logo
Funeral of Pope Francis begins with world leaders among thousands gathering

Funeral of Pope Francis begins with world leaders among thousands gathering

CNN26-04-2025
Update:
Date: 2 min ago
Title: Book of the Gospels placed on Pope Francis' coffin
Content:
An open Book of the Gospels has been placed on top of Pope Francis' closed coffin.
A sign of the times, the majority of the crowd raise cellphones above their heads as the service begins.
Update:
Date: 2 min ago
Title: Cardinals funnel out of St. Peter's Basilica
Content:
The College of Cardinals are proceeding out of the basilica into St. Peter's Square.
They are walking in order of seniority, preceded by an ornate Book of the Gospels, and will kiss the altar before going to their seats.
The last person to enter the square will be the Celebrant, Cardinal Giovanni Re.
Update:
Date: 9 min ago
Title: Funeral service opens with introductory rites
Content:
The funeral of Pope Francis has begun with an antiphon – a short musical chant – and psalm. Like most of the service today, the text is in Latin.
'Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei,' sung the choir and congregation. (Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.)
The Sistine Chapel Choir – the prestigious group of 20 men and 30 or so boys who are the pope's personal choir – intones Psalm 64: 'Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion; et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem.' (Praise is due to you in Zion, O God. To you we pay our vows in Jerusalem.)
Update:
Date: 7 min ago
Title: Pope Francis' coffin is being moved out to St. Peter's Square
Content:
After lying in state in St. Peter's Basilica for three days, the coffin of Pope Francis is being carried out into the piazza outside.
The coffin, preceded by a plain Book of the Gospels, is being carried through the Holy Door of the basilica into the square. The coffin is being carried by the Gentlemen of His Holiness – butlers or valets to the pope.
The service will begin shortly.
Update:
Date: 11 min ago
Title: Crowd applauds Zelensky as he enters St. Peter's Square
Content:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just left St. Peter's Basilica and entered the square. The crowd, mostly hushed until now, just broke into applause.
Update:
Date: 15 min ago
Title: A more diverse crowd than the last papal funeral
Content:
Looking around, it's clear this is a much more global crowd than we've seen at papal funerals.
I was here for the funeral of John Paul II, and the crowd here today is much more diverse than back then. It's striking just how many people have come from all parts of the world. I'm seeing people from Indonesia, US, the Philippines, France, they've just come from everywhere.
There really has been a massive turn out for this funeral. We were here at 4.30 a.m., and people were already approaching St. Peter's Square. Once the police opened the barriers, people just ran up the boulevard to get as close as possible to the square.
Update:
Date: 16 min ago
Title: Bells toll in St. Peter's Square as world leaders take their seats
Content:
The bells of St. Peter's Basilica are tolling slowly as the congregation begins to take their seats. A hush has fallen over the square, where some 250,000 people have gathered.
More than 50 heads of state are attending today's funeral. We've seen many of them already, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a Catholic who had a close relationship with Pope Francis. US President Donald Trump has made his way to his seat.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also just paid his respects to Francis' coffin in the basilica, which will soon be carried into St. Peter's Square.
Update:
Date: 14 min ago
Title: Pope Francis' funeral is the first foreign trip of Trump's second term
Content:
We've just had our first sight of US President Donald Trump. He'll be sitting with First Lady Melania Trump, as well as former President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden.
Today's funeral marks Trump's first foreign trip since returning to the White House.
Before Pope Francis' death, Trump's first overseas visit was set to be to Saudi Arabia in May. But hours after the pope's death was announced, Trump ordered flags across the US to be flown at half-staff 'as a mark of respect for the memory of His Holiness Pope Francis.'
'Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there!' Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday.
In December, Trump – then the president-elect – attended the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which marked his unofficial return to the international stage ahead of his inauguration.
His presence in Rome today could offer a rare opportunity for world leaders to engage with Trump in person, as countries around the world grapple with the fallout from the US president's punishing tariffs.
'It's going to be very interesting,' Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday before he traveled to Rome. 'We're going to meet with a lot of the foreign leaders – they want to meet.'
Hours after the pope's death was announced Monday, Trump ordered flags across the US to be flown at half-staff 'as a mark of respect for the memory of His Holiness Pope Francis.'
Update:
Date: 28 min ago
Title: US President Trump arrives at St. Peter's Square
Content:
US President Donald Trump has arrived at St. Peter's Square alongside First Lady Melania Trump.
The funeral for Pope Francis is set to begin at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET).
Update:
Date: 22 min ago
Title: Young mourners camp overnight ahead of Francis' funeral
Content:
Many of those here today opted to camp out on the street overnight in order to secure a good spot for Pope Francis' funeral. Among them, Sophia Amato, who arrived three hours ago, huddled with sleeping bags and blankets to keep warm.
'It was so important for us to say goodbye. He was so important to us. He was a pope of the young. He was a pope of the poor he was a pope of ordinary people we drove from southern Italy to get here,' she told CNN.
