wittgenstein, Cavendish, Newton, Einstein]
Keynes, Milo (2008) Balancing Newton's mind: his singular behaviour and his madness of 1692–93. Notes & Records of the Royal Society. 20th September 2008 vol. 62 no. 3 p.289-300.
http://rsnr.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/62/3/289.full
[The author argues that Newton's suspicious personality was caused by separation from his mother in early childhood and was not caused by AS, full text of paper available free online]
Krull, Kathleen (2006) Isaac Newton. (illustrated by Boris Kulikov), Viking, 2006.
[junior biography in the Giants of Science series]
Lloyd, John and Mitchinson, John (2009) The QI book of the dead. Faber and Faber, 2009.
[Newton is identified as a possible case of AS based on his obsessiveness on page 14.]
Morrow, Lance (1999) Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Time. December 26th 1999.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,36508,00.html
[no mention of AS or autism]
Royal College of Psychiatrists (2006) Royal College of Psychiatrists Annual Meeting 2006 Glasgow: Thatcherism founder had Asperger's Syndrome. (press release) The Royal College of Psychiatrists. 11th July 2006.
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pressparliament/pressreleases2006/pr820.aspx
[Sir Keith Joseph, Enoch Powell, Eamon de Valera, W. B. Yeats, Sir Isaac Newton]
Sacks, Oliver (2004) Autistic geniuses?: we’re too ready to pathologize (letter). Nature. May 20th 2004, Vol. 429, p. 241.
[a letter in which Sacks states that he does not believe that Wittgenstein, Einstein nor Newton “were significantly autistic”]
Sacks, Oliver (2002) Uncle Tungsten: memories of a chemical boyhood. Picador, 2002.
[in the notes from page 119-121 Sacks discusses Henry Cavendish, describing him as an “autistic genius” while diagnosing Newton with “neurosis” rather than autism]
About Craig Nicholls AAP (2008) The Vines cancel tour as Craig Nicholls's condition worsens. The Australian. November 17th 2008.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24663892-601,00.html
McCabe, Kathy (2004) Rock and a hard place. (The Sydney) Daily Telegraph. November 20 2004, Edition: 1- state, Section: features, p.27.
McCabe, Kathy (2004) Star's secret agony. (The Sydney) Daily Telegraph. November 20 2004, Edition: 1- state, Section: local, p. 3.
McLean, Craig (2006) Stop Making Sense. Guardian Unlimited. The Observer (Magazine). March 5 2006.
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1723555,00.html
Mathieson, Craig (2009) Playlisted: everything you need to know about Australian music right now. New South, 2009.
[the chapter titled Freedom of choice on p.125-132 is about The Vines and Nicholls and covers Nicholls' diagnosis, not particularly insightful]
Munro, Kelsey (2006) From the ashes with a vengeance. The Sydney Morning Herald. September 8th 2006 Edition: first, Section: news, p.13.
Mushroom Music Publishing (accessed 2009) Local songwriters: The Vines: biography.
http://www.mushroommusic.com.au/songwriters/61/vines-the
NME.com (2006) Craig Nicholls breaks his silence over Aspergers diagnosis. NME.com. May 19 2006. http://www.nme.com/news/vines/22408
Sheffield, Rob (2002) The Vines. Rolling Stone. August 26th 2002.
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/the_vines_craig_nicholls/page
[cover story, autism and AS not mentioned]
Valentish, Jenny (2008) As long as no one gets hurt … Jmag. Issue 19, July 2008 p. 38-42.
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/jmag/issue_19.htm
[Valentish find the task of interviewing a rock musician with AS a daunting task]
The Vines (accessed 2009)
http://thevines.com/home
[The news post dated November 14th 2008 announced the cancellation of 2008 festival appearances and tour of Japan citing a deterioration in Craig Nicholls’ "mental condition" as the reason, but not explicitly mentioning AS or autism. The news post dated November 10th 2008 announced the cancellation of their Perth show due to Nicholls' severe "flight related anxiety".]
The Vines (2002) The Vines - Get Free (HQ, Live @ Letterman). YouTube. Late Show With David Letterman. Episode dated July 19th 2002?.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMxRnnYt_lY&feature=related
[There are other recordings of this performance on YouTube, but not all have the witty comments from after the ad break. The Vines did later return to the Letterman show to do another performance.]
About Nico (Christa Paffgen) Contributeurs à Wikipedia (accessed 2008) Christa Päffgen. Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre. http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christa_P%C3%A4ffgen&oldid=22651441
[article in French, Asperger syndrome mentioned]
DeRogatis, Jim, Bentley, Bill et al (2009) Do you want to dance and blow your mind with the Velvet Underground: an illustrated history of a walk on the wild side. Voyageur Press, 2009.
Goddard, Simon (2009) Mozipedia: the encyclopedia of Morrissey and The Smiths. Ebury Press, 2009.
[on pages 294-297 there is a biography of Nico, a musician that Morrissey greatly admired and has been influenced by. There is no mention of autism or AS in this section of the book. Some people believe Morrissey has AS, and it could be argued that depression, autistic isolation and monotone voices are three characteristics shared by Nico and Morrissey.]
Witts, Richard (1993) Nico: the life and lies of an icon. Virgin Books.
[AS or autism not mentioned]
About Moe Norman Selcraig, Bruce (2004) Golf’s purest striker rarely missed a fairway. USA Today. September 28 2004.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/2004-09-28-norman_x.htm
About Gary Numan Boyd, Brian (2006) Old friends electric. Ireland.com. The Irish Times. August 11 2006.
http://www.ireland.com/theticket/articles/2006/0811/1154691568928.html
Buck, Robbie (2009) Gary Numan. Triple J. March 5th 2009.
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/media/s2508159.htm
[audio of complete interview, Numan talks about AS in his life, and also recounts some most exciting moments as an amateur aviator]
Buck, Robbie (2009) Gary Numan - Interviewed. Triple J. April 16th 2009.
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/media/s2543480.htm
[video of edited interview screened on Triple J TV, Numan briefly mentions his AS]
Freud, James (2002) I am the voice left from drinking: the Models - from the 'burbs to 'Barbados' and beyond. HarperCollins, 2002.
[pages 63-76 cover the time when the Models toured with Gary Numan and some members recorded with Numan. The many differences between the habits and personalities of Freud (a feminine but hetero party boy) and Numan (rather uncouth as a young man and possessing an extreme male brain) are interesting to note. Not surprisingly their recording project was not a success.]
