Background
William was born in 1898 in New York, and his parents narrowly fled persecution. His mother, Sarah, had escaped a series of religious purges in Russia during the 1880s, while his father, Boris, had run from politically motivated oppression to settle in the U.S.
Source: TravelTips
And when their son was born, both parents were determined to give their son all the opportunities they never had. “They believed that you could make a genius,” Amy Wallace, who wrote a biography of Sidis, said to NPR in 2011.
The Key
Boris, William’s father, believed that the first few years of a child’s development were key which is a known fact nowadays but considered groundbreaking at the time. He even wrote a book about the concept in 1911.
Source: TravelTips
In his book Philistine and Genius, he wrote, “We can at that early period awaken a love of knowledge which will persist through life.” And, of course, he backed up his theory by using it on his son.