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Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (May 25, 1849June 14, 1908, age 59) was an African American musical prodigy on the piano. He had numerous original compositions published and had a lengthy and largely successful performing career throughout the United States. During the 19th century, he was one of the best-known American performing pianists. Although he lived and died before autism was described, he is now regarded as an autistic savant. ==Early life== Wiggins was born on the Wiley Edward Jones Plantation in Harris County, Georgia. Blind at birth, he was sold in 1850 along with his enslaved parents, Charity and Domingo "Mingo" Wiggins, to a Columbus, Georgia lawyer, General James Neil Bethune.〔(Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins, African American Pianist ); retrieved February 2007〕 Bethune was "almost the pioneer free trader" in the United States and "the first () editor in the south to openly advocate secession".〔( "The Owner of 'Blind Tom' Ill", ''New York Times'' (21 January 1895); cited by Gates and Higginbotham, ''African American Lives,'' p. 84 )〕 General Bethune renamed the child Thomas Greene Bethune or Thomas Wiggins Bethune (according to different sources). Because Tom was blind, he could not perform work normally demanded of slaves, and was left to play and explore the Bethune plantation. At an early age, he showed an interest in the piano after hearing the instrument played by Bethune's daughters. By age four he reportedly had acquired some piano skills by ear, and gained access to the piano. By age five Tom reportedly had composed his first tune, ''The Rain Storm,'' after a torrential downpour on a tin roof.〔(Remembers Only Names And Dates ), in ''the Tacoma Times'', published February 24, 1904; retrieved January 19, 2015 (via Chronicling America)〕 With his skills recognized by General Bethune, Tom was permitted to live in a room attached to the family house, equipped with a piano. Neighbor Otto Spahr, reminiscing about Tom in the ''Atlanta Constitution'' in 1908 (as reproduced in ''The Ballad of Blind Tom'', by Deirdre O'Connell), observed: "Tom seemed to have but two motives in life: the gratification of his appetite and his passion for music. I don't think I exaggerate when I state that he made the piano go for twelve hours out of twenty-four."〔(Deirdre O'Connell, "The Ballad of Blind Tom", (Overlook Press, 2009) )〕 As a child, Tom began to echo the sounds around him, repeating accurately the crow of a rooster or the singing of a bird. If he was left alone in the cabin, Tom was known to begin beating on pots and pans or dragging chairs across the floor in an attempt to make any kind of noise. By the age of four, Tom was able to repeat conversations up to ten minutes in length but was barely able to adequately communicate his own needs, resorting to grunts and gestures. Bethune hired out "Blind Tom" from the age of eight years to concert promoter Perry Oliver, who toured him extensively in the US, performing as often as four times a day and earning Oliver and Bethune up to $100,000 a year, an enormous sum for the time,〔( "The Battle of Manassas", ''Art of the States'' (on line) )〕 "equivalent to $1.5 million/year (2004 ), making Blind Tom undoubtedly the nineteenth century's most highly compensated pianist".〔(Henry Louis Gates, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, ''African American Lives,'' p. 85. Oxford University Press (2004). ) ISBN 0-19-516024-X〕 General Bethune's family eventually made a fortune estimated at $750,000 at the hands of Blind Tom.〔(Barbara Schmidt, "Archangels Unaware, The Story of Thomas Bethune ) at Mark Twain site, www.twainquotes.com 〕 Oliver marketed Tom as a “Barnum-style freak” advertising the transformation from animal to artist. In the media, Tom was frequently compared to a bear, baboon, or mastiff. Bethune hired professional musicians to play for Tom, who could faithfully reproduce their performances, often after a single listening. Eventually he learned a reported 7,000 pieces of music, including hymns, popular songs, waltzes, and classical repertoire. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blind Tom Wiggins」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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