Gary Numan
http://www.garynuman.com/
[AS is discussed towards the end of the page]
Grant, Peter (2007) Gary Numan: Aspergers made me aloof. Liverpool Echo. Echo.co.uk July 20th 2007.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/07/20/gary-numan-aspergers-made-me-aloof-100252-19482198/
NME (2006) Gary Numan reveals rare condition. NME. November 6th 2006.
http://www.nme.com/news/gary-numan/24982
Price, Simon (2009) Gary Numan, Dome, Brighton
Paloma Faith, Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth. Independent. November 22nd 2009.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/gary-numan-dome-brightonbrpaloma-faith-wedgewood-rooms-portsmouth-1825238.html
Price, Simon (2009) Gary Numan's Rebellious Jukebox (From Melody Maker 1994). The Quietus. November 2nd 2009.
http://thequietus.com/articles/03127-gary-numan-s-rebellious-jukebox-from-melody-maker-1994
[interesting old interview, no mention of AS or autism]
Skrufff.com (2005) Gary Numan: it’s easy to be happy when you’re financially secure. Trackitdown.net May 11th 2005.
http://www.trackitdown.net/news/928.html
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2007) Gary Numan. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gary_Numan&oldid=59215965
Williams, Andrew (2006) 60 seconds: Gary Numan. Metro.co.uk. Metro. November 6 2006.
http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/interviews/article.html?in_article_id=23967&in_page_id=11
About George Orwell Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and creativity. Autism2006: AWARES Conference Centre. October 4th 2006.
http://212.74.184.44:8083/BM_DIRECTORY/E/BM000001662/7679/FIT1.PDF
http://awares.nemisys.uk.com/conferences/show_paper.asp?section=000100010001&conferenceCode=000200020002&id=42
[George Orwell and many other famous people discussed]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[George Orwell and many other famous people discussed]
Thompson, Ben (2009) Badass authors: George Orwell. PowellsBooks.Blog November 6th 2009.
http://www.powells.com/blog/?p=10173
[an amusing portrait not to be taken seriously, by the creator of the website Badass of the Week, no mention of AS or autism]
About Tim Page
Fabrizio, Doug (2007) Parallel play. RadioWest. KUER. August 22nd 2007.
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuer/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1134602
[radio interview, AS mentioned]
Maslin, Janet (2009) Reflections on a life lived way outside the box. New York Times. September 2nd 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/books/03maslin.html?_r=1
[one has to wonder if the parts towards the end of this article, a review of Page’s 2009 memoir, are a description of a case of hyperthymestic syndrome]
Page, Tim (2007) Parallel play. New Yorker. August 20th 2007.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/20/070820fa_fact_page
[an interesting article]
Page, Tim (2009) Parallel play : growing up with undiagnosed Asperger's. Doubleday, 2009.
Siegel, Robert (2007) Pulitzer-winner on living with Asperger’s. All Things Considered (Science). NPR. August 13th 2007.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12750745
[radio interview with Page, AS mentioned]
About Grigori Perelman
Aron, Jacob (2010) Will reclusive mathematician accept $1 million prize? New Scientist. March 19th 2010.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18683-will-reclusive-mathematician-accept-1-million-prize.html
[no mention of AS or autism]
Gessen, Masha (2009) Perfect rigor: a genius and the mathematical breakthrough of the century. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.
[Author reportedly argued in this book that Perelman has Asperger syndrome. I have not read this book yet.]
Harding, Luke (2010) Grigory Perelman, the maths genius who said no to $1m. Guardian guardian.co.uk March 23rd 2010.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/23/grigory-perelman-rejects-1m-dollars
[no mention of AS or autism]
Stewart, Will (2010) World’s cleverest man turns down 1$million prize after solving one of mathematics’ greatest puzzles. MailOnline March 23rd 2010.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1259863/Worlds-cleverest-man-turns-1million-prize-solving-mathematics-greatest-puzzles.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0ixGtLuZv
[no mention of AS or autism]
Zasky, Jason (2009?) Million dollar math problem. Failure. http://failuremag.com/index.php/site/print/million_dollar_math_problem/
[biographer Masha Gessen interviewed, no mention of AS or autism]
About Henri Poincare
Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
["Poincare had many of the characteristic features of high-functioning autism" (p. 124)]
Toulouse, E. (1910) Henri Poincare. Flammarion, Paris, 1910.
[I believe this is a book written in French by a French psychologist, about Poincare's mind.]
West, Thomas G. (2009) In the mind's eye: creative visual thinkers, gifted dyslexics, and the rise of visual technologies. 2nd ed. Prometheus Books, 2009.
[includes discussion of Faraday, Maxwell, Einstein, Lewis Carroll (Dodgson), Poincare, Edison, Tesla, da Vinci, Churchill, Patton, Yeats, William J. Dreyer and John R. (Jack) Horner. Not sure if autism or AS mentioned]
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2009) Henri Poincaré. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henri_Poincar%C3%A9&oldid=315312346
About Srinivasa Ramanujan Fitzgerald, M. (2002) Did Ramanujan have Asperger's disorder or Asperger's syndrome? Journal of Medical Biography. 2002 Aug; 10(3):167-9.
Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
[Ramanujan identified as meeting criteria for AS on p. 59]
About Charles Richter Hough, Susan Elizabeth (2007) Richter’s scale: Measure of an earthquake, measure of a man. Princeton University Press, 2007.
Shreve, Jenn (2007) The trekkie nudist behind the Richter scale. SFGate.com San Francisco Chronicle January 21 2007.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/21/RVG8CNHARA1.DTL&type=books
About Bernhard Riemann Fitzgerald, Michael (2002) Asperger's disorder and mathematicians of genius. (letter) Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. February 2002, 32(1) p.59-60.
Abstract: http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/cognitive.html
[G. H. Hardy, Gauss, Lagrange, Cauchy, Riemann, Galois, Lobatchensky, Archimedes, Wittgenstein, Eamon De Valera, Paul Erdos, the author writes that William Hamilton is the only person described in the table in this paper who “did not meet criteria for Asperger’s disorder”]
James, Ioan (2003) Autism in mathematicians. Mathematical Intelligencer. Volume 25 number 4 2003 p. 62-66.
http://europa.sim.ucm.es/compludoc/AA?a=James%2c+Ioan+M&donde=otras&zfr=0
http://aspergerhelp.net/files/Autism%20in%20Mathematicians.pdf
[Riemann mentioned as possible case of AS, the author incorrectly describes AS as a personality disorder]
About John Elder Robison Burroughs, Augusten (2004) Magical thinking: true stories. Hodder, 2004.
[the chapter titled “Ass burger” on pages 161-168 is about Burroughs’ autistic brother J. E. Robison and their often confusing relationship before Robison was diagnosed as an adult. The page numbers given on the contents page of this book are incorrect.]
Burroughs, Augusten (2003) Running with scissors. Picador, 2003.
[Chapter 9 titled “He was raised without a proper diagnosis” is about J. E Robison, given the pseudonym Troy Burroughs in this book]
John Elder Robison
http://www.johnrobison.com/
Robison, John Elder (2007) Look me in the eye : my life with Asperger's. Bantam, 2007.
[includes a foreword by Augusten Burroughs. On page 179 Robison explains why he did not trust a manager because of his constant smiling which seemed false.]
About Peter Mark Roget and family
Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are all discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse and other famous people are discussed with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Emblen, D. L. (1970) Peter Mark Roget: the word and the man. Longman, 1970.
[no mention of AS or autism]
Galton, Francis (1881) Visualised numerals. Journal of the Anthropological Institute. volume 10 p.85-102.
[John Roget’s visuo-spatial synaesthesia described in this paper]
Kendall, Joshua (2008) The man who made lists: love, death, madness, and the creation of Roget’s Thesaurus. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2008.
