Everyone knows how important it is to stay in school , get a good educationand graduate with a diploma . But it may be hard to remain focused after reading about the success of these notable dropouts . tough oeuvre , push back , natural gift and right-down luck help them overcome their lack of education , but some still repay to schooltime by and by in life history .
In this article , you will learn about celebrated people including inventors , politicians and entertainers who dropped out of school before their ascent to fame .
1. Thomas Edison
Thomas Edisonis plausibly the most famous and productive inventor of all time , with more than 1,000 patents in his name , including the electriclight electric light , record player and movement picture camera . He became a ego - made multimillionaire and win a Congressional Gold Medal . Edison got a late start in his school following an malady and , as a outcome , his mind often wandered , prompting one of his teachersto call him " woolly-headed . “He dropped out after only three months of formal education . fortunately , his mother had been a school teacher in Canada and home - schooled immature Edison .
2. Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklinwore many hats : politician , diplomat , author , printer , publisher , scientist , inventor , Founding Father , and coauthor and cosignatory of theDeclaration of Independence . One thing he was not was a high schooltime graduate . Franklin was the 15th child and young son in a class with 17 nestling . He spend two years at the Boston Latin School beforedropping out at age 10and going to work for his don , and then his brother , as a printer .
3. Rihanna
SingerRobyn Rihanna Fentyis the best - sell digital creative person in the world , as well as being an entrepreneur , fashion designer and worker — accomplishments all achieved sans a high school sheepskin . Rihanna was birth in 1988 in Barbados . In 2003 , she was discovered by two New York City medicine producers holiday in the Caribbean . The 15 - class - old promptly quit in high spirits school and moved to the Big Apple , where record label Def Jam released her debut album . Today , Rihanna has sold more than 54 million albums and 210 million tracks and is the young solo artist to have 14 No . 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 . She ’s also design assemblage for Armani and has hugely successful style and looker lines .
4. Albert Einstein
Although he was named Time mag ’s " Man of the Century,“Albert Einsteinwas not an " Einstein " in school . The Nobel Prize - winning physicist , renowned for his theory of relativity theory and contribution to quantum possibility and statistical mechanics , dropped out of in high spirits school at age 15 . Deciding to proceed his Department of Education a year later , Einstein took the entrance examination to the honored Swiss Federal Institute of Technology but failed . ( He did pass the math portion though , despite a unyielding myth . ) He returned to high school , got his diploma and then passed the university ’s entry test on his 2nd attempt .
5. John D. Rockefeller
Two months before his gamy schoolhouse graduation exercise , history ’s first recorded billionaire , John D. Rockefeller , Sr . ,dropped out to take business coursesat Folsom Mercantile College . He founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870 , made his one thousand million before the ship’s company was infract up by the government for being a monopoly , and pass his last 40 years giving away his riches , primarily to cause related to health and education . Ironically , this eminent schoolhouse dropout helped millions get a effective instruction .
6. Walt Disney
In 1918 , while still in in high spirits school day , next Oscar - win film manufacturer and theme park trailblazer Walt Disney began taking night class at the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago . Disneydropped out of high schoolat historic period 16 to join the Army , but because he was too new to muster in , he joined theRed Crosswith a forged birth certificate instead . Disney was post to France , where he push back an ambulance that was covered from top to bottom with cartoon that eventually became his film grapheme . After becoming the multimillionaire founder of theWalt Disney Companyand winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom , Disney received an honorary high school diploma at age 58 .
7. Princess Diana
Diana , Princess of Wales , attended West Heath Girls ' School , where she was regarded as an academically below - average student , havingfailed all of her O - storey examination twice(exams hold to 16 - year - old pupil in the U.K. to shape their proficiency in school day subjects ) . At long time 16 , she left West Heath and briefly attended a finish school in Switzerland before dropping out from there as well . Diana was a talented amateur singer and longed to be a ballerina , though she was turn over to be too tall for that . She go to mould as a part - time assistant at the Young England Kindergarten , a day care center and glasshouse school . Contrary to claims , she was not a kindergarten instructor , since she had no educational qualifications to instruct . There she excelled as she was very good with young children . In 1981 , at age 19 , Diana became meshed to Prince Charles and her workings days were over . She and Charles excellently divorce in 1996 ; Diana died in a car crash in 1997 .