We camped at night just outside the square and then three hours ago we came in to get this spot in the front.'
Update:
Date: 35 min ago
Title: How did Pope Francis simplify his funeral and burial?
Content:
Francis – who chose his papal name after Francis of Assisi, the Italian saint who renounced his family wealth and championed the poor – took steps while he was alive to simplify the rites around his death to make them more 'down to earth.'
The Vatican said the funeral will follow the rites laid out in the 'Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis.' This liturgical book, detailing the procedures following the death of a pope, was published in 2000 and revised by Francis last year.
Some of those revisions have already been on display. Unlike after previous papal deaths, Francis' body was placed immediately inside his coffin, which has been left open to allow people to pay their respects.
Diego Ravelli, master of apostolic ceremonies, said Francis had sought to 'simplify and adapt' the rituals, so that the papal funeral is 'that of a pastor and disciple of Christ, and not of a powerful person in this world.'
Elise Allen, CNN's Vatican analyst, said Francis, the first Argentine pontiff, was the 'pope of simplicity.'
'He lived that way in Buenos Aires, and he tried to bring that into the papacy and the way that he lived as pope because that's something he wanted for the church itself – to be more simple, to be more in contact with reality, with the lives of people around,' Allen said.
In his will, Francis gave simple instructions for his burial: 'The tomb should be in the ground; simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus.'
Rather than the splendor of the Vatican, Francis has opted to be buried in Rome's Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. He will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.
Update:
Date: 40 min ago
Title: Nuns and other mourners sprinted into the Vatican when its gates opened earlier
Content:
When the Vatican's gates opened to the public at 6 a.m. local time (12 a.m. ET), crowds of nuns and other faithful raced up the road leading to St. Peter's Square, hoping to get the best possible view of the pope's funeral.
As the square filled up, police asked people not to run.
'The crowd control is very good,' said José Antonieta, who travelled from Scotland with his daughter. They walked to the gates of the square at 6 a.m. and nearly three hours later were close to the entrance of the colonnade.
Antonieta, draped in the flag of his native Venezuela, said they feel 'blessed' to be here after narrowly missing the pope's lying in state on Friday.
The Vatican has prepared for as many as 250,000 people to flock to St. Peter's Square and 1 million more to line the 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) procession route from the Vatican City through Rome to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, in hopes of seeing the pope's modest coffin as it travels to his final resting place.
More large viewing screens have been set up in the square and the road leading to it. Nearby piazzas in Rome have also been equipped with TVs, as large crowds descended on the area.
And many more of world's 1.4 billion Catholics are expected to watch the funeral broadcast from home.
Update:
Date: 49 min ago
Title: It's set to be a warm, clear day in Rome
Content:
Rome has had glorious sunshine all week, and Saturday is set to be more of the same.
After starting at a low of 11°C (52°F) early this morning, temperatures are forecast to reach 16°C (60°F) by the time the service starts at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET).
In the afternoon – when Pope Francis' body will be transferred from the Vatican to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome – temperatures are set to reach a high of 22°C (72°F).
No rain is expected, but there may be some clouds in the afternoon.
Update:
Date: 56 min ago
Title: Young Italian students spent the night in a church to get a good spot this morning
Content:
It's striking how many young people there are in St. Peter's Square this morning.
CNN spoke to a group of students from southern Italy on Saturday who said they'd spent last night in sleeping bags in a nearby church so they could get to the Vatican as early as possible.
Pope Francis' legacy also clearly resonates with people who don't consider themselves Catholics, or even Christians.
'I'm not especially religious, but he seemed to have been such a humble person who looked after the poor and actually lived proper Christian beliefs,' one mourner told CNN.
'He didn't go in for all the pomp and circumstance. He wanted a humble funeral, he wanted his last resting place to be in a more humble place than here,' she added.
Update:
Date: 1 hr 4 min ago
Title: What to expect on Saturday as the Pope makes his journey to his final resting place
Content:
Under the meticulously planned arrangements for the Pope's funeral, the ceremony will take place mostly at the Vatican, before Francis' body is taken across the River Tiber for burial in a Rome basilica.
Here's a rundown of what we're expecting with just under an hour to go:
Update:
Date: 1 hr 16 min ago
Title: Former US President Biden arrives at St. Peter's Square
Content:
Former US President Joe Biden has arrived at St. Peter's Square alongside his wife Jill Biden.
Pope Francis' funeral will begin in just under an hour. Biden will sit with the rest of the delegation from United States, including current US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
As delegations will be sat in alphabetical order in French, those in the US delegation - known as 'États-Unis' - will be placed near those representing Estonia and Finland.
Update:
Date: 1 hr 20 min ago
Title: Who's coming to the funeral?
Content:
A total of 130 delegations including 55 heads of state, 14 heads of government and 12 reigning monarchs will be in attendance, the Vatican has said.
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are among the major European leaders who will attend.
US President Donald Trump is also going.
Britain's Prince William, next in line to the throne, is among the world's royals attending. King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain are going.