[No mention of AS or autism found, but evidence suggestive of autism can be found on pages 46 and 48. Be warned that the author of this book is a Freudian.]
McGrath, Charles (2008) The keeper (See: Steward, Caretaker) of synonyms. New York Times. April 18th 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/books/18book.html?_r=1
[a review of Kendall’s biography in which McGrath argues that “high-functioning Asperger’s syndrome” and OCD are better explanations for a lot of Roget’s behaviour than depression, which Kendall put forward as an explanation.]
About Carl Sagan
Ledgin, Norman (2002) Asperger’s and self-esteem: insight and hope through famous role models. Future Horizons, 2002.
[Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Orson Welles, Marie Curie, Carl Sagan, Glenn Gould, Mozart, Thomas Jefferson, Bela Bartok, Paul Robeson, Gregor Mendel, Oscar Levant, John Hartford, Temple Grandin, a book that is supposed to be an esteem-builder that appears to be loaded with negative and antiquated language, parts of the book available to read through Google Book Search]
Three views of Carl Sagan. (1999) YouTube. uploaded in 2009 by Michael Shermer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV0gH-cHiQg&feature=related
[long talk by Michael Shermer, biographer William Poundstone and biographer Keay Davidson. "Skeptics Distinguished Lecture Series talk at Caltech from 1999". Sagan's personality described at around 15 minutes into the talk.]
About Solomon Shereshevskii Elfakir, Abdelhadi (2005) Mémoire et autisme: de la neuropsychologie à la psychanalyse. Le cas de Cherechevski. I’Information Psychiatrique. Novembre 2005, Volume 81, Number 9, p.763-70.
[French paper that appears to be arguing that S. Shereshevskii was autistic]
Luria, A. R. (1968) The mind of a mnemonist: a little book about a vast memory. (translated from the Russian by Lynn Solotaroff) Jonathan Cape.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12983496/Alexander-Luria-The-Mind-of-a-Mnemonist
[Shereshevskii’s name is given as “S” in this book, the author’s name is sometimes spelt Aleksandr Luriia, Aleksandr Lurija, autism/AS not mentioned]
Wing, Lorna (1981) Asperger syndrome: a clinical account. Psychological Medicine. 11, p.115-129.
http://www.mugsy.org/wing2.htm
[Shereshevskii mentioned as a possible case]
Yaro, Caroline and Ward, Jamie (2007) Searching for Shereshevskii: what is superior about the memory of synaesthetes? Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 2007 May;60(5):681-95.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17455076
[some discussion of Shereshevskii, and Figure 1 shows the many types of synaesthesia of his described by Luria, with page numbers given]
About William Shockley Plotz, David (2005) The genius factory: unravelling the mysteries of the Nobel Prize sperm bank. Simon & Schuster UK. 2005.
[includes an amusing but unflattering few pages of description of William Shockley, but no speculation about Shockley and autism]
Shurkin, Joel (2006) Broken genius : the rise and fall of William Shockley, creator of the Electronic Age. Macmillan, 2006.
[I believe does not mention autism or AS]
Williams, Robyn (2006) Joel Shurkin, biographer of William Shockley. In Conversation. ABC Radio National. 6th July, 2006.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/inconversation/stories/2006/1678241.htm
[A radio interview with Shockley’s biographer in which the host explores the obvious possibility that Shockley had Asperger syndrome and Shurkin makes the remarkable admission that “Yes, you know I actually never thought of autism …”]
About Boris Sidis and William James Sidis Boris Sidis Archives.
http://www.sidis.net/boris_sidis_archives.htm
Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
[Boris Sidis, William James Sidis]
Lyons, Viktoria and Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) Asperger Syndrome - A Gift or a Curse? Nova Science Publishers Inc.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=eMunoqn0iU8C
[Kinsey, Kubrick, Patricia Highsmith, Charles Darwin, Bertrand Russell, Robert Walser, Joy Adamson, Enoch Powell, William James Sidis, Kurt Godel]
Sidis Archives.
http://www.sidis.net/index.html
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2009) Boris Sidis. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boris_Sidis&oldid=315880484.
About Adam Smith
Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are all discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Adam Smith and many other famous people discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum. The author of this book is an economics professor.]
Rae, John (1895) Life of Adam Smith. Macmillan & Co., 1985.
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/media/pdf/4804.pdf
[see also Google Books for previews and various editions, no mention of AS or autism. Echopraxia episodes recounted on pages 157-158.]
Smith, Adam & Stewart, Dugald (editor) (1853) The theory of moral sentiments: or, An essay towards an analysis of the principles .... H. G. Bohn, 1853.
[The biographical essay about Smith by Stewart in this volume is one of the most insightful descriptions of an autistic intellectual that I have ever read. No explicit mention of AS or autism. It can be read through Google Books]
Smith, Vernon L. (2009) Rationality in economics: constructivist and
ecological forms. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
[In a footnote on page 19 Vernon Smith speculates that Adam Smith “may have had some of the earmarks of high-functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome”.]
Smith, Vernon L. (2008) Discovery - a memoir. Author House, 2008.
http://www.amazon.com/Discovery-Memoir-Vernon-L-Smith/dp/1434384314#
[brief speculation about Adam Smith and autism on page 190]
About Vernon L. Smith Breit, William & Hirsch, Barry T. (2009) Lives of the laureates: twenty-three Nobel economists. 5th edition. MIT Press, 2009.
[Vernon L. Smith is one of the economists covered in this edition of this book of autobiographical essays. I do not know if AS or autism is mentioned as I have not read this book.]
Cowen, Tyler (2010) The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. Plume, 2010.
[Apparently this is the same book as Create your own economy published in 2009 retitled. Vernon Smith, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Mark Roget, Adam Smith, Hermann Hesse, Warren Buffett, Tim Page, Hikari Oe, Craig Newmark, Bram Cohen, Temple Grandin, Glenn Gould, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson are all discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum]
Cowen, Tyler (2009) Create your own economy: the path to prosperity in a disordered world. Dutton, 2009.
http://createyourowneconomy.org/
[Vernon Smith and many other famous people discussed in this book with reference to the autistic spectrum. The author of this book is an economics professor who recruited Smith.]
Herera, Sue (2005) Mild autism has ‘selective advantages’: Asperger syndrome can improve concentration. MSNBC.com. February 25 2005.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7030731/
[includes a link to a TV news story interview with Smith and his wife in which they discuss AS]
Smith, Vernon L. (2008) Discovery - a memoir. Author House, 2008.
http://www.amazon.com/Discovery-Memoir-Vernon-L-Smith/dp/1434384314#
[The author outlines evidence for and against the case that he has Asperger syndrome in chapter 9.]
About Socrates
Muramoto O, Englert W (2006). Socrates and temporal lobe epilepsy: a pathographic diagnosis 2,400 years later. Epilepsia 47 (3): 652-4.
