Famous People with Dyslexia: Dinosaur Hunter Jack Horner

"If you do something no one else has done, you don't have to read very much, you can just write your own stuff." - Jack Horner, one the world's most famous paleontologists, inspiration for Jurassic Park

Many dyslexics excel in spatial problem solving, analytical ability, and science in general - talents well-suited to the field of paleontology.

"I found my first dinosaur bone at the age of eight during a fossil-hunting trip with my father...Kindergarten through eighth grade was extremely difficult for me because my progress in reading, writing, and mathematics was excruciatingly slow. I would never stand to read out loud in class, even if the teachers threatened to give me failing grades...Eventually, I managed to graduate high school, but just barely, having received Ds in all required classes, including English, in which my grade was a D minus, minus, minus. The teacher told me that this was essentially an F, but that he never wanted to see me again. That was indeed the last time I saw him, but I did send him a copy of my first book!

There was, however, one area of school besides P.E. in which I excelled: science projects."

Horner had an eclectic history before becoming a paleontologist - he was a recon Marine, dabbled in astrophysics at Cal Tech, tried college, but never graduated, worked for his father's gravel business, then "began writing letters to every museum in the English speaking world asking if they had any jobs open for anyone ranging from a technician to a director..."

The video below is more about spinosaurus, than Jack Horner's dyslexia, but we wanted to post for all those young dyslexics who love dinosaurs. Find more about Jack's early life and dyslexia here: http://mtprof.msun.edu/Spr2004/horner.html




For more stories and videos of famous dyslexics, visit Dyslexic Advantage.

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