Seasonal Incidence of the Births of Eminent People

IN order to find, if possible, the causes which underlie the production of increased numbers of eminent intellects at certain periods (as, for example, the year 1809 and a year or two before and after it), I collected statistics of the dates of birth of more than two hundred eminent persons. The list consists chiefly of creative intellects,—poets, literati, musicians, painters, architects, men of science, explorers, and inventors, with a few statesmen and military men. Analysis of the dates shows that the greater number of these persons were born in the colder months of the year; but the distribution of the numbers is somewhat erratic. February is distinctly the richest month, having produced a galaxy of eminent persons; December comes next; August and June are the richest among the warm months.