There used to be people that would do cutting edge research in various fields like Leonardo. He was an engineer, artist, medical investigator, architect, etc. However the scientific culture we have now is far more advanced and I don’t know if it is possible to do perform state of the art research and make discoveries in multiple fields anymore, the education to become an expert who is in the beginning stages of doing research is usually a minimum of 12 years (bachelors, doctorate, post-doc). Are there people who are doing advanced work in various unrelated fields anymore? For example, someone who works in research for medicine, physics and engineering or has knowledge gotten so advanced that it is almost impossible to devote enough time and to have the natural talent necessary to do that?
In terms of generalists, I will have to throw out a rather recent, prolific genius, Isaac Asimov. He published literally hundreds of books on an incredible variety of subjects.
However, that isn’t exactly the type of in depth research that you are referring to. It is true that science is too advanced in most fields for even a genius to just walk in and start making contributions. It takes years to learn what has been done and there is a ton of grunt work as well. You can’t get grants unless you have a whole slew of qualifications and resources to back it up and that takes lots of time.
That said, there are a huge number of interdisciplinary fields. I was once in a Ph.D. program in behavioral neuroscience. That field blends psychology, biology, anatomy, pharmacology, and biochemistry among others. Someone who has true talent in a few of those areas can apply them all in behavioral neuroscience. Likewise, there are interdisciplinary programs that combine psychology with math, computer science, sociology and much more.
Those are just examples that I have first-hand knowledge of. People create interdisciplary approaches all the time.
I’ve wondered the same thing. It seems like the Renaissance man is gone.
Where will the next Jefferson or Franklin come from?
Newton dabble in many areas. Now everyone is very specialized.
We probably suffer from information overload.
I think you are seeking a polymath. A person who excels in multiple fields, particularly in both arts and sciences. The most common term for this is Renaissance man. Other terms for this are Homo universalis and Uomo Universale which in Latin and Italian respectively is translated as “Universal Man”.
From here:
I give you:
**Terry Jones ** is a film director, author, television presenter, literary critic and historian. Not to mention a member of the Monty Python team. Not quite what you were hoping for i am sure.
I’ll add Ben Stein, lawyer, economist, writer, White House speech writer, actor, comedian, game show host, political commentator from this Wiki list.
If you review the Wiki list, you might find the people you are looking for.
Jim
Although his fields are all subdisciplines of biology and environmental science, Jared Diamond has had three outstanding careers in rather unrelated fields: as a physiologist (specializing in digestive physiology); as an ornitholigist, working on the biogeography and evolution of New Guinea birds; and as an environmental historian (he is now a professor of geography, having started out as a professor of physiology). He is also a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, best known for Guns, Germs, and Steel, and an accomplished linguist, speaking 12 languages.
Aren’t you all forgetting Cecil Adams?
Ray Kurzweil might also qualify.
The standards are too high. Yesterday’s Leonardo is today’s polymath is tomorrow’s dilettante.
When I was introduced to a classical education in the early 1980s, I was taught that the future renaissance man (and we still sued the term man) would not try to do everything, or even many things, but would merely try to embody essential contradictions. The ideal at my school was excellence in both intellectual and athletic pursuits – in other words, play the games well. My school produced such men, but I didn’t care to be one, and wasn’t.
Someone here once mentioned an Apollo astronaut who, along with his military career, was also a doctor and had been successful in several other career fields (engineering, politics and the like.) Sorry, I wish that I could remember their name.
I used to be a Renaissance man. Now I’m just Middle-Aged.
I don’t think you have to be a multidisciplinary super genius to be a Renaissance person. So there are lots of people who would fit the definition of the latter – people in a profession who are also obnoxiously good at unrelated artistic or athletic endeavors.
In academics, I’ve known, for example, people with doctorates in computer science who decided to pursue an MD and people with medical degrees who decided to get degrees in computer science. As for whether they were “super geniuses”, I dunno. Mostly just really hard workers with a lot of drive and intellectual curiosity.
I would argue that in some senses it’s easier to be multi-disciplinary nowadays as the essential information is readily and rapidly available.
By this lesser definition, sports stars like Ted Williams who was a Legendary hitter in Baseball, an elite Fly fisherman and a two war Ace, who John Glenn described as the best pilot he flew with is one. {now that was a run on sentence}
I will also put up Bernie Williams who is a very good baseball player, a music scholar and a Very good Professional Guitarist.
Jim
Are you thinking of Story Musgrave? I’ve linked his wikipedia entry which details his numerous accomplishments. His educational background is:
B.S. (1958) in Math and Statistics from Syracuse
M.B.A. (1959) from UCLA
B.A. (1960) in Chemistry from Marietta College
M.D. (1964) from Columbia
M.S. (1966) in Physiology and Biophysics from from the University of Kentucky
M.A. (1987) from the University of Houston
This is all, of course, in addition to his career in space. Quite a guy.
I went to graduate school with a guy who already had a Ph.D in molecular biology and was working on a second Ph.D in linguistics (which he finished). He was a pretty smart dude.
Super-genius polymaths? Hhmmm… what about actor-singer-dancers, or actor-writer-singers, or actor-singer-dancer-comedian-writers, who play an instrument? How about lawyer-doctor-engineers or lawyer-doctor-accountants? How about mechanic-waiter-poets or interior designer-secretary-therapist-mommies? How about karaoke-lawyer-martial artists?
Robert Fulghum has been a minister, teacher, author, philosophizer, story teller and more recently an artist.
I may be.
And those are just his hobbies.
Richard Feynman made his biggest mark as a physicist, of course, but he was also an accomplished painter, drummer, safecracker, and bloodhound, among many other dalliances.
Impressive indeed, but remember that all the science there is pretty typical of astronauts; extensive background in science and/or engineering is a standard requirement for being an astronaut. IMO the MBA is probably more impressive because it stands out as representing a truly different field.
I would nominate Dr. Amar Bose .
I would nominate Stephen Wolfram ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Wolfram ). Published his first article in a physics journal at 15, Ph.D from Caltech at 20. Invented mathematica. Perhaps has kind on gone off the deep-end lately with his “New kind of science”, but showed increadible breadth of knowledge to incorporate so many disciplines in this book.
I remember reading an interview of some scientist in different field from Stephen. For his book, Stephen asked the guy a bunch of questions about his field. By the end of the weekend the guy said Stephen pretty much knew as much as him about it.
Finally, some recognition! 
Like him or hate him, I think Noam Chomsky qualifies: he’s possibly the most important figure in linguistics in the last hundred years, in addition to being an extremely prolific political philosopher. It’s as if William F. Buckley had another career in which he’d revolutionized the study of genetics.
Daniel