Both Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton 'had autism'

LONDON: They were certainly creative geniuses. But what was the common trait in Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton? Well, both had 'autism'.

A leading psychiatrist at Trinity College in Dublin has claimed that both Einstein and Newton displayed signs of autism spectrum disorders, including Asperger syndrome, which were the same as those associated with creative genius.

Einstein, who is credited with developing the theory of relativity, and Newton, who discovered the laws of gravity, had those traits to varying degrees, according to Professor Michael Fitzgerald.

In fact, Newton, he said, was known to work non-stop for three consecutive days without recognising day or night, often forgetting to eat, and Einstein worked in a patent office because he was too disruptive to get a university job.

According to Prof Fitzgerald, other leading figures in the fields of politics, art and literature like Charles de Gaulle, George Orwell, Beethoven, Mozart, Hans Christian Andersen and Immanuel Kant also had autism.

He came to the conclusion after comparing the characteristics of around 1,600 people he has diagnosed with ASDs and the known biographical details of famous people.