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Everyone has heard stories about Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg dropping out of university to become two of the world’s wealthiest people. Still, many other successful people did not even make it that far, dropped out of school, and could not do well in their studies, even though they became famous personalities. Read this blog to learn more about famous people who were not good at their studies.
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Famous People Who Were Not Good at Studies
Here are the names of a few famous people who were not good in their studies but didn’t let this come their way:
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein is one of the most famous and well-known scientists and geniuses but it is believed he had bad grades during his school days and dropped out of school when he was just 15 years old. Before he pursued his PhD, he was a normal clerk, but because of his intelligence, he made important discoveries in the physics field.
| Feature | Details |
| Born | March 14, 1879, Ulm, Württemberg, Germany |
| Died | April 18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, USA |
| Nationality | German-born Swiss-American |
| Field | Theoretical Physics |
| Known for | Theory of Relativity, Photoelectric Effect, E=mc² |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Physics (1921), Time Person of the Century (1999) |
| Education | Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich |
| Career Highlights | Worked at the Swiss Patent Office, Professor at various universities, and Emigration to the USA during World War II |
| Legacy | Considered one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century, revolutionized understanding of space, time, gravity, and energy |
Steve Jobs
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Source: The Verge
Steve Jobs was the co-founder of Apple Inc. and was also considered the pioneer of the microcomputer revolution during the 1970s and 1980s. Steve Jobs was a school dropout, but because of his entrepreneurial skills and his love for technology, he was able to invent several products for Apple, like the Macintosh computer and iPad.
| Feature | Details |
| Born | February 24, 1955, San Francisco, California, USA |
| Died | October 5, 2011, Palo Alto, California, USA |
| Known for | Co-founding Apple, CEO of Apple and Pixar |
| Field | Business, Technology, Design |
| Impact | Revolutionized personal computing, digital music, and animation |
Also Read – 50 Inspiring & Great Personalities of India and the World!
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens is one of the most influential and well-known academic writers of all time, Even though he was considered the master of words, it is believed that he had very little formal education. He dropped out of school to support his family, which was poverty-stricken but he never left his passion for reading and literature, which made him successful in the following years.
| Feature | Details |
| Born | February 7, 1812, Portsmouth, England |
| Died | June 9, 1870, Kent, England |
| Known for | Novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol |
| Field | Novelist, Journalist, Social Critic |
| Impact | Master of Victorian literature, influential social reformer |
John Travolta
John Travolta is one of the most influential and talented actors that Hollywood has ever seen and produced. He is known for his acting skills in movies like “Saturday Night Fever” and “Grease”, but he dropped out of school when he was just 17 years old and moved to New York to start a career in acting.
| Feature | Details |
| Known for | Actor, Dancer |
| Famous Roles | Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Pulp Fiction |
| Impact | Cultural icon of the 1970s, versatile actor |
Also Read – 7 Famous Personalities Who Failed Before Success
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling is a successful actor and is well known but he has a medical condition known as dyslexia because of which he struggled in school he eventually learned to read and write and never gave up on his dream of becoming an actor and he also believes that it is because of the medical conditions that made him the creative person he is.
| Feature | Details |
| Known for | Actor, Musician |
| Famous Roles | The Notebook, Drive, La La Land, Barbie |
| Impact | A versatile actor known for dramatic and musical roles |
Robert Downey Junior
Robert Downey Junior, despite being the face of major Marvel movies such as Iron Man and ruling the hearts of millions of fans all over the world, had to face a lot of challenges and is one famous personality who was not good in studies. During his school time, he was kicked out of several schools because of his bad grades and he also served time in jail before becoming a revolutionary actor and a face that everyone knows.
| Feature | Details |
| Known for | Actor, Producer |
| Famous Roles | Iron Man (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Sherlock Holmes |
| Impact | Hollywood A-lister, known for comedic timing and action roles |
Also Read – 11+ Famous Personalities from India Who Studied Abroad
John D Rockefeller
John D Rockefeller is known for his contributions to the oil industry and also to the banking field and charitable causes, he is recognized as one of the wealthiest Americans to ever exist, but it is believed that he is one of the few wealthy people who failed school and dropped out of high school just after one year. Even after all of this, he never gave up and established Standard Oil, which made him and his family rich.
| Feature | Details |
| Born | July 8, 1839, Richford, New York, USA |
| Died | May 23, 1937, Ormond Beach, Florida, USA |
| Known For | Founding Standard Oil, becoming one of the world’s first billionaires |
| Industry | Oil |
| Legacy | Controversial figure for business practices, but also a major philanthropist |
FAQs
Yes, Albert Einstein had poor grades and dropped out of school at 15. Despite this, he made groundbreaking contributions to physics.
Steve Jobs dropped out of college and founded Apple Inc. His lack of formal education didn’t stop him from revolutionizing technology and design.
John D. Rockefeller dropped out of high school after one year but went on to create Standard Oil and became one of the wealthiest individuals in history.
Read some more interesting blogs :
| Who is Dutee Chand? | Biography Of Kapil Dev |
| Babita Kumari | Biography of Koneru Humpy |
| Biography of MS Dhoni | Major Dhyan Chand |
This was all about famous personalities who were not good at studies. If you want to know more about other Famous Personalities then visit our General Knowledge page!