[AS or autism not mentioned]
About Richard Stallman Bezroukov, Nikolai (1996-2006) Portraits of open source pioneers: chapter 3 Prince Kropotkin of software: Richard Stallman and the war of the software clones.
http://softpanorama.org/People/Stallman/index.shtml
Gross, Michael (accessed 2007) Richard Stallman, high school misfit, symbol of free software, MacArthur-certified genius. The More Things Change. http://www.mgross.com/MoreThgsChng/index.html
http://www.mgross.com/MoreThgsChng/interviews/stallman1.html
Jones, K. C. (2006) A rare glimpse into Richard Stallman’s world. TechWeb News. InformationWeek. January 6th 2006.
http://www.informationweek.com/software/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175802222&pgno=1&queryText=
[doesn’t mention autism/AS but does cover Stallman’s childhood and personality]
Leonard, Andrew (2002) Code free or die. Salon.com April 2nd 2002.
http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/books/2002/04/02/stallman/index.html
Reilly, Michael (2008) Freedom fighter. (online title: Interview: how a hacker became a freedom fighter.) New Scientist. No. 2651 April 12th 2008. p. 42-44.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19826511.900-interview-richard-stallman-one-of-the-founders-of-free-software.html
[AS or autism not mentioned in this interview]
Richard Stallman's Personal Home Page http://www.stallman.org/
Tennant, Don (2008) Editor’s notes: Asperger’s oxymoron. Computerworld. October 6th 2008.
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=327425&source=rss_topic10
[Stallman claims to have not AS but a shadow version of AS]
Williams, Sam (2002) Free as in freedom: Richard Stallman’s crusade for free software. O’Reilly Media, Inc., 2002.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/freedom/
Online book:
http://www.oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/
[AS discussed in Chapter 3]
About Lawrence Summers Bradley, Richard (2005) Harvard Rules: the struggle for the soul of the world’s most powerful university. HarperCollins, 2005.
Bradley, Richard (2005) Lawrence of absurdia. Boston Magazine. March 2005.
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/lawrence_of_absurdia_1/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1360143/posts
Razib (2005) Larry Summers has Asperger’s syndrome? Gene Expression. February 17th 2005.
http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/003609.html
[a thought-provoking article posted in an internet forum following the Summers political incorrectness affair]
Summers, Lawrence (2005) Remarks at NBER Conference on Diversifying the Science & Engineering Workforce, Cambridge, Mass. January 14, 2005. http://www.president.harvard.edu/speeches/2005/nber.html
[the speech that provoked controversy]
Watson, James D. (2007) Avoid boring people: lessons form a life in science. Oxford University Press.
[speculation that Summers may have AS on page 319]
About Screaming Lord Sutch (David Sutch) Sharpe, Graham (2005) The man who was Screaming Lord Sutch. Aurum Press. 2005.
About Satoshi Tajiri The hot 100 game developers. (2006) Next Generation. Future Network USA. 18th March 2006. p. 1-11.
Plaza, Amadeo (2006) A salute to Japanese game designers. AmpedNews. Amped News Network. February 6th 2006. p. 1-2.
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2007) Satoshi Tajiri. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Satoshi_Tajiri&oldid=98273624
About Daniel Tammet THIS REFERENCES LIST IS OUT OF DATE - see the reference list at my famous synaesthetes list instead: http://incorrectpleasures.blogspot.com/2009/01/famous-synaesthetes-or-possible.html Baron-Cohen S, Bor D, Billington J, Asher JE, Wheelwright S and Ashwin C. (2007) Savant memory in a man with number-shape synaesthesia and Asperger Syndrome. Journal of Consciousness Studies. volume 14, number 9-10, September-October 2007, p. 237-251.
http://www.imprint.co.uk/jcs_14_9-10.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/7421495/Savant-Memory-in-a-Man-with-Colour-FormNumber-Synaesthesia-and-Asperger-Syndrome
["DT", the subject of this study, is explicitly identified in the paper as Daniel Tammet]
Biever, Celeste (2009) Peek inside a singular mind. New Scientist. January 3rd 2009, number 2689, p. 40-41.
Online version:
Biever, Celeste (2009) Inside the mind of an autistic savant. New Scientist. January 7th 2009.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126881.800-inside-the-mind-of-an-autistic-savant.html
Bor, D, Billington, J, Baron-Cohen, S. (2007) Savant memory for digits in a case of synaesthesia and Asperger syndrome is related to hyperactivity in the lateral prefrontal cortex. Neurocase. 2007 Oct;13(5):311-9.
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/psych/nncs
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a791809555
[It seems most likely that Tammet is the subject of this study.]
The Boy with the Incredible Brain (documentary) (2005)
[An episode in the Extraordinary People documentary series. I believe this is the same as or similar to the 60 minute 2005 documentary titled Brainman. Martin Weitz is credited as the director of Brainman and he is also credited as the producer of this documentary, which was apparently directed by Steve Gooder. This 47 minute documentary about Daniel Tammet, who was not a boy in this doco but was in his 20s. Tammet displays his incredible calculating and language abilities, describes his synaesthesia, and travels to the United States to meet another famous autistic savant, Kim Peek. This documentary can be viewed through Google Videos or YouTube.
Johnson, Richard (2005) A genius explains. Guardian. Guardian.co.uk February 12th 2005.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2005/feb/12/weekend7.weekend2
Tammet, Daniel (2006) Born on a blue day: a memoir of Asperger’s and an extraordinary mind. Hodder & Stoughton. 2006.
Tammet, Daniel (2009) Embracing the wide sky: a tour across the horizons of the mind. Free Press, January 2009.
Tammet, Daniel (accessed 2009) Optimnem.
http://www.optimnem.co.uk/index.php
[Tammet’s web site]
Treffert, Darold A. (2010) Islands of genius: the bountiful mind of the autistic, acquired, and sudden savant. Jessica Kingsley, 2010.
[Blind Tom Wiggins, Temple Grandin, Flo and Kay Lyman, Daniel Tammet, Stephen Wiltshire, James Henry Pullen and hyperthymestic syndrome are discussed]
Wilson, Peter (2009) A savvy savant finds his voice. The Weekend Australian. January 31-February 1 2009, Inquirer p. 19.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24986084-26040,00.html
About Nikola Tesla Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Tesla and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership which was written by the mother of an autist]
Fitzgerald, Michael, and O’Brien, Brendan (2007) Genius genes: how Asperger talents changed the world. Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2007.
Gernsbacher, Morton Ann (2007) A conspicuous absence of scientific leadership: the illusory epidemic of autism. http://jepson.richmond.edu/academics/projects/ESSAYGernsbacher.pdf
Gernsbacher, Morton Ann, Dawson, Michelle & Mottron, Laurent (2006) Autism: common, heritable, but not harmful. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Vol. 29, p. 413-414.
http://psych.wisc.edu/lang/pdf/gernsbacher_bbs_commentary.pdf
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=545028
[Tesla identified as having a life history that reveals numerous autistic traits]
Lloyd, John and Mitchinson, John (2009) The QI book of the dead. Faber and Faber, 2009.
[Tesla is identified as autistic with OCD on page 344.]
Nikola Tesla: the genius who lit the world. (DVD) 2004.
