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Fauvel, John and Gerdes, Paulus. African slave and calculating prodigy: bicentenary of the death of Thomas Fuller. Historia Math. 17 (1990), no. 2, 141--151. SC: 01A70 (01A10), MR: 91h:01051.
Thomas Fuller, who showed remarkable ability in mental computation, was born in Africa and was sold as a slave when he was 14. It would be interesting to know more about where he came from and what the educational practices of the area he came from were. His abilities were not isolated, as there is for example evidence of highly developed ability in mental computation among the African slave traders of the era. The article is at least as much about the way Thomas Fuller's accomplishments were discussed and used by his contemporaries as about Fuller himself. The article includes the text of two sources contemporary with Fuller, one by Benjamin Rush (one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence). The authors also mention Francis Williams, who achieved some fame as a poet and a mathematician. Little is known about Williams' mathematics, but Gerdes does include a sample of Williams' verse (the sample is in Latin). Closely related topic: Thomas Fuller (1710-1790).Modify notes on this entry Modify bibliography entry Make comment on this entry
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