Zerah Colburn (math prodigy)
Encyclopedia
Zerah Colburn was a child prodigy
of the 19th century who gained fame as a mental calculator
.
in London. He was thought to be mentally retarded until the age of seven. However, after six weeks of schooling his father overheard him repeating his multiplication table
s. His father wasn't sure whether or not he learned the tables from his older brothers and sisters but he decided to test him further on his mathematical abilities and discovered that there was something special about his son when Zerah correctly multiplied 13 and 97.
Colburn's abilities developed rapidly and he was soon able to solve such problems as the number of seconds in 2,000 years, the product of 12,225 and 1,223, or the square root of 1,449. When he was seven years old he took six seconds to give the numbers of hours in thirty-eight years, two months, and seven days.
Zerah is reported to have been able to solve fairly complex problems. For example, the sixth number of Fermat is 2^(2^5)+1. The question is whether this number, 4294967297, is prime or not. Zerah calculated in his head that it was not and has divisor 641. The other divisor is 6700417 and can easily be found using a calculator.
His father soon began to capitalize on his boy's talents by taking Zerah around the country and eventually abroad, demonstrating the boy's exceptional abilities and also trying to find patrons who would pay for Zerah's education. His father was not very successful in finding patronage for Zerah's education and the patrons he did find he ultimately alienated. Therefore Zerah's schooling was rather irregular. In spite of his unconventional schooling, he also showed extreme talent in languages. Some credit a youthful competition he had with William Rowan Hamilton
as an inspiration to him becoming a mathematician.http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Hamilton.html He died in 1839.
Despite all that, Colburn's abilities did not translate to adult achievement. He never had great success in any of his careers. The career of most note might be doing calculations for Dr. Thomas Young
at the Board of Longitude
, for a time, but mostly he drifted among several unsuccessful careers. These ranged from a mathematician
, a teacher of languages and literature
and even a Methodist preacher
. In adulthood his abilities apparently declined to some degree. His nephew, also named Zerah Colburn
, was a noted locomotive engineer and technical journalist.
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
of the 19th century who gained fame as a mental calculator
Mental calculator
Mental calculators are people with a prodigious ability in some area of mental calculation, such as multiplying large numbers or factoring large numbers...
.
Biography
He was born in Cabot, Vermont in 1804 and educated at Westminster SchoolWestminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
in London. He was thought to be mentally retarded until the age of seven. However, after six weeks of schooling his father overheard him repeating his multiplication table
Multiplication table
In mathematics, a multiplication table is a mathematical table used to define a multiplication operation for an algebraic system....
s. His father wasn't sure whether or not he learned the tables from his older brothers and sisters but he decided to test him further on his mathematical abilities and discovered that there was something special about his son when Zerah correctly multiplied 13 and 97.
Colburn's abilities developed rapidly and he was soon able to solve such problems as the number of seconds in 2,000 years, the product of 12,225 and 1,223, or the square root of 1,449. When he was seven years old he took six seconds to give the numbers of hours in thirty-eight years, two months, and seven days.
Zerah is reported to have been able to solve fairly complex problems. For example, the sixth number of Fermat is 2^(2^5)+1. The question is whether this number, 4294967297, is prime or not. Zerah calculated in his head that it was not and has divisor 641. The other divisor is 6700417 and can easily be found using a calculator.
His father soon began to capitalize on his boy's talents by taking Zerah around the country and eventually abroad, demonstrating the boy's exceptional abilities and also trying to find patrons who would pay for Zerah's education. His father was not very successful in finding patronage for Zerah's education and the patrons he did find he ultimately alienated. Therefore Zerah's schooling was rather irregular. In spite of his unconventional schooling, he also showed extreme talent in languages. Some credit a youthful competition he had with William Rowan Hamilton
William Rowan Hamilton
Sir William Rowan Hamilton was an Irish physicist, astronomer, and mathematician, who made important contributions to classical mechanics, optics, and algebra. His studies of mechanical and optical systems led him to discover new mathematical concepts and techniques...
as an inspiration to him becoming a mathematician.http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Hamilton.html He died in 1839.
Despite all that, Colburn's abilities did not translate to adult achievement. He never had great success in any of his careers. The career of most note might be doing calculations for Dr. Thomas Young
Thomas Young (scientist)
Thomas Young was an English polymath. He is famous for having partly deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics before Jean-François Champollion eventually expanded on his work...
at the Board of Longitude
Board of Longitude
The Board of Longitude was the popular name for the Commissioners for the Discovery of the Longitude at Sea. It was a British Government body formed in 1714 to administer a scheme of prizes intended to encourage innovators to solve the problem of finding longitude at sea.-Origins:Navigators and...
, for a time, but mostly he drifted among several unsuccessful careers. These ranged from a mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, a teacher of languages and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and even a Methodist preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
. In adulthood his abilities apparently declined to some degree. His nephew, also named Zerah Colburn
Zerah Colburn (locomotive designer)
Zerah Colburn was an American engineer specialising in steam locomotive design, technical journalist and publisher.- Career :Without any formal schooling, Colburn was a teenage prodigy...
, was a noted locomotive engineer and technical journalist.