[includes a photograph of Tesla’s left hand, from which I estimate Tesla’s 2d:4D finger ratio to be around .91, very low]
Tesla, Nikola (1898) Tesla's Latest Advances in Vacuum Tube Lighting. Electrical Review. (N. Y.)
Jan. 5, 1898, p. 8-9.
http://www.tesla-coil-builder.com/Articles/Jan_5_1898.htm
[includes a photograph of Tesla’s left hand, but not good enough quality to calculated 2D:4D finger ratio]
Tesla, Nikola (1977) Moji pronalasci = My inventions. [translated by Tomo Bosanac, Vanja Aljinovic] Skolska Knjiga, 1977.
[in English and Serbo-Croation, includes autobiographical information, I believe autism and AS not mentioned]
Thompson, Ben (2009) Badass: a relentless onslaught of the toughest warlords, vikings, samurai, pirates, gunfighters, and military commanders to ever live. Harper, 2009.
[This funny and educational book includes a short chapter about Tesla. This book has been described by one reviewer as “testosterone in paper form”.]
Thompson, Ben (2009) The badass of the week: Nikola Tesla. Badass of the Week. January 9th 2009.
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/tesla.html
[an amusing online biography not to be taken too seriously]
West, Thomas G. (2009) In the mind's eye: creative visual thinkers, gifted dyslexics, and the rise of visual technologies. 2nd ed. Prometheus Books, 2009.
[includes discussion of Faraday, Maxwell, Einstein, Lewis Carroll (Dodgson), Poincare, Edison, Tesla, da Vinci, Churchill, Patton, Yeats, William J. Dreyer and John R. (Jack) Horner. Not sure if autism or AS mentioned]
About Alan Turing AlanTuring.net
http://www.alanturing.net/
Attwood, Tony (2000) The autism epidemic – real or imagined. Autism Asperger’s Digest. November/December 2000.
http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/pdfs/attwood4.pdf
Breaking the Code (1996)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115749/
[TV dramatization of Turing's life directed by Herbert Wise with Derek Jacobi in the lead role]
Brown, Gordon (2009) Treatment of Alan Turing was “appalling” - PM. Number10.gov.uk September 10th 2009.
http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page20571
[an official posthumous apology from the Prime Minister of the UK]
Cowen, Tyler & Dawson, Michelle (2009) What does the Turing test really mean? And how many human beings (including Turing) could pass? June 3, 2009.
http://www.gmu.edu/centers/publicchoice/faculty%20pages/Tyler/turingfinal.pdf
[a paper by a professor of economics and an autistic member of a university autism research team in which Turing's possible AS and homosexuality are discussed with reference to the notion of imitation or "passing"]
Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Turing and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership which was written by the mother of an autist]
Gelonesi, Joe (2007) David Leavitt on Alan Turing. The Book Show. ABC Radio National. August 30th 2007.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2007/2014538.htm
[an interesting interview in which the biographer said he believed Turing possibly would be diagnosed as AS if he were around today]
Gray, Paul (1999) Alan Turing: the Time 100: the most important people of the century. Time. March 29th 1999.
http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/turing.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,990624,00.html
[AS or autism not mentioined]
Hodges, Andrew (1983) Alan Turing: the enigma. Burnett Books with Hutchinson, 1983.
http://www.turing.org.uk/book/
[I do not know if AS or autism mentioned in this highly regarded biography]
James, Ioan (2005) Asperger syndrome and high achievement: some very remarkable people. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[includes a chapter about Turing]
Leavitt, David (2006) The man who knew too much: Alan Turing and the invention of the computer. W. W. Norton, 2006.
[I do not know if AS or autism mentioned]
Murray, Dinah (2006) Coming out Asperger: diagnosis, disclosure and self-confidence. Jessica Kingsley, 2006.
[Alan Turing, Einstein and Wittgenstein briefly discussed as autistics on page 57]
O’Connell H., Fitzgerald M. (2003). Did Alan Turing have Asperger’s syndrome? Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. 20, 1, 28 – 31.
http://www.ijpm.org/index.html?level=2&isid=30&var=past
[a particularly well-written paper about a very interesting man]
The Alan Turing Year: a centenary celebration of the life and work of Alan Turing.
http://www.mathcomp.leeds.ac.uk/turing2012/
Waldrop, M. Mitchell (1999) Alan Turing; the oddball who changed the world. Washington Post. June 9th 1999. (final edition), start page; H.01, section; graphics.
[I do not know if AS or autism mentioned]
Wright, Ed (2007) A left-handed history of the world. Pier 9 (Murdoch Books Pty Limited).
[“Left-handers have a disproportionate presence in the history of the world.” Turing is identified as a leftie in this book but I don’t think he is identified as an autist in this book.]
About Maurice Utrillo James, Ioan (2005) Asperger syndrome and high achievement: some very remarkable people. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[Utrillo mentioned as a possible case of AS on page 77]
James, Ioan (2003) Autism in mathematicians. Mathematical Intelligencer. Volume 25 number 4 2003 p. 62-66.
http://europa.sim.ucm.es/compludoc/AA?a=James%2c+Ioan+M&donde=otras&zfr=0
http://aspergerhelp.net/files/Autism%20in%20Mathematicians.pdf
[Utrillo mentioned as a possible case of AS]
Werner, Alfred (1981) Maurice Utrillo. Thames and Hudson, 1981.
[text by Werner, paintings by Utrillo, no mention of AS or autism found]
Wikipedia contributors. (accessed 2009) Maurice Utrillo. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maurice_Utrillo&oldid=310952856
About Vincent van Gogh Blumer, Dietrich (2002) The illness of Vincent van Gogh. American Journal of Psychiatry. 159:519-526, April 2002.
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/159/4/519
[does not mention autism or AS]
Campen, Cretien van (2008) The hidden sense: synesthesia in art and science. The MIT Press, 2008.
[evidence that suggests that van Gogh was a synaesthete on p. 54]
Erickson, Kathleen Powers (1998) At eternity's gate: the spiritual vision of Vincent van Gogh. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1998.
http://books.google.com/books?id=0IjFBc63lawC
[author argues that van Gogh had psychomotor epilepsy/temporal lobe epilepsy, rather than schizophrenia
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[includes a chapter about van Gogh]
Gayford, Martin (2006) The yellow house: van Gogh, Gauguin and nine turbulent weeks in Arles. Fig Tree (Penguin Books), 2006.
[Author argues that bipolar was the explanation for van Gogh’s troubles and mentions other theories put forward by others. Also discusses van Gogh’s diagnosis of epilepsy at St Remy Asylum. Van Gogh’s synaesthesia described on p. 190, and Gauguin’s synaesthesia discussed on p. 191, the author incorrectly describing synaesthesia as a type of madness. No mention of autism/AS found]
Gogh, Vincent van and Bernard, Bruce (editor) Vincent by himself: a selection of his drawings and painting together with extracts from his letters. Time Warner Books UK, 2004.
Grandin, Temple (1995) Thinking in pictures: and other reports from my life with autism. 1st edition. Doubleday. 1995.
