Colin Wilson was born on June 26, 1931 in the East Midlands city of Leicester—the first child of Arthur and Annetta Wilson. At the age of eleven he attended Gateway Secondary Technical School, where his interest in science began to blossom. Even at this early age he seemed to be blessed with the self confidence and optimistic belief in his own genius that later was often mistaken for arrogance:

“Secretly I admired Newton, for I imagined him as occupying a place in the hierarchy—Archimedes, Galileo, Newton, Planck, Einstein—which would one day include myself.” (Salwak 5)

“Secretly I admired Newton, for I imagined him as occupying a place in the hierarchy—Archimedes, Galileo, Newton, Planck, Einstein—which would one day include myself.” (Salwak 5)

By the age of 14 he

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Citation: Stanley, Colin. "Colin Wilson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 January 2008; last revised 25 April 2019. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4748, accessed 19 March 2024.]

4748 Colin Wilson 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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