As well as a string of world and religious leaders, at least tens of thousands of members of the public are expected to be in St. Peter's Square. About 50,000 people came to Pope Benedict XVI's funeral in 2023, while around 300,000 attended Pope John Paul II's in 2005.
And to cover the event, more than 4,000 journalists have requested accreditation from the Holy See, Vatican media reported.
Update:
Date: 1 hr 10 min ago
Title: Here are three things to look out for during today's service
Content:
St. Peter's Square in the Vatican is starting to fill with mourners, and the choir is practising the hymns it will soon sing to the world.
What's struck me is how many young people there are in the crowd – a testament to Pope Francis' wide appeal.
The service is set to start in a little over an hour. Here's what to look out for.
First is the placing of a Book of the Gospels on Francis' coffin. The Gospels recount the life and teachings of Jesus Christ – something Pope Francis strove to follow throughout his life.
Second is that papal funerals bring together world leaders like no other event. The dozens of leaders gathered here today will sit in alphabetical order of their nations – in French, the traditional language of diplomacy.
This means US President Donald Trump will be sat between the leaders of Estonia and Finland, since the US is 'États-Unis' in French. The leaders of Italy – the host nation – and Argentina – Francis' birthplace – will, however, have pride of place.
The third thing to look for will be Francis' procession from the Vatican to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. As pope, Francis left the Vatican often, traveling to the margins and peripheries of the globe. It's fitting that he'll make one last journey outside the walls of the Vatican.
Update:
Date: 1 hr 38 min ago
Title: What's happened since Francis' death?
Content:
Francis died at 7.35 a.m. Easter Monday, on the second floor of his papal residence in the Vatican. Throughout his 12-year papacy, Francis chose not to live in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, but in its guesthouse, Casa Santa Marta – in a gesture of humility that would characterize his pontificate.
Francis' body was placed in an open coffin and taken to the chapel in Casa Santa Marta on Monday evening. That night, Cardinal Kevin Farrell – the 'camerlengo' tasked with planning the papal funeral and conclave – certified Francis' death and sealed his papal apartment in his residence. The room will remain sealed until a successor is chosen.
On Wednesday morning, the camerlengo held a brief service in the chapel before Francis' body was transferred to St. Peter's Basilica through Piazza Santa Marta and the Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani, passing through the Arch of the Bells and into St. Peter's Square, before entering through the basilica's central door.
Bells tolled slowly as the coffin entered the basilica at 9.30 a.m. local time, while mourners in the piazza outside broke into applause.
Following a brief service in the basilica, Pope Francis' body has been lying in state in an open coffin. Tens of thousands of mourners visited his body before Farrell presided over the Rite of Sealing of the Coffin on Friday evening, and the doors of the basilica closed to the public.
Update:
Date: 1 hr 43 min ago
Title: In pictures: Crowds gather in St. Peter's Square before Pope Francis' funeral
Content:
Crowds of mourners have gathered in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, where the funeral for Pope Francis will begin in less than two hours' time.
The Vatican says up to a quarter of a million people could flock to the square and a million more line the route through Rome.
Update:
Date: 1 hr 31 min ago
Title: Ukraine's Zelensky arrives in Rome for funeral
Content:
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Rome to attend Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday, Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform reported.
The leader arrived alongside Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska and the rest of Ukraine's delegation, the agency said.
Zelensky had said Friday that he will travel to the Vatican for the funeral if he can make it in time to attend, after numerous meetings related to the three-year war between his country and Russia.
Zelensky and Ukraine's European partners are currently seeking to sketch out a vision of a potential deal to end the war, as parallel talks take place between the United States and Moscow.
Update:
Date: 2 hr 19 min ago
Title: The Catholic world prepares to bid farewell to Pope Francis
Content:
Six days ago, Pope Francis appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to give his Easter Sunday blessing. Thousands had gathered in the square below to witness the pope's first major public appearance since his bout of double pneumonia, which had hospitalized him for weeks.
Hours after his appearance, early on Easter Monday, Francis died of a stroke and heart failure at his Vatican residence. He was 88.
Since then, tens of thousands of pilgrims have passed through the doors of St. Peter's Basilica to pay their respects to Pope Francis, whose body has been lying in state since Wednesday.
Today, scores of political and religious leaders – as well as thousands of pilgrims – will gather at the Vatican to bid farewell to Francis.
The bulk of the service – which Francis took steps to 'simplify' while he was alive – will take place in St. Peter's Square. Later, his body will be taken across the River Tiber to be buried in a tomb in Rome's Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. Francis will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in over a century.
The funeral begins at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET). Stay with us as we bring you coverage from St. Peter's Square.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Hearts Melt Over How One Pup Brought Into Litter Is 'Not Like the Others'
Hearts Melt Over How One Pup Brought Into Litter Is 'Not Like the Others'

