Donald Triplett

Autistic savant and subject of the Pulitzer Prize-finalist book, "In a Different Key." He's famous for being the 1st person ever to be diagnosed with autism. The book and resulting documentary were an expansion on his 2010 interview with John Donvan and Caren Zucker for their article, "Autism's First Child." He earned a bachelor's degree in French from Millsaps College in 1958 and worked at a local bank for over 65 years in his hometown of Forest, MI, until his passing in June of 2023.

As a child, he was extremely introverted and unresponsive to his parents and other children. He demonstrated interest in numbers, patterns, musical notes, rhymes, and letters of the alphabet. When he was 5 years old, his parents took him to visit what is now known as the Johns Hopkins Children's Center to meet with renowned psychiatrist Leo Kanner, who would eventually formally diagnose him with autism. He'd document his behavior and upbringing in a detailed 1943 scientific article entitled, "Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact."

He was the son of Beamon and Mary Triplett. He had a brother named Oliver and a nephew named O.B. Triplett.

Kodi Lee and Daniel Tammet are also considered to be autistic savants.