To be successful in life, it is desirable to have a college degree. I wonder where the people whose names are known all over the world studied, or just those who achieved great success in life? And what vicissitudes of fate did they have to overcome before receiving the coveted diploma or scientific degree?
Where did geniuses study?
Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic) is the oldest higher education institution in Central and Eastern Europe. It was founded by Emperor Charles IV in 1348. It was at Charles University that the outstanding physicist Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) studied, famous for his inventions in the field of electrical and radio engineering. The most curious thing is that he entered the Faculty of Philosophy there, having already graduated from the Graz Higher Technical School and received an engineering degree. But he studied for only one semester, as a difficult financial situation forced him to look for work.
The Jagiellonian University in Krakow is one of the largest universities in Poland and the oldest in Europe, founded in 1364 by King Casimir III. Perhaps the most famous graduate of the Jagiellonian University is the astronomer, mathematician and economist Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). In 1491, Copernicus entered there and studied mathematics, medicine and theology. But he was especially interested in astronomy.
The University of Vienna (Austria) is considered one of the oldest in Europe. Founded in 1365 by Duke Rudolf IV and his brothers Albrecht III and Leopold III. Among the former graduates of the University of Vienna is the famous psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), who became famous as the founder of the theory of psychoanalysis. Although Freud graduated from medical school, he never became a physician in the traditional sense. But his contribution to world psychiatry is invaluable.
The University of Basel is the oldest university in Switzerland. It was founded by the bull of Pope Pius II in 1459. The outstanding psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) studied within the walls of this institution. Although at first he studied natural sciences and medicine, just before the very final exams, Richard von Kraft-Ebing's textbook on psychiatry fell into the hands of Jung, and this forever predetermined his future fate.
The Swiss Higher Technical School of Zurich was founded in 1855 and is the most prestigious university in the country. The most famous graduate of a higher technical school is Albert Einstein (1879-1955). The future author of the theory of relativity once failed to enter here on the first try - the fact is that he dropped out of school without receiving a certificate, and home education was not enough to successfully pass the exams. However, after studying at the gymnasium for another year, Einstein nevertheless became a student.
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Oxford University is the oldest English-speaking university in the world and also the first university in the UK. The exact date of its foundation is unknown, but in the 11th century, training was already conducted there. It was this institution that the famous physicist Stephen William Hawking, born in 1942, graduated from. Even during his studies, Hawking began to show signs of a terrible disease - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Despite the fact that over time he almost completely lost the ability to move and speak, Hawking was married twice and made important discoveries in the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity. His book A Brief History of Time. From the Big Bang to Black Holes”has become a worldwide bestseller.
The University of Cambridge (England) is one of the oldest and most famous universities in the world. It was founded in 1209 by a meeting of scientists from the city of Cambridge. It was here, in the famous Trinity College, that Isaac Newton (1642-1727), who is considered the creator of classical physics, studied once. The son of a poor farmer, he was accepted here as a saiser - the so-called low-income students who served in educational institutions in order to be able to get an education. In 1665, Newton received a bachelor's degree, and later headed the physics and mathematics department at the university.
The Higher Normal School in Paris was founded in 1794 by the National Convention. Unlike other similar educational institutions, in the Parisian normal school, exact sciences and literature are taught in equal volumes. For example, Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) studied there. Despite the fact that he defended his dissertation in the field of physics of crystal structure, his fame overtook him in the field of microbiology. It is Pasteur who owes the world the discovery of the method of vaccination against infectious diseases.
Clubs for the elite
Many famous people, including prominent politicians and businessmen in their youth, were in closed student societies. The latter are especially common in the United States.
Often closed student organizations are also called phratries (fraternities) or sororothi (sisterships). Usually they are created on the basis of common interests, social belonging, and finally, national, religious or spiritual beliefs. Usually, joining there occurs on the initiative of the leaders of the society, and not the potential candidates themselves.
Perhaps the first known student fraternity was the Phi Beta Kappa Academic Society, founded in 1776 by student John Hiff. Following the example of this organization, similar societies also began to use Greek letters in their names.
What the "Skull and Bones" hide
These days, perhaps the most widely heard of the secret society "Skull and Bones", which functions at Yale University. It was founded back in 1832 by Yale undergraduate and secretary William Russell and his associates.
There is also a version that the society arose as an American branch of a German student organization. True, it was originally called the Eulogia Club, in honor of the Greek goddess of eloquence. The renaming took place in 1833 due to the fact that death became the symbol of the closed club, and its emblem was a skull with bones. The brotherhood's headquarters were on High Street, in the heart of the old Yale campus. Only people from aristocratic families were admitted to the club, and they had to be of Anglo-Saxon origin and be Protestants by religion.
15 new members are admitted to the society annually. Since 1991 girls can also join the club. Club members call themselves "knights", and the uninitiated - "barbarians". They vow to always support each other. Upon graduation from the university, each participant is given 15 thousand "lifting" dollars. And if he gets married, he gets an old grandfather clock as a gift.
At one time, Skull and Bones included all Yale-trained American presidents, including William Howard Taft and both George W. Bush. Its members were also the Secretary of Defense under Roosevelt Henry Stimson, the American ambassador to the USSR Averell Harriman, many members of the Rockefeller family and, finally, the current US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Since the activities of the club are classified, there are many rumors and legends around it. For example, they say that those entering Skull and Bones during initiation have to undress, go to bed and confess the details of their sexual life. Finally, they are allegedly brutally beaten, dumped in the mud and given to drink blood from their skulls. However, according to the book Secrets of the Grave, published in 2002 by Yale alumnus Alexandra Robbins, newcomers are simply blindfolded and pushed forward while being forced to repeat the club's vow. And instead of blood, they drink the popular non-alcoholic drink Gatorade.
By the way, there are other closed student societies at Yale University with a long history and traditions. For example, the Wolf Head Society was founded in 1884 by a group of Yale undergraduates and alumni and was originally called the Gray Brothers. The secret organization "Scroll and Key" originated at the initiative of John Porter and William Kingsley, who were refused admission to the "Skull and Bones". Today, all three organizations are among the "big three" student societies of Yale, and membership in them is very prestigious.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №44, Margarita Troitsyna