Newsweek

time2 days ago

  • Newsweek

Hearts Melt Over How One Pup Brought Into Litter Is 'Not Like the Others'

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The internet has fallen head over paws for a puppy who looks a bit different from the rest of the litter. Jen Francis of Eagleridge Goldens in Florida told Newsweek via email that one of her dogs had a singleton pup. This means a litter of only one puppy. While a one-pup litter is not inherently bad, it does present its fair share of challenges. The mothers of a singleton pup may either overproduce milk or under-lactate, an article from Revival Animal Health said. Plus, the single puppy will not have the support of littermates during nursing, which causes them to use extra energy to latch and stay warm. These pups might also experience behavioral issues, including the risk of being spoiled and poor socialization. Knowing these possibilities, Francis always incorporates the single puppy into another litter. She recently did this with a singleton named Winston. And while Winston joined another litter of golden retrievers, Francis noticed he was "not like the others" despite being the same dog breed. Screenshots from a June 11 Instagram video of a breeder asking people to spot the odd puppy out in a litter of golden retrievers. Screenshots from a June 11 Instagram video of a breeder asking people to spot the odd puppy out in a litter of golden retrievers. @eagleridgegoldens/Instagram In a June 11 Instagram video, posted to the account @eagleridgegoldens, Francis zoomed in on the puppies, hoping viewers could spot the odd pup out. Winston's much larger and chunkier head was impossible to miss, earning himself the nickname of "Chooch." Thankfully, Winston didn't seem to mind his bigger size. He threw himself right into the mix. He loved being surrounded by all the other puppies. Francis said Winston joined the other litter when they were about 4 weeks old, right around the time they started eating mush and began weaning off their mother. "We never leave the pups alone so whenever we took mama out, we would put him in with them," she said. She added that it is easy to introduce a singleton pup to another litter. Because of their young age, they adapt quickly. They all play, eat and nap together. Winston wasted no time in getting to know his step-siblings, joining the "puppy puddle" snuggle session. As of Friday, the Instagram video reached over 1.5 million views, as people obsessed over Winston. "Ohhh I am dyyying !! He's the most adorable fluffy potato chonk," commented one viewer. Another added: "They're so darn cute!" But despite the size difference now, Francis shared in the caption that all these golden retrievers will be about the same size as adults: Males reach about 65 to 75 pounds, while females are a bit smaller at 55 to 65 pounds. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

