Birth Order

The impact on a child’s personality of the order of birth has intrigued psychologists since the early twentieth century, and over two thousand studies have been published on the subject. Historian Frank Sulloway says it is only natural that he has spent twenty-four years plotting to overthrow the reigning ideas in his field. After all, he’s a later-born.

Based on a massive statistical analysis of many of those who shaped the past, Dr. Sulloway has detected a grand pattern. Later-borns are more open-minded than firstborns. They are “born to rebel,” take risks and explode accepted wisdom.

Charles Darwin, Igor Stravinsky and Rachel Carson were later-borns. So was Victorian novelist George Eliot, who renounced religion and lived adulterously with her married mentor. Some others: Marx, Lenin, Castro, Ho Chi Minh, Ralph Nader, Marlon Brando, Anita Hill, and Bill Gates. Firstborns tend to stiffly support the status quo.

They are status-conscious and often emerge as leaders. But when faced with revolutionary change, they try to slam on the brakes.

John Adams, Calvin Coolidge, and Ayn Rand were firstborns. So are Chief Justice William Rehnquist and radio host Rush Limbaugh.