[Einstein, Wittgenstein, van Gogh, Bill Gates]
Grinker, Roy (2007) Unstrange minds: remapping the world of autism. Basic Books.
[Bobby Fischer, Vincent van Gogh, Leo Kanner]
James, Ioan (2005) Asperger syndrome and high achievement: some very remarkable people. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[includes a chapter about van Gogh]
Maur, Karin von (1999) The sound of painting: music in modern art. Prestel, 1999.
[van Gogh quoted on page 22]
About Michael Ventris Baron-Cohen, Simon (2003) The essential difference. Penguin Books.
[Richard Borcherds (his formal diagnosis described in detail), Paul Dirac, Einstein, Newton, William Shockley, Michael Ventris]
Gernsbacher, Morton Ann (2007) A conspicuous absence of scientific leadership: the illusory epidemic of autism. http://jepson.richmond.edu/academics/projects/ESSAYGernsbacher.pdf
[Henry Cavendish, Nikola Tesla, Glenn Gould, Moe Norman, Michael Ventris, Einstein, Jefferson, Newton]
Robinson, Andrew (2002) The man who deciphered Linear B: the story of Michael Ventris. Thames & Hudson, 2002.
[I found no mention of autism or AS in this book]
About Louis Wain Fitzgerald M. (2002) Louis Wain and Asperger’s syndrome. (letter) Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. 19, 3, 101.
http://www.ijpm.net/index.html
About Robert Walser Lyons V., Fitzgerald M. (2004). The case of Robert Walser. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. 21, 4, 138-142.
http://www.ijpm.net/index.html
About Andy Warhol Elder, Jennifer and Thomas, Marc (Illustrator) (2005) Different like me: my book of autism heroes. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
[Warhol and many other famous people are profiled in this book for a junior readership which was written by the mother of an autist]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and creativity. Autism2006: AWARES Conference Centre. October 4th 2006.
http://212.74.184.44:8083/BM_DIRECTORY/E/BM000001662/7679/FIT1.PDF
http://awares.nemisys.uk.com/conferences/show_paper.asp?section=000100010001&conferenceCode=000200020002&id=42
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[a chapter about Warhol]
James, Ioan (2005) Asperger syndrome and high achievement: some very remarkable people. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[a chapter about Warhol]
National Gallery of Victoria (2005) Andy Warhol’s Time Capsules. National Gallery of Victoria. http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/timecapsules/
[AS or autism not mentioned, but ample evidence of a weird collecting habit]
Paradiz, Valerie (2002) Elijah’s cup: a family’s journey into the community and culture of high-functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome. The Free Press, 2002.
About Opal Whiteley
A full list of references about Opal Whiteley can be found
in my new book about Opal Whiteley, her synaesthesia and some other famous and
fascinating people. It can be downloaded from its page at Smashwords:
The Mysterious Mind of Opal Whiteley: Four Unique Lives
Compared.
About Norbert Wiener
Davis, Philip J. (2005) The inner turbulence of genius: Norbert Wiener. SIAM News. Volume 38, Number 5, June 2005.
http://www.siam.org/pdf/news/114.pdf
[review of a biography, briefly mentions the possibility that Wiener had AS]
Fitzgerald, Michael and James, Ioan (2007) The mind of the mathematician. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
[Norbert Weiner, Leo Wiener]
Fitzgerald, Michael, and O’Brien, Brendan (2007) Genius genes: how Asperger talents changed the world. Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2007.
[Archimedes, Newton, Henry Cavendish, Jefferson, Charles Babbage, Darwin, Gregor Mendel, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Nikola Tesla, David Hilbert, H.G. Wells, John B. Watson, Einstein, Bernard Montgomery (of Alamein), Charles de Gaulle, Alfred Kinsey, Norbert Wiener, Charles Lindbergh, Kurt Godel, Paul Erdos, parts of this book available to read free through Google Book Search]
Wiener, Norbert (1953) Ex-prodigy: my childhood and youth. Simon & Schuster, 1953.
[autism or AS not mentioned in the 1964 edition]
Wiener, Norbert (1956) I am a mathematician. Gollancz, 1956.
[autism or AS not mentioned in the 1964 edition]
About Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (1849-1908): African American pianist and composer: a blind and autistic slave was a musical genius. (accessed 2007) AfriClassical.com
http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/Wiggins.html#1
[a detailed biography, a list of works by Wiggins and a bibliography, includes details of Oliver Sacks’ writings about Wiggins and his case that Wiggins was an autistic savant]
Blindtom.org http://www.blindtom.org/index.html
[a web site that promotes O'Connell's biography, but there's much more to it than that]
LoPresti, Linda (2009) Blind Tom: A Lost Musical Genius. The Book Show. ABC Radio National. July 13th 2009.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2009/2621009.htm
O'Connell, Deidre (2009) The ballad of Blind Tom, slave pianist: America's lost musical genius. Overlook Press, 2009.
http://www.amazon.com/Ballad-Blind-Tom-Slave-Pianist/dp/1590201434
Sacks, Oliver (1995) An anthropologist on mars: seven paradoxical tales. Knopf, 1995.
[Wiggins’ as an autist is written about in the chapter titled Prodigies in this book]
Treffert, Darold A. (2010) Islands of genius: the bountiful mind of the autistic, acquired, and sudden savant. Jessica Kingsley, 2010.
[Blind Tom Wiggins, Temple Grandin, Flo and Kay Lyman, Daniel Tammet, Stephen Wiltshire, James Henry Pullen and hyperthymestic syndrome are discussed]
About Stephen Wiltshire
Cornwell, Jane (2010) Great cities seen by a remarkable mind’s eye. Australian. April 16th 2010 Arts p.15.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/great-cities-seen-by-a-remarkable-minds-eye/story-e6frg8n6-1225854279828
Philby, Charlotte (2009) My secret life: Stephen Wiltshire, artist, 34. Independent. January 24th 2009.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/my-secret-life-stephen-wiltshire-artist-34-1488487.html
The Stephen Wiltshire Gallery
http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/index.aspx
Treffert, Darold A. (2010) Islands of genius: the bountiful mind of the autistic, acquired, and sudden savant. Jessica Kingsley, 2010.
[Blind Tom Wiggins, Temple Grandin, Flo and Kay Lyman, Daniel Tammet, Stephen Wiltshire, James Henry Pullen and hyperthymestic syndrome are discussed]
About Ludwig Wittgenstein Fitzgerald M. (2000) Did Ludwig Wittgenstein have Asperger’s syndrome? European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2000 March 9(1) 61 – 65.
Fitzgerald M. (2000) Ludwig Wittgenstein: Autism and Philosophy. (letter) Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder. vol. 30, no. 6, December 2000, p.621 – 622.
Fitzgerald M., Berman D. (1994) Correspondence: Of sound mind. Nature. vol. 368, p. 92
Murray, Dinah (2006) Coming out Asperger: diagnosis, disclosure and self-confidence. Jessica Kingsley, 2006.
[Alan Turing, Einstein and Wittgenstein briefly discussed as autistics on page 57]
Times Literary Supplement (2002) (letters) August 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd 2002, on page 15 of each of these editions can be found a letter in a correspondence about Wittgenstein and autism.