Margo Hall, first woman principal at Leon High, leaves vibrant legacy
Margo Hall, first woman principal at Leon High, leaves vibrant legacy

Yahoo

time2 days ago

  • Yahoo

Margo Hall, first woman principal at Leon High, leaves vibrant legacy

Margo Hall, the energetic Latin teacher to Tallahassee, and the first ever woman principal at Leon High School died Aug. 1 at age 84. Hall taught Latin at Godby, Lincoln, Leon and Trinity Catholic, and was principal at Leon from 2001-2005. A vivacious phenomenon, Hall was many times an educational award-winner, as well as wife, mother, and scholastic inspiration to a generation of Tallahassee young people. Michael Hall, her youngest son, spoke with the Tallahassee Democrat from his home in California about the legacy his mother left, and about the many students who unexpectedly found life lessons that he himself carries forward in Hall's disciplined yet passionate love of Latin. 'My mother was an engine of action,' he said. 'She has always been my hero, my idol. She had a mantra that she lived by and imparted. It goes: ' 'Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can.' ' Hall says he doesn't believe she ever let go of that dedication. Margaret O'Conner Hall was born in Jacksonville. Along with her mother, an anesthesiologist, and father, a psychiatrist and surgeon, and three little brothers, the family moved to Chattahoochee. Hall attended a Catholic girl's school in Louisiana, and went on to Barry College in Miami Shores, where on a full scholarship she majored in English, Latin, and history, graduating summa cum laude, as president of her class. Hall went on to earn her Master's degree from Florida State University in Latin, and to wed a young Air Force captain. Moving to four different states and beginning their family, Hall lived the life of a devoted wife and mother until the family's return to Tallahassee in 1971. And then, using her 'Latin' credentials, Hall began what would become a 44-year commitment to essentially every high school in the city of Tallahassee, where she went from teaching Latin part-time to becoming Dean of Students, Assistant Principal, Principal, Leon County Interim Executive Director for Special Programs, and finally, becoming one of the driving forces for and the Assistant Principal of St. John Paul II High School. In her early days in Tallahassee, always committed to her growing family, Hall taught Latin students at Godby High School for 10 years, then part-time at Godby and Lincoln High School at the same time. From 1980 until 1994, she became Leon High's full-time Latin teacher, tutoring at Trinity Catholic School on the side. She remained at Leon to become the Dean of Students in 1994, then Lincoln's Assistant Principal in 1997 for the next four years. Hall returned to Leon High as Principal from 2001-2005, then after serving with the County, she worked as Assistant Principal until her retirement in 2015 at St. John Paul II High School. Suggesting some of the spontaneity and personality that drew people to Hall, a colleague and admirer had written in a recommendation letter that: 'Margo sparkles. She is so full of vitality, of energy, of enthusiasm that one cannot help but feel that way too. When Margo steps into a classroom, it immediately becomes a more interesting place to be.' And the plaudits and responsibilities began to accumulate: Outstanding Teacher from Florida, The Education Committee of the States, 1987; Florida Teacher of the Year Finalist, Florida Foreign Language Association, 1989; sponsor of the student Latin club, Rebus Ghestis. Chairman, Leon County Language Teachers Association. She became President of the Junior League; was on the Governor's Council for Juvenile Justice; a member of the Tallahassee Garden Club, on the Boards of Blessed Sacrament and St. Thomas Moore congregations; a Board Member of Goodwood Museum; and on Board of Directors of the Tallahassee Junior Museum. Her son, Michael, who had her as his Latin teacher when he attended Leon High, said, 'I had to be kept in line, it's true, but her work ethic and study habits transferred to me.' He would go on to spend several years teaching Latin at Maclay School. Yet what he remembers most is Margo's brilliant smile, her generous heart, and the little details of her life after retirement in 2018: 'It was fun watching her devour her historical fiction,' he said. 'How she loved the beach and traveling in the mountains, wandering old pottery shops, and soft music.' And he suspects there are hundreds of former students who may love those things too, but who are also fascinated by languages and who always turn their work in early — all as a result of a semester spent with Margo Hall. A rosary service is planned for 1-1:30 p.m. Aug. 23 with a funeral mass to follow at the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Margo Hall, former Leon principal and Latin teacher, dies at 84 Solve the daily Crossword

