James Madison's IQ Might Surprise You

Publish date: 2024-05-02

So just how bright was James Madison? According to one researcher, he was tied for second place with Thomas Jefferson on the list of presidents with the highest IQ, or Intelligence Quotient. Dean Simonton, a psychologist from University of California Davis, worked on determining the intelligence of each past president and developing an estimate of each of their IQs. He published his findings in 2006 (posted at JSTOR). He estimated that both Madison and his friend Jefferson probably had an IQ of approximately 160. The pair were only beaten out by John Quincy Adams, who had the highest estimated IQ of a staggering 175.

Madison's IQ is very impressive, especially considering that the average American has an IQ of 100, according to U.S. News & World Report. Anyone with a score above 130 is considered a genius, and a very small fraction of the population — only 3% — gets a score that high. In addition to being one of the smartest presidents, Madison comes first in another presidential category. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, James Madison was the shortest president in history. He stood at only 1.63 meters tall, which is roughly 5 foot 4 inches.

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