Ward, Jamie (2008) The frog who croaked blue: synesthesia and the mixing of the senses. Routledge.
[Wittgenstein’s possible synaesthesia is discussed on pages 11-12]
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, Anscombe, G.E.M. (editor, translator) & von Wright, G.H. (editor) (1970) Zettel. University of California Press.
[according to a note on p.142 in the book by Ward cited above, the quote by Wittgenstein that seems to suggest that he had synaesthesia, quoted in Ward’s book, is from Zettel 185, 32e]
Wolff, Sula (1995) Loners: the life path of unusual children. Routledge.
[Wittgenstein and Opal Whitely are both described as schizoid and profiled in Chapter 12 of this book]
About W. B. Yeats
Brown, Julie (2010) Writers on the spectrum: how autism and Asperger syndrome have influenced literary writing. Jessica Kingsley, 2010.
[writers discussed in this book by a literary academic include Hans Christian Andersen, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Lewis Carroll, William Butler Yeats, Sherwood Anderson and Opal Whiteley.]
Condon, Deborah (2004) Did Yeats and de Valera have autism? irishhealth.com 9/1/2004.
http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&id=5508
[brief review of the book Autism and creativity by Fitzgerald, many discussion postings follow the review]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Autism, Asperger’s syndrome and creativity. Autism2006: AWARES Conference Centre. October 4th 2006.
http://212.74.184.44:8083/BM_DIRECTORY/E/BM000001662/7679/FIT1.PDF
http://awares.nemisys.uk.com/conferences/show_paper.asp?section=000100010001&conferenceCode=000200020002&id=42
[W. B. Yeats and many other famous people discussed]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2005) The genesis of artistic creativity: Asperger’s syndrome and the arts. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[W. B. Yeats, J. B. Yeats and many other famous people discussed]
Fitzgerald, Michael (2004) Autism and creativity: is there a link between autism in men and exceptional ability? Brunner-Routledge.
[W. B. Yeats and other famous people discussed, this book is at least partially available to read through Google Book Search]
Royal College of Psychiatrists (2006) Royal College of Psychiatrists Annual Meeting 2006 Glasgow: Thatcherism founder had Asperger's Syndrome. (press release) The Royal College of Psychiatrists. 11th July 2006.
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pressparliament/pressreleases2006/pr820.aspx
[Sir Keith Joseph, Enoch Powell, Eamon de Valera, W. B. Yeats, Sir Isaac Newton]
Walker, Antionette and Fitzgerald, Michael (2006) Unstoppable brilliance: Irish geniuses and Asperger’s syndrome. Liberties Press. 2006.
[“… many of the most notable people in Irish politics, the arts and sciences may have exhibited traits of Asperger's syndrome …”, Robert Emmet, Pádraig Pearse, Éamon de Valera, Robert Boyle, William Rowan Hamilton, Daisy Bates, WB Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett]
West, Thomas G. (2009) In the mind's eye: creative visual thinkers, gifted dyslexics, and the rise of visual technologies. 2nd ed. Prometheus Books, 2009.
[includes discussion of Faraday, Maxwell, Einstein, Lewis Carroll (Dodgson), Poincare, Edison, Tesla, da Vinci, Churchill, Patton, Yeats, William J. Dreyer and John R. (Jack) Horner. Not sure if autism or AS mentioned]
Other publications cited in list, or of interest
Asher, J. Lamb, J. Brocklebank, D. Cazier, J. Maestrini, E. Addis, L. Sen, M. Baron-Cohen, S. & Monaco, A. (2009) A Whole-Genome Scan and Fine-Mapping Linkage Study of Auditory-Visual Synesthesia Reveals Evidence of Linkage to Chromosomes 2q24, 5q33, 6p12, and 12p12. American Journal of Human Genetics. Vol. 84, issue 2, 13 February 2009, p. 279-285.
http://www.cell.com/AJHG/
http://www.autismresearchcentre.com/docs/papers/2009_Asher_etal_Synaesthesia_Linkage_Study_AJHG.pdf [a recent genetic study that sometimes incorrectly refers to synaesthesia as a disorder. Quote from paper: "The marker obtaining the highest LOD score (D2S142, with HLOD = 3.025) has been linked to autism."]
Buzan, Tony and Keene, Raymond (2005) Buzan’s book of world mental world records. D & B Publishers.
Calcutt, Andrew and Shephard, Richard (1998) Cult fiction: a reader’s guide. Prion Books Ltd.
Deutch, Diana (2006) The enigma of absolute pitch. Acoustics Today. 2006, 2, p.11-19.
http://philomel.com/pdf/Acoustics_Today_2006.pdf
Famous people with perfect pitch. (last updated 2004)
http://www.perfectpitchpeople.com/
Feineman, Neil (2005) Geek chic. Thames and Hudson.
[A most enjoyable pictorial book covering geeks' contribution to literature, music, technology etc. Many people in this list can be found in this book.]
Hughes JR (2005). "Did all those famous people really have epilepsy?". Epilepsy & Behavior. 6 (2): 115-39.
James, Clive (2007) Cultural amnesia: notes in the margin of my time. Picador, 2007.
Manning, John T. (2007) The finger book: sex, behaviour and disease revealed in the fingers. Faber & Faber, 2007.
Paulos, John Allen (1991) Beyond numeracy: an uncommon dictionary of mathematics. Viking. [includes amusing anecdotes about mathematicians]
Pickover, Clifford A. (1998) Strange brains and genius: the secret lives of eccentric scientists and madmen. Plenum, 1998.
[a very entertaining book that examines the lives of genius scientists, mathematicians and philosophers who the author diagnoses as having Obsessive-compulsive disorder. I wonder if this book had been written after the upsurge in interest in Asperger syndrome around 2002, whether the diagnosis would have been AS instead of OCD. Most of the famous people discussed in this book have been later identified as or speculated as having had autism/AS. People described include: Oliver Heaviside, Nikola Tesla, Samuel Johnson (scientific consensus is that he had Tourette syndrome), Richard Kirwan, Henry Cavendish, Francis Galton, Geoffrey N. Pyke (may have had temporal lobe epilepsy), Theodore Kaczynski (the Unabomber, formally diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic), Einstein, Paul Erdos, Richard Feynman (had synaesthesia), Charles Darwin, Howard Hughes, Edward Leedskalnin, William Harvey, Isaac Newton]
Press, Clare (2009) Those most peculiar people: in praise of eccentricity. The Monthly. March 2009 p. 42-47.
[mostly about eccentrics in the arts and fashion, Andy Warhol and Bertrand Russell mentioned, but no mention of AS or autism]
Robson, David (2009) Genetic roots of synaesthesia unearthed. New Scientist. February 5th 2009.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16537-genetic-roots-of-synaesthesia-unearthed.html
Taylor, Andrew (2008) Books that changed the world: the 50 most influential books in human history. Quercus, 2008.
