Context

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)

By the age of 14 he had compiled a multi-volume work of essays covering all aspects of science entitled

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 31 October 2020.]

• View recommended reading for this article