Mensa Welcomes Toddler as Youngest-Ever Member
- Editor OGN Daily
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
A 2-year-old British boy has become the youngest ever member of Mensa, the exclusive club that only welcomes people with an IQ of 132 or above.
Guinness World Records has revealed that Joseph Harris-Birtill, born on 23 November 2021, was admitted to the organization at the age of just 2 years and 182 days. "It soon became clear that he was an exceptional little being," Harris-Birtill's mother Rose told Guinness World Records. "He first rolled over at five weeks, said his first word at seven months, and read his first book out loud from cover to cover at one-and-three-quarter years."
"He's learning morse code, knows the Greek alphabet, and has recently become interested in the periodic table," his mother said. "His interests are vast and varied, and he is always keen to learn more and loves a challenge."
Joseph's parents are both academics. David is a Senior Lecturer at the University of St Andrews and Rose is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the same university and Editorial Director at the Open Library of Humanities, an academic publisher based at the University of London. They told Guinness World Records they first decided to reach out to Mensa to find more support for Joseph after seeing how early he'd started reading.
Rose said she hoped sharing her son's story would help raise awareness about the unique needs of children like her son. "It is a common misconception that everything is super easy for gifted children. But everyone needs appropriate stimulation and understanding throughout their lives, and highly able learners can sadly have their unique talents dimmed by the pressure to fit into environments that simply haven't been properly designed for them," she told Guinness World Records. "Joseph is fortunate enough to attend a brilliant nursery and has an excellent music teacher, and in Mensa we hope to provide him with a community of peers as a source of further support as his formidable intellect continues to grow and develop."
