9 Of The Most Famous Nobel Laureates Who Were College Dropouts
Nobel Laureates college dropouts Famous Nobel Laureates Nobel Laureates Nobel writers Nobel poets Nobel prize winners
Check the list of Famous Nobel Laureates who were also college dropouts. Some of these people are: Rabindranath Tagore, George Bernard Shaw, Arthur Henderson, Jos Saramago and more.
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We often hear the saying; 'Not ever college dropout is a Billionaire'. It is true, because some of them are Nobel laureates. Although, being a dropout in no way guarantees that you would succeed in life but neither does a degree. This is what today's list is about. Even if you don't think that you are the best student, it shouldn't stop you from being an expert on the subject you choose later in life.

1. Rabindranath Tagore

Tagore was a legend, an artist too underrated for all his achievements. If you don't agree with the statement, there is only one possible explanation, which is that you aren't aware of all the things he has achieved. Rabindranath Tagore attended Presidency College, on the insistence of his father, for only one day and left law school after attending it for only a few months. Tagore has written a lot of short stories, poems, drama, and novels in his lifetime. His writings were translated into many languages including English, Dutch, Spanish, German and others.

Tagore is the only known person to have written the national anthems for three different countries. We all know about 'Jana Gana Mana', the national anthem for India, but he also wrote 'Amar Sonar Bangla', the national anthem for Bangladesh and 'Nama Nama Sri Lanka Mata', in Bengali, for Sri Lanka. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for Gitanjali in 1913. Sadly, the medal that was awarded to Rabindranath Tagore was stolen from a museum in Kolkata in 2004. On 7 December 2004, the Swedish Academy decided to present two replicas of Tagore's Nobel Prize, one made of gold and the other made of bronze, to the Visva-Bharati University. On turning 60, Rabindranath Tagore took up drawing and painting and held many successful exhibitions of his works.

2. Harry Edmund Martinson

Probably one of the biggest strugglers on this list, Martinson was orphaned at a very young age and at 16 he ran away from his institution and went to sea. He spent most of his teenage years on ships and traveling to different countries. You can experience all this through his writings. Martinson was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature along with Eyvind Johnson in 1974.

3. George Bernard Shaw

He started working at the age of 15 because he didn't like the schooling system. He then moved to London and struggled for a decade to sell any of his books. Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925. He later also won an Academy award.

4. William Faulkner

Although he dropped out of high school, he knew that his heart was in writing, which is why he continuously kept studying on his own. He enrolled in a few university courses and published his poems in the newsletters. Later, he gave the world some classics pieces of writing and isolated himself from the world to write about topics no one wanted him to. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949.

5. José Saramago

He was always a bright student but had to drop out due to financial reasons. He worked as a translator as well as a journalist. He was definitely a man who made his own rules. Most of the characters in his books didn't have a name since he did not believe in proper nouns and was also openly atheist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988.

6. Joseph Brodsky

Joseph Brodsky is a name every poet in the world is aware of. He decided to drop out of school at age 15 and took various jobs. After training under noted Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, he moved to the United States and authored nine volumes of poetry. He then took the job of teaching at Columbia University as well as Mount Holyoke College. In 1987, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

7. Arthur Henderson

After his father's death, Arthur had to drop out of school. Upon his mother's remarriage, he went back to school for three years before dropping out once again. He joined the Ironfounders' Union at 18 and got elected as secretary of Newcastle lodge within a short time. He stepped in Britain politics in 1892.

Henderson co-founded the Labor Party in 1906 and became its secretary. He uniquely served three separate terms as Leader of the Labour Party in three different decades. His colleagues affectionately called him “Uncle Arthur". He became the foreign secretary in 1929 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934.

8. Leon Jouhaux

"I would not go so far as to say that the French trade unions attached greater importance to the struggle for peace than the others did; but they certainly seemed to take it more to heart."

-Léon Jouhaux.

He had to drop out of High School since his dad's earning stopped because of a prolonged strike. He had to take his dad's job at a match factory after his dad lost his eyesight. He soon became an important part of the union and took up the fight against white phosphorus which left his father blinded. He was a stern preacher of peace. After the World War II, Jouhaux split from the CGT to form the social-democrat Workers' Force (CGT-FO). In 1951, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

9. Albert Einstein

This is no news to anyone but he has earned every mention in the lists of the brightest brains in the history of mankind. When he turned 15, Einstein decided to drop out of school even though he loved mathematics and science. He later attended a school in Switzerland to get his A-levels before going to study in Zurich.

Einstein got a job at the Patent Office and worked on theoretical physics in his part time. During this time, he published many important scientific papers, including some which reformed modern science. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.