I’m writing my application essays for UC. I’m looking for examples of people who tried to become successful in the arts, failed one way or another, then became famous at something completely different, preferably scientific. I have one: BF Skinner, the psychologist, first attempted to become a novelist, and sucked at it (in his own opinion).
Well, he didn’t become famous for science, but Adolph Hitler wanted to be a painter (even got rejected twice from art school). Eventually he moved on to other things.
Of course, I’m not sure I would mention Hitler in an application essay, but hey - it might make your essay memorable…
Ok, I thought of one more suitable for an application essay: George Washington Carver. The great peanut innovator originally went to college to become an artist. Somewhere along the way, he switched over to plant science, and the rest is history!
That’ll do in a pinch. I know, I’m being picky. I guess it doesn’t have to be the arts that they originated in, but just something different is good. And more modern, too.
Eh, bump? Any other ideas?
Do exotics count?
D. Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Nobel prize for his discovery of neurones; his biography reads… very American for a Spaniard. He was a locally-renowned gymnast in high school; got involved with photography also during high school; was shoved into medical school by the family (his Da had been a barber/dentist/bloodletter). Although the prize was for his discovery of nerve cells, he also figured out how to photograph what he saw on the microscope, thus combining his artistic and medical interests.
Miguel Servet. Discoverer of the circulation of blood. His main interests were theology and mystic poetry; he discovered the “small circuit” (heart-lungs-heart) during medical studies that were intended to search for the seat of the soul. Burned at the stake by the Calvinists (a detail you may want to leave out).
Ramón y Cajal was born in Navarra but considered himself Aragonese. Servet was born in Aragon but considered himself Navarrese. We kind of look at them as shared 
Samuel F.B. Morse, who began his career as a portrait painter, went on to invent the Morse code and the telegraph.
Thanks all.
Those exotics are cool, but I like the Sam Morse example best. Like Skinner (and me), he went from an art to a scientific field, and at a somewhat later age. Plus, the application readers in the Electrical Engineering department probably have heard of him.
Not only that, but he didn’t suck at painting. He was actually quite good and renowned for it, so it wasn’t a case of switching tracks because he wasn’t good enough.
In that way, he sort of <i>doesn’t</i> fit into my essay, but I’ll try to work around that.
Raymond Scott was a self-taught electrical engineer who took a degree in piano from Juilliard. During the 1930s and '40s, he became famous as a composer and orchestra leader. Once the pop music scene had passed him by, he turned to inventing electronic musical instruments, a field where he did much pioneering work.
And now I can’t get Powerhouse out of my head…not that it’s a bad thing!
Maybe someone can help me (or, or more importantly,** alimarx**) out. There has been in the recent past a regular feature on NPR’s Morning Edition where a reporter (Tovia Smith??) interviewed people who had undergone some pretty dramatic career changes.
They’re not famous people, but there sure as hell were a lot of interesting tales.
What as the name of that feature?!??
Never heard of Ray Scott before. He would have been perfect if he wasn’t such a damn good, and famous, musician; but who cares, I have a new idol! 
Follies girl and Broadway and film actress Justine Johnstone, who went on to become an award-winning research scientist.
Here’sa photo of her (scroll down).
A certain failed Austrian artist comes to mind. He later made a bit of a mark in politics.
cough Post 2 cough But thanks for playing!