The Centuries-Old Quest for 'Genius'
The Centuries-Old Quest for 'Genius'

Atlantic

time3 days ago

  • Atlantic

The Centuries-Old Quest for 'Genius'

This is an edition of Time-Travel Thursdays, a journey through The Atlantic 's archives to contextualize the present. Sign up here. 'When Paul Morphy plays seven games of chess at once and blindfold, when young Colburn gives impromptu solution to a mathematical problem involving fifty-six figures, we are struck with hopeless wonder,' J. Brownlee Brown wrote in 1864. His Atlantic article had a simple headline: 'Genius.' Only seven years after the founding of this magazine, its writers were already addressing one of the greatest questions of the 19th century: How should we define genius, that everyday word we use to denote the extraordinary? Brown's two geniuses are largely forgotten today. Morphy was a chess wizard from New Orleans who grew tired of the game and gave up playing seriously at just 22. He reportedly died in his bath at age 47. Zerah Colburn's story is even more tragic: As a child, he wasn't thought to be particularly gifted until his father overheard him repeating multiplication tables after only a few weeks' schooling. The little boy from Vermont was then dragged around Europe as a 'mental calculator,' ruling on whether large numbers were primes or not, and sent to an expensive school thanks to the patronage of an earl. But like many child prodigies, his adult life was a comparative disappointment. He died of tuberculosis at 34. While researching my new book, The Genius Myth, I spent a lot of time exploring how we tell stories of exceptional achievement, and what the changing definition of genius reveals about the history of Western thought. The word itself comes from Latin, where it was used to mean a person's spirit—the inner essence that gave them their unique characteristics. 'Every man, says the oracle, has his daemon, whom he is bound to obey; those who implicitly follow that guidance are the prophetic souls, the favorites of the gods,' Frederic Henry Hodge wrote in The Atlantic in 1868. 'It is this involuntary, incalculable force that constitutes what we call genius.' Well into the 20th century, The Atlantic used this older definition, writing about people who possessed a genius, rather than those who were one. Individuals whom this magazine has described as being or having a genius include Richard Strauss, Leo Tolstoy, George Gershwin, Cormac McCarthy, Alice Munro, and Edith Wharton, that last accolade having been delivered by Gore Vidal. Oh, plus the 23-year-old hockey player Bobby Orr, the children's cartoon Rugrats, and the shopping channel QVC. This proclamation makes for great copy, because it is deeply subjective. Christopher Hitchens was prepared to call the poet Ezra Pound a genius, but not the acclaimed mystery author Dorothy L. Sayers, whose work he dismissed as 'dismal pulp.' (I know whose work I would rather read.) In 1902, a female writer for this magazine airily declared that there were no great women writers to compare with Juvenal, Euripides, and Milton. 'George Eliot had a vein of excellent humor, but she never shares it with her heroes,' argued Ellen Duvall, adding that Jane Austen's male heroes were 'as solemn as Minerva's owl.' The science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke once wrote that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Something similar is true of geniuses. An earlier age would have attributed Paul Morphy and Zerah Colburn's gifts to divine providence, but in the more secular 19th-century America, another explanation was needed. 'We seek in vain for the secret of this mastery,' wrote Brown of his subjects. 