Child prodigy

Zerah Colburn

Zerah Colburn (1804-1839) was a famous genius of the 19th century. He was born in Cabot, Vermont and study at Westminster school in London. The people thought that Zerah was mentally retarded until the age of seven. His father overheard him repeating his multiplication tables, then he decided to test him on his mathematical abilities and he discovered special abilities about his child. Zerah’s abilities developed rapidly. Colburn, at seven years old, was able to calculate in six seconds the numbers of hours in thirty-eight years, two months, and seven days. But he never had great success in any of his careers. During his adulthood, his abilities declined.