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Atlas/Presidents/James A. Garfield
Official measure

James Garfield’s IQ

James A. Garfield served as the 20th president of the United States (1881). Simonton 2006 Table 1 column II-C (2C) estimates 152; that is a historiometric model, not an administered IQ test.

Direct answer152

Simonton 2006 2C estimate: 152. Historiometric model, not a measured IQ score.

See 152 on the IQ scale
1831–1881
Evidence ledger

What the record supports

Every card keeps the measure, year, method, and limitations attached to the number—or explains why no number is shown.

Historical estimate2006
152estimated IQ points

Simonton 2006 Table 1 II-C (2C) estimate

Table 1 column II-C is 152.3 (displayed as 152). II-C is the ages 18–26 estimate corrected for data reliability. Simonton also reports I-U, I-C, and II-U; those other variants are lower or equal. 2C is still a model, not a test.

Simonton 2006 2C estimate: 152. Historiometric model, not a measured IQ score.
Method and limits

Simonton used expectation-maximization with prior biographical ratings of intellectual brilliance, openness, and the limited Cox retrospective estimates. This atlas ranks and displays column II-C.

  • No administered IQ test underlies this record.
  • The models depend on historical biographical ratings and assumptions about missing values.
  • Displaying 2C as one number is a ranking convention, not proof of a test result.
  • II-C is the most generous of the four variants; the lower variants would produce a lower or equal estimate.

Uncertainty: 2C is one of four published model variants, not a confidence interval or an administered test score.

Full evidence investigations
Evidence trail

Why this page exists

James A. Garfield is a high-demand presidential IQ search. The first useful answer is the published 2C integer (152), then the method that produced it, then what it is not.

  1. Start with the 2C number. On the ranking used here, James A. Garfield’s Simonton 2006 2C estimate is 152. Chester A. Arthur is also 152.3 in the same column; both display as 152.
  2. It is not a test result. No WAIS, Stanford–Binet, or school score report is attached to this figure. 2C is reconstructed from biographical ratings and earlier Cox-style estimates.
  3. Where 152 sits on the list. Sorted by 2C, Garfield is below Theodore Roosevelt (153) and Woodrow Wilson (155) and above Abraham Lincoln (150). Open the presidents list sorted highest to lowest to see the full 42.

Conclusion. Simonton 2006 Table 1 II-C estimates 152.3, displayed as 152. It is a historiometric 2C value, not an administered IQ test.

Where 152 sits on the IQ scale

This is the same mean-100, SD-15 model used on the homepage. It explains the integer. It does not turn 2C into a WAIS result.

Explore IQ 152 on the interactive bell curve · Presidents sorted highest to lowest.

Questions this page answers

What was Garfield's IQ?
This atlas displays 152 from Simonton 2006 Table 1 column II-C (2C). It is a historiometric estimate, not an administered IQ test.
Is that a real IQ test?
No. Simonton reconstructed estimates from biographical ratings and earlier Cox-style figures. There is no public WAIS or Stanford–Binet protocol for this number.
Why show one number instead of a range?
The paper publishes four variants. IQ Caddy ranks and displays II-C so the list can be sorted highest to lowest, with the Estimate badge attached.

Related investigation: James Garfield’s IQ: the Simonton 2006 2C number.