25 Middle Children Who Did Big Things

Though children in the middle of the birth order may have a reputation for being "embittered wallflowers," experts have discovered that the stereotype is far from the truth. Instead, middle children tend to be empathetic, independent thinkers who don't feel the need to conform to societal norms. Still not convinced? We'll let these 25 middle children speak for themselves.

1. ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Honest Abe had an older sister, Sarah, who was more like a mother to him after their mother died when he was just 9 years old. He also had a younger brother, Thomas, who died at three days old. Sadly, Sarah and her infant died due to childbirth complications when she was just 20.

2. WARREN BUFFETT

The financial guru also known as the Oracle of Omaha is sandwiched between two sisters: Doris and Roberta. Doris now heads the Sunshine Lady Foundation, an organization that provides funding and opportunities for disadvantaged people. Roberta, or “Bertie,” who calls herself the “quiet one,” is also a philanthropist.

3. PRINCESS DIANA

Born Diana Frances Spencer, Princess Diana was the fourth of five children; she had two older sisters and a younger brother. (Another brother lived only a few hours after birth.) Prince Charles actually dated Diana's sister Sarah first, but there were no hard feelings: "I introduced them," Sarah later claimed. "I'm Cupid."

4. DAVID LETTERMAN

The former late night host has an older sister, Janice, and a younger sister, Gretchen. Gretchen was a journalist at the Tampa Bay Times for 31 years.

5. BILL GATES

Another success story surrounded by sisters, Gates was born between older sister Kristi and younger sister Libby.

6. PEYTON MANNING

You know about younger brother Eli, also a Super Bowl champ. But Peyton also has an older brother, Cooper, who hosts The Manning Hour on Fox Sports.

7. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

His older sister, Dr. Christine King Farris, was a professor at Spelman College and has written several books. His younger brother, Alfred Daniel, also an activist and pastor, drowned in his home swimming pool just 15 months after King was assassinated in 1968. Alfred was a strong swimmer—his family has since speculated that he was also murdered.

8. BRITNEY SPEARS

You may know Britney's younger sister Jamie Lynn for her Nickelodeon sitcom Zoey 101 or for her work as a country music singer and songwriter. The Spears sisters also have an older brother, Bryan, who has produced various projects for his family.

9. JOHN F. KENNEDY

As part of the famous Kennedy clan, John was the second of nine children. The first, Joseph Jr., was being groomed for the presidency until he was killed during a WWII mission. JFK's younger siblings were Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Ted.

10. MADONNA

She has two older brothers, Anthony and Martin, and three younger siblings—Paula, Christopher, and Melanie. Christopher worked closely with his sister for decades, but his 2008 tell-all book caused a rift between them.

11. CHARLES DARWIN

The father of evolution had three older sisters, one older brother, and a younger sister. He was exceptionally close with his brother Erasmus, known affectionately as "Uncle Ras" to Darwin's children.

12. DIANA ROSS

Diana, the second of six children, isn’t the only star in the family: Her sister, Barbara, is a rock star in the medical field. Barbara Ross-Lee is known for helping to modernize the way physicians are educated, and has served as the dean of Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine as well as Vice President for Health Sciences and Medical Affairs and Dean of the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences at the New York Institute of Technology.

13. ERNEST HEMINGWAY

Hemingway was the second child of six: Marcelline was a year older than him, Ursula was three years younger, Sunny was five years younger, Carol was 12 years younger, and the baby of the family, Leicester, was 16 years younger. Sadly, Leicester followed in his older brother's footsteps and committed suicide at the age of 67.

14. MICHAEL JORDAN

The basketball legend is one of five kids: Three older siblings Larry, James, and Deloris, and younger sister Roslyn. According to their father, Larry was the son with the future in basketball—until Michael shot up five inches between his sophomore and junior year of high school. It's said that Michael chose the number 23 because he hoped to be even half as good as his brother, who wore number 45.

15. THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Teddy Roosevelt's older sister, Anna or "Bamie", raised his oldest daughter, Alice, when her mother died shortly after giving birth. Younger brother Elliott was the father of Eleanor Roosevelt, while youngest sister Corinne was a poet and writer.

16. CHARLOTTE AND EMILY BRONTE

Charlotte and Emily are the most well-known Brontës, thanks to their respective novels Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, died of tuberculosis within six weeks of each other. Younger sister Anne was also a writer who produced work under the male pen name Acton Bell. She died of tuberculosis at age 29. Between Charlotte and Emily was the sole Brontë brother, Branwell, a painter and writer who also died young of—you guessed it—tuberculosis.

17. MICHAEL JACKSON

The King of Pop's older siblings were Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, LaToya, and Marlon. His younger siblings were Randy and Janet. Brandon, twin to Marlon, was stillborn. All of the Jackson children were musically successful—in addition to the Jackson Five, each of them had at least one hit on the Billboard charts.

18. WALT DISNEY

If you’re a Disney buff or even a casual follower of the Disney company, you probably know Walt’s older brother Roy, who was the financial brain behind Disney operations. Brothers Herbert and Raymond were also older than Walt; his younger sister was named Ruth.

19. MARK TWAIN

He was the sixth of seven children, though only three of his siblings survived to adulthood: Orion, Henry, and Pamela. Sadly, Henry Clemens didn't make it much beyond childhood—he died at age 19 after being badly burned when a boiler exploded on the steamboat Pennsylvania.

20. MARK ZUCKERBERG

Older sister Randi is the former Director of Market Development for Facebook; she's now the CEO of Zuckerberg Media and working on "a tech-driven pop-up dining experience" for children. He also has two younger sisters, Donna and Arielle.

21. GRACE KELLY

Actress and Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly had two older siblings, Margaret and John Jr., and a younger sister named Elizabeth. John Jr. was a four-time Olympic rower. He gave his bronze medal to Grace as a wedding present when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco.

22. MARTHA STEWART

The second of six children, Martha brought several family members into her business. Her youngest sister, Laura, ran the day-to-day operations of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, while younger brother George, a contractor, helped remodel her home.

23. GEORGIA O'KEEFFE

Georgia was the second of seven children, three of whom were artists. Sisters Ida and Catherine sometimes exhibited works alongside their famous sister, but Georgia felt that neither of them lived up to their full potential. When Ida died in 1961 at the age of 71, Georgia told her family it was a wasted life.

24. JENNIFER LOPEZ

J. Lo has an older sister, Leslie, and a younger sister, Lynda, who is an award-winning journalist.

25. SUSAN B. ANTHONY

The women's rights leader was the second-oldest of seven children—and nearly all of them were also activists. Brothers Daniel and Merritt worked for the anti-slavery movement. Sister Mary Anthony was also a suffragist and women's rights pioneer.