'It is private,—as deeply hidden from those who have as from those who have it not.' For the genius-hunters, one encouraging source for exceptional talent was inheritance. At the time Brown was writing about Morphy and Colburn, academics throughout the Western world were wrestling with the theory of evolution by natural selection, proposed by Charles Darwin only six years earlier. The study of what would later be called genetics promised new methods of understanding genius, that quicksilver quality that seemed so resistant to explanation. The first edition of Hereditary Genius, by Darwin's half-cousin Francis Galton, was published in America in 1870. Galton's work aimed to classify all men into lettered bands, depending on their mental faculties and lifetime achievements. The Atlantic reviewed Hereditary Genius that year, noting that the difference between the men in the upper part of Galton's highest band and those in his lowest band 'represents the difference between Shakespeare and the most degraded idiot mentioned in medical literature.' This was a coldly rational view of genius—more scientific in appearance, but also less humane. Galton went on to coin the term eugenics. His unpublished utopian novel, The Eugenic College of Kantsaywhere, imagined a world where people were allowed to marry only after extensive tests of their fitness to reproduce, and where those who failed were shipped off to labor colonies. Thanks to the popularity of eugenics at the time, what started as an attempt to identify geniuses eventually led the U.S. Supreme Court to justify the forced sterilization of the 'feeble minded' in Buck v. Bell in 1927. Thousands of Americans were subsequently denied the right to have children—an idea that also took hold in Nazi Germany, where an estimated 400,000 people were sterilized under the Hitler regime in the name of 'racial hygiene.' From the start, Galton's ideas about genius were presented in explicitly racial terms: He believed that Europeans were intellectually superior to Africans, and that ancient Athenians were superior to both. The Atlantic, a proudly abolitionist magazine, ran an article that contested this bigotry. In 1893, Havelock Ellis argued that many in the contemporary canon of geniuses had mixed ancestry, from what he called the 'negro blood' that was 'easy to trace in the face of Alexandre Dumas, in certain respects, to the Iroquois blood in Flaubert.' The popular novelist Olive Schreiner's heritage was 'German, English, and Jewish,' Ellis observed, while Thomas Hardy believed his paternal great-grandmother to have been Irish. (Neither Jews nor Irish people would have been considered white, according to popular beliefs of the time.) Today, most modern geneticists acknowledge that intelligence is partially heritable—it can be passed down by parents—but that does not account for the making of a genius. 'We can no more produce a whole race of Newtons and Shakespeares than we can produce perpetual motion,' the anonymous author of the Hereditary Genius review wrote in 1870. A 'genius' can pass on some of their genes, but not their personality—nor the social conditions in which their success happened. That matters. While talking about my book, I've found that acknowledging the role of luck in success makes some people nervous. They think that any discussion of broader historical forces is a covert attempt to debunk or downplay the importance of individual talent or hard work. But even 19th-century Atlantic writers could see the importance of good timing. 'A given genius may come either too early or too late,' William James wrote in 1880. 'Cromwell and Napoleon need their revolutions, Grant his civil war. An Ajax gets no fame in the day of telescopic-sighted rifles.' As we get closer to the present, a note of sarcasm creeps into the word's usage: In the 2000s, the writer Megan McArdle used the recurrent headline 'Sheer Genius' for columns on businesses making terrible errors. But she was far from the first Atlantic writer to use the word sardonically. One of my favorite essays on genius from the archives is a satirical squib from 1900, which masquerades as an ad for a Genius Discovery Company. 'This country needs more geniuses,' the anonymous author wrote. 'Everybody knows it. Everybody admits it. Everybody laments it.' The article urged any reader who wondered whether they might be a genius to write in, enclosing a five-dollar fee, 'and we will tell you the truth by return mail.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store