Origins & Early Life

Laurence Kim Peek (November 11, 1951 – December 19, 2009) was an American savant. Known as a "megasavant", he had an exceptional memory and exceptional intelligence, but he also experienced social difficulties, possibly resulting from a developmental disability related to congenital brain abnormalities. He was the inspiration for the character Raymond Babbitt in the 1988 movie Rain Man. Although Peek was previously diagnosed with autism, he is now thought to have had FG syndrome.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Laurence Kim Peek was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Francis "Fran" Peek and Jeanne W. Buchi. He had two siblings: a brother and a sister. Kim was diagnosed with macrocephaly, damage to the cerebellum, and agenesis of the corpus callosum, a condition in which the nerves that connect the two hemispheres of the brain are missing; in Peek's case, secondary connectors, such as the anterior commissure, were also missing. There is speculation that his neurons had made unusual connections due to the absence of the corpus callosum, resulting in an increased memory capacity.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

When he was 9 months old, Kim was designated "retarded" and was recommended to be institutionalized; his...

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