Thomson, Helen (2010) Empathy overkill. New Scientist. Issue 2751 March 13th 2010 p.43-45. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527511.700-we-feel-your-pain-extreme-empaths.html
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/
Wright, Ed (2007) A left-handed history of the world. Pier 9 (Murdoch Books Pty Limited).
[“Left-handers have a disproportionate presence in the history of the world.” Some of the famous people written about in this book include Michelangelo, Newton, Beethoven, Lewis Carroll, Henry Ford, Marie Curie, Alan Turing and Bill Gates. Wright explains the evidence about Beethoven’s handedness on page 108.]
References not yet checked by me
Arshad M., Fitzgerald M. (2004). Michael Ventris: A case of High Functioning Autism? Irish Psychiatrist. 5, 1, 28 – 30.
Fitzgerald M. (2003). Did Bertrand Russell suffer from a neurodevelopmental disorder? Irish Psychiatrist. 4, 5, 171 –178.
Fitzgerald M. (2003). Erik Satie: An autistic musical brain. In: Proceedings of the Social Brain Conference, Goteborg, Sweden, 25th – 27th March, 32.
Fitzgerald M. (2002) Wittgenstein and autism. Times Literary Supplement. August 2nd, 15.
Fitzgerald M. (2001) Was Spinoza autistic? Philosophers Magazine. Spring, 15 – 16.
Fitzgerald M. (2000) Did Bartok have High-Functioning Autism or Asperger’s syndrome? Autism – Europe Link. 29, 21.
Fitzgerald M. (2000) Did Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (Montgomery of Alamein) have Asperger’s syndrome? Indian Journal of Psychiatry. 42, 1, 73 – 76.
Fitzgerald M. (2000). The influence of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Asperger’s syndrome on philosophy in the 20th century. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference
on Philosophy and Psychiatry, Science, and Society, Florence, 26th August, 26.
Fitzgerald M. (2000) Jonathan Swift: victim of Asperger’s syndrome. Canadian Journal of Diagnosis. 31 – 36.
Fitzgerald M. (1999) Did Isaac Newton have Asperger’s Disorder? European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 8, 204.
McElearney C., Fitzgerald M. (2006). Did the Duke of Wellington have Asperger’s syndrome? Irish Psychiatrist. 7, 2, 57 – 60.
The long debate about Mozart and Tourette syndrome: some references
Ashoori, Aidin, Jankovic, Joseph (2007) Mozart’s movements and behaviour: a case of Tourette’s syndrome? Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. 2007.
http://jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/78/11/1171
[argues that the evidence that Mozart had Asperger syndrome, autism, Tourette syndrome and some other neurological and psychiatric conditions is lacking]
Davies, Peter J. (1993) Mozart’s scatological disorder. [letter] British Medical Journal. Vol. 306 number 6876. 20th December 1993. p.521-522.
[can be read through PubMed Central]
Fog R, Regeur L (1983) Did W.A. Mozart suffer from Tourette’s syndrome? World Congress of Psychiatry, Vienna, 1983.
Gunne, L. M. (1991) Hade Mozart Tourettes syndrome. [Did Mozart have Tourette syndrome?] Lakartidningen. December 11th 1991. Vol. 88 number 50. 4325-6.
[article in Swedish]
Heyworth, Martin F. (1993) Mozart’s scatological disorder. [letter] British Medical Journal. Vol. 306 number 6876. 20th December 1993. p.522.
[can be read through PubMed Central]
Karhausen, L. R. (1993) Mozart’s scatological disorder. [letter] British Medical Journal. Vol. 306 number 6876. 20th December 1993. p.522.
[can be read through PubMed Central]
Kammer, T. (2007) Mozart in the neurological department – who has the tic? Bogousslavsky J, Hennerici MG (eds): Neurological Disorders in Famous Artists - Part 2. Frontiers of Neurology and Neuroscience. 2007. vol 22, p. 184-192
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF&ArtikelNr=102880&ProduktNr=232866&filename=102880.pdf
http://www.uni-ulm.de/~tkammer/pdf/Kammer_2007_Mozart_preprint.pdf
[concludes that Mozart’s diagnosis of Tourette’s is implausible]
Sacks, Oliver (1992) Tourette’s syndrome and creativity. British Medical Journal. Vol. 305 number 6868. 19-26 December 1992. p.1515-1516.
[Sacks describes Simkins’ paper in the same issue of BMJ as “at least circumstantial evidence” but then writes that he does not find the case for Mozart having Tourette’s entirely convincing, Sacks claims there are two types of Tourette’s, stereotypical Tourette’s and “phantasmagoric” Tourette’s that can alter a person’s character and creativity, can be read through PubMed Central]
Simkin, Benjamin (2001) Medical and musical byways of Mozartiana. Fithian Press. 2001.
http://www.danielpublishing.com/books/suppl/simkin.html
[a book in which it is argued that Mozart had Tourette syndrome]
Simkin, Benjamin (1999) Was PANDAS Associated with Mozart's Personality Idiosyncrasies? Medical Problems of Performing Artists. volume 14, number 3, September 1999, p. 113.
http://www.sciandmed.com/mppa/journalviewer.aspx?issue=1095&article=1046
Simkin, Benjamin (1992) Mozart’s scatological disorder. British Medical Journal. Vol. 305 number 6868. 19-26 December 1992. p.1563-7.
[a fascinating paper describing Mozart’s hyperactivity, non-stop obsession with music, fascination with nonsense words, scatological letter-writing and Tourette’s symptoms, can be read through PubMed Central]
Details of some authors and sources of references Professor Simon Baron-Cohen
Professor of Developmental Psychopathology in the departments of Psychiatry and Experimental Psychology
University of Cambridge
Co-director of the Autism Research Centre
University of Cambridge
Professor Arthur Caplan
Emanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics
University of Pennsylvania
Director of the Center for Bioethics
University of Pennsylvania
Professor Michael Fitzgerald
Henry Marsh Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Trinity College, Dublin
and also a psychoanalyst with the
International Psychoanalytic Association
[information about his books can be found here:
http://www.professormichaelfitzgerald.eu/books.html]
Professor Morton Ann Gernsbacher
Vilas Research Professor and
Sir Frederic Bartlett Professor of Psychology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
President of the Association for Psychological Science
and mother of a son diagnosed as autistic
Professor Christopher Gillberg
Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden
St George’s Medical College, University of London
Visiting Professor
Universities of Bergen, Odense, New York and San Francisco
Professor Ioan James
Savilian Professor of Geometry
Oxford University
Professor Oliver Sacks MD, FRCP
Professor of Clinical Neurology and Clinical Psychiatry
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia Artist
Columbia University
Neurologist and popular science book author
Note to List Readers
If you notice any inaccuracies, omissions or reference citations that are incorrect or have dead links, please contact me and make a comment. If you are aware of any information about a famous person being on the spectrum that is not cited here, and is published in a reasonably reliable source, please let me know by making a comment.
Link to an Excellent Gateway to “information about historic and living individuals whose personal characteristics are consistent with current definitions of autism and Asperger Syndrome”
Neurodiversity.com
Biographies
http://www.neurodiversity.com/biographies.html
Copyright Lili Marlene 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.