8. George Burns
George Burns , carry Nathan Birnbaum , was a successful music hall , TV and movie comedian for closely nine decades . After his father ’s destruction , Burns left school in the quaternary grade to go to study shine shoes , run errands and sell paper . While employed at a local confect shop , Burns and his young coworkers decided to go into show business enterprise as the Peewee Quartet . After the group broke up , Burns continued to exploit with a partner , unremarkably a girl , and was the curious one in the grouping until he met Gracie Allen in 1923 . Burns and Allen got married but did n’t become genius until Burns flip the bit and made Allen the funny one . They continue to work together in vaudeville , radio , television system and movie until Allen retired in 1958 . suntan continued performing almost until the 24-hour interval he died in March 1996 at age 100 .
9. Colonel Sanders
Colonel Harland Sandersovercame his want of breeding to become the crowing drumstick in the fried chicken business . His don died when he was 6 years sometime , and since his female parent work , he was squeeze to ready for the crime syndicate . Afterdropping out of the seventh grade , Sanders worked many jobs , including fire fighter , steamboat number one wood and insurance salesman . He later earned a constabulary level from a correspondence schooling . Sanders ' preparation and occupation experience help him make millions as the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken ( now KFC ) .
10. Charles Dickens
Charles Dickenswas the author of numerous classics , let in " Oliver Twist , " " A Tale of Two Cities " and " A Christmas Carol . “He go to elementary school until his animation took a twist of its own when his father was imprisoned for debt . At age 12 , he left school and start out working 10 - hour daytime in a boot - black factory . Dickens later work on as a natural law salesclerk and a court shorthand typist . At age 22 , he became a diary keeper , reporting parliamentary debate and extend election campaigns for a newspaper publisher . His first assembling of tale , " sketch by Boz " ( Boz was his soubriquet ) , was bring out in 1836 and led to his first novel , " The Pickwick Papers , " in March 1836 .
11. Elton John
Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight , Rock & Roll Hall of Fame extremity Sir Elton John has betray more than 300 million record and has more than 50 Top 40 hit , making him one of the most successful musicians of all time . At age 11 , Elton enter London ’s Royal Academy of Music on a pianoforte scholarship . tire with classical opus , Elton preferent rock candy and axial motion , and at 17,he quit schoolto become a weekend pianist at a local pub . He later form a circle called Bluesology and get hold of his stagecoach name from the names of two band member . By the mid-1960s , they were tour with individual and R&B player such as the Isley Brothers and Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles . The album " Elton John " was released in the give of 1970 and , after the first single " Your vocal " made the U.S. Top Ten , Elton was on his way of life to superstardom .
12. Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc did n’t find McDonald ’s , but he flex it into the human race ’s largest fast - food chain after purchasing the original location from Dick and Mac McDonald . Krocamassed a $ 500 million fortuneduring his lifetime , and in 2000 was included in Time magazine ’s list of the 100 most influential constructor and titan of diligence in the twentieth 100 . DuringWorld War I , Kroc dropped out of high school at eld 15 andlied about his ageto become a Red Cross ambulance gadget driver , but the war ended before he was post overseas .
13. Harry Houdini
The name Houdini is synonymous with trick . Before becoming a human race - renowned necromancer and escape creative person bring up Harry Houdini , Erik Weiszdropped out of schooltime at eld 12 , working several line of work , including locksmith ’s apprentice . At 17 , he teamed up with fellow magic fancier Jack Hayman to take form the Houdini Brothers , named after Jean Eugène Robert Houdin , the most illustrious magician of the era . By old age 24 , Houdini had come up with the Challenge Act , offering to escape from any pair of handcuffs produce by the audience . The Challenge Act was the turn pointedness for Houdini . With its succeeder came the development of the spectacular escapes that would make him a legend .
14: Whoopi Goldberg
drop out of high school day and becoming hook to drugs is n’t the just fashion to set forth out in life . But Caryn Johnson not only wrench her life sentence around , but she became quite successful as the actor and comedienneWhoopi Goldberg . Goldberg star in such overhead flicks as " The Color Purple , " " Ghost " and " Sister Act , " and was the first mordant cleaning lady to host the Academy Awards . She was also the 2nd Black woman to pull ahead one . Goldberg ’s amusing chop were know in 2001 , when she received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington , D.C. She is also one of the few entertainers to have an EGOT ( Emmy , Grammy , Oscar and Tony accolade - winner ) .
15. Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey is well know as Ringo Starr , the drummer of the Beatles . bear in Liverpool in 1940 , Ringo suffer two serious illnesses at age 6 . First , his appendix snap , leaving him in a comatoseness for 10 weeks . After six month in recuperation , he fall out of the infirmary layer , need an extra six - month hospital stop . After missing so much time in school he was hardly literate at geezerhood 8 . Tutoring almost caught him up , but thenhe contracted tuberculosisand had to spend two age in a sanatorium . One good thing that came out of this time was that he learned to trifle the drums in the hospital band . After leaving the sanatorium , he drop out of school at age 15 . While working a motley of jobs , 17 - year - erstwhile Starkey joined a band and his stepfather bought him his first literal drum set . Starkey sat in with several bands , eventually joining Rory Storm and the Hurricanes . He changed his name to Ringo Starr , joined the Beatles in 1962 , and is now one of the best - known drummers in history .
16. Richard Branson
Britain ’s Sir Richard Branson is a self - made billionaire businessman . He founded Virgin Atlantic Airways , Virgin Records , Virgin Mobile and , most recently , aspace tourismcompany to provide suborbital stumble into space for anyone who can afford them . endure from dyslexia , Branson was a poor student , so he leave office school at age 16 and moved to London , where he began his first successful entrepreneurial activity , publishing Student magazine .
17. Jennifer Lawrence
It ’s a good thing Jennifer Lawrence ’s parents allowed her to omit out of school while in eighth grade , since she subsequently became one of the highest - paid actors of all time . Lawrencewas born in Louisville , Kentucky , in 1990 . After trench schooling , she went to Manhattan at age 14 to do some cold read . agent were immediately impressed , and she before long appear in commercial message , then movies . She ’s best known today for her starring roles as Ree in " Winter ’s Bone " ( 2010 ) and as Katniss Everdeen in " The Hunger Games " ( 2012 ) and its three sequels . The latter film made her the highest - compensate distaff actor in 2015 and 2016 .
18. Sachin Tendulkar
Despite take a father who was a celebrated novelist and a female parent who was an indemnity specialist , Sachin Tendulkar bomb hisHSC exam(Indian equivalent of a twelfth grade security ) and left school atage 16 . But Tendulkar did n’t worry , since he was already wager cricket for India ’s home squad . Born in Mumbai in 1973 , Tendulkar went on to become one of the world ’s topcricket player . He is regarded as one of the skillful batsmen and is the only player to have scored more than 34,000 run . His wife , Anjali Mehta , is a pediatrician .
19: Mary Pickford
A lot of woman born in the later 1800s never finished high school day . But Mary Pickford began play at age 7 to help support her class after her founding father ’s death . The Canadian , endure Gladys Smith in 1892 , finally became known for her beauty and talent as asilent film starin the U.S. and beyond , and was dubbed " America ’s Sweetheart . " Gladys Smith was married three times , including a jointure with Douglas Fairbanks , Sr . , with whom she establish United Artists . ( D.W. Griffith and Charlie Chaplin were also laminitis . ) She and Fairbanks were the first star to placehand and footprintsin the cement at Grauman ’s Chinese Theatre .
20: Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews says that one of the biggest regrets in her lifeis that her training stopped at age 15 . While that may be unfeigned , she ’s had an awing career in the entertainment industriousness . Born in England in 1935 as Julia Wells , she later on read her stepfather ’s surname of Andrews . Her mother and stepdad were vaudeville performing artist , and when her stepdad give her singing lessons one day , he discovered she had a rarified , four - octave range . By 1954 she was performing onBroadway , keep abreast by an extensive picture career that included blockbuster musicals such as " The speech sound of Music " and " Mary Poppins , " plus the two democratic " Princess Diaries " flicks . She ’s also worked in television and had voice function in several film .
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
Helen Davies , Marjorie Dorfman , Mary Fons , Deborah Hawkins , Martin Hintz , Linnea Lundgren , David Priess , Julia Clark Robinson , Paul Seaburn , Heidi Stevens , and Steve Theunissen
