Guinness recognizes 18-year-old as youngest male professor

Nathan Thomas, an 18-year-old from Florida, has been officially recognized as the world's youngest male professor, breaking a record that had stood for 306 years. Guinness World Records confirmed the achievement on August 3, 2026, after Thomas began teaching an engineering course at Miami Dade College in August 2023 at the age of 18 years and 346 days.

Thomas surpassed the previous record held by Scottish mathematician Colin Maclaurin, who became a professor at the age of 19 in 1717. His appointment also places him just 16 days younger than Alia Sabur, who was recognized as the world's youngest female professor in 2008. At Miami Dade College, Thomas taught COP 2270 C for Engineers, a course focused on C programming and computational problem-solving for engineering students.

His path to the classroom was highly accelerated. Thomas first enrolled at Miami Dade College through a dual-enrollment program at the age of 10. By 14, he had transferred to Florida International University, where he earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in electrical engineering, graduating with honors. He returned to Miami Dade College not as a student, but as a faculty member in 2023.