Determining the man who has fathered the most children is a difficult task, as records are not always clear or consistent across history. However, examining the evidence, a few men stand out for having parented extraordinarily large numbers of offspring.
Key Facts and Figures
- The man believed to have had the most children is Feodor Vassilyev, a Russian peasant who lived in the 18th century.
- According to records, his first wife allegedly birthed 69 children over the course of 27 pregnancies, though only 67 of them survived infancy.
- Other men reported to have fathered over 100 children include Ismail the Bloodthirsty, an Emperor of Morocco, and Moulay Sharif, another Emperor of Morocco.
- In more recent times, the man with the most confirmed children is likely American celebrity Bertold Wiesner, a physician who fathered over 600 children via artificial insemination in the 1940s and 1950s.
Feodor Vassilyev and His 69 Children
The greatest number of children born to one man and his partner belongs to Feodor Vassilyev (1707-1782) and his first wife, Valentina Vassilyeva (1725-1782), who lived in Shuya, Russia in the mid-18th century.
According to entries in the Monastery of Nikolskiy chronicles and a report submitted to Moscow by the Monastery’s archimandrite, over the course of 27 pregnancies between 1725 and 1765, Vassilyeva gave birth to a total of 69 children, including 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets.
Records indicate that 67 of the 69 children survived infancy, though the veracity of the records has been difficult to prove conclusively. If true, this would make Feodor Vassilyev the man with the largest recorded number of biological children in history.
Breakdown of the 27 Births
- 16 sets of twins
- 7 sets of triplets
- 4 sets of quadruplets
This amounts to:
- 32 twins
- 21 triplets
- 16 quadruplets
Plus the 9 single births, making 69 children total.
Doubts and Controversy
Some doubt has been cast on the validity of the claim, as the monastery’s records were prone to exaggeration. However, research indicates the local oral traditions in the Shuya district are consistent about the extraordinarily large number of offspring.
If true, conceiving 69 children would be an astonishing feat. For perspective, the modern record for babies born in one birth is 8 (octuplets). Even quintuplets occur only once in several million births.
Other Men Who Potentially Fathered Over 100 Children
While Feodor Vassilyev’s 69 children remain the most officially recorded, some other men through history are alleged to have parented over 100 offspring each:
Ismail the Bloodthirsty
Ismail Ibn Sharif (1634-1727), Sultan of Morocco from 1672-1727, is reported in some sources to have fathered 867 children, including 525 sons and 342 daughters. His nickname “the Bloodthirsty” comes from his ruthlessness in battle and oppressive rule.
Moulay Sharif
Moulay Sharif (1889-1972), Sultan of Morocco from 1912-1956, was rumored to have fathered over 1,000 children. The incredibly high number was likely an exaggeration, but estimates range from several hundred to over 1,000 offspring.
Other Rulers
Various rulers throughout history have claimed to have sired hundreds of children, including:
- Ramses II – Pharaoh of Egypt, estimated to have over 100 children
- Neil I of Alba – 9th century Scottish King, alleged to have over 300 children
- Kublai Khan – 13th century Mongol ruler, reported to have at least 22 legitimate sons and a vast number of daughters
However, the actual numbers are difficult to verify.
Recent Times: Bertold Wiesner
For recent times, the man holding the record for the most children is likely Bertold Wiesner (1901-1972), an early pioneer of artificial insemination and operator of the first major sperm bank.
As a doctor at the London clinic Marias in the 1940s, Wiesner used his own sperm to artificially inseminate hundreds of women, likely fathering over 600 children.
Breakdown of Wiesner’s Children
- Married 3 times, fathered 1 child naturally
- Artificially inseminated over 500 women with his own sperm
- Fathered estimated 600+ children via his clinic donations
Many of these children, born in the 1940s and 50s, did not discover Wiesner was their biological father until recent decades through DNA testing.
Ethical Controversy
Wiesner’s actions were incredibly unethical, using his own sperm without informing the women or their partners. At the time, there were no regulations or controls around artificial insemination.
However, his use of his own sperm to inseminate so many women has made him the father of the largest known number of children in recent times.
Children Born Through Modern Fertility Methods
Advances in fertility technology since the days of Wiesner now allow men to conceive even larger numbers of children in far less time.
Sperm donation, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and artificial insemination make it possible for a man to father hundreds of babies in just a few years while remaining anonymous to the children.
For example, one sperm donor in the Netherlands is the biological father of at least 102 children conceived through a fertility center from 2015 to 2019.
However, sperm donation registries and limits have been implemented in many countries to prevent donors conceiving excessive numbers of offspring who are biological half siblings.
Current Guinness World Record Holder
The current Guinness World Record holder for most children from a single sperm donor is Kirk Maxey from the US with at least 524 biological children.
Maxey donated sperm at a fertility clinic from 1980 to 1994. A combination of lax record keeping and the clinic selling his sperm to hundreds of buyers led to him fathering an astonishing number of children, many of whom tracked him down decades later through ancestry databases.
Thus, while Maxey holds the current world record based on identifiable offspring, modern sperm donation practices could allow many anonymous donors to unknowingly father hundreds of children.
Conclusion
In summary, Feodor Vassilyev holds the record for the most children fathered by one man according to officially recorded history, with 67 of 69 children born to his first wife surviving infancy.
In more recent centuries, Bertold Wiesner fathered over 600 children through unauthorized use of his own sperm at his clinic in the 1940s and 1950s.
And while records are patchy, some rulers like Ismail of Morocco may have exceeded even Vassilyev, potentially fathering over 800 children through their royal harems over many decades.
Modern fertility treatments could allow men to sire even higher numbers anonymously. But sperm donation registries and ethical regulations now aim to prevent some of the excesses of the past.
The quest to determine the man who definitively fathered the highest number of children may never produce a definitive answer. But examining the evidence, Vassilyev, Wiesner and Ismail of Morocco appear to be among the top contenders vying for that superlative status.