Thomas Fuller (slave)

Thomas Fuller (1710-1790), also known as Negro Tom and the Virginia Calculator, was a slave renown for his mathematical abilities.

History

Fuller born in Africa somewhere between present day Liberia and Benin and was shipped to America in 1724 as a slave at the age of 14 eventually becoming the property of Mrs. Elizabeth Cox of Alexandria, Virginia. Stories of his abilities abounded through the Eastern sea board. His skill was even used as proof that the slaves were equal to whites in intelligence which fueled some pro-abolitionist discussion.

Documentation of abilities

When he was about seventy years old, William Hartshorne and Samuel Coates of Pennsylvania, were in Alexandria and having heard of Fuller's powers, sent for him. They asked him two questions which satisfied their curiosity.

First, they asked him how many seconds there were in a year and a half, he answered in about two minutes, 47,304,000. Second, they asked how many seconds a man has lived who is 70 years, 17 days and 12 hours old, he answered in a minute and a half 2,210,500,800. One of the men was working out the problems on paper, and informed Fuller that he was wrong, because the answer was much smaller. Fuller hastily replied, "Stop, master, you forget the leap year." When the leap year was added in, the sums matched [ American Museum, Vol.V, 62, Phila., 1799] .

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