The strange disease turns blind slaves into musical geniuses

Due to his scholarly syndrome, Thomas Wiggins can play three different tracks at the same time and memorize 7,000 works.

Born with a slave, no one thought Thomas Wiggins would have a good future. However, with a rich musical talent and an incomprehensible disease, the man named "Blind Tom " became one of the most famous artists in the 19th century America.

Portrait of Thomas Wiggins.(Photo: GE).

According to Georgia Encyclopedia, Tom was born on May 25, 1849 near Columbus. His parents, Charity and Domingo are slaves under Wiley Jones' management. Finding the blind slave child, Jones did not let Tom dress. A few months later, the owner brought the Wiggins family to the market and sold it to attorney James Bethune.

From a young age, Tom was very good at mimicking sounds, from birds to trains. Arriving at Bethune's residence, the boy's musical love grew. Each time he listened to the son of his son singing, Tom stood looking for a long time. Gradually, he played the melodies himself and, at the age of five, composed his own piece called "The Rain Storm".

Recognizing Tom's innate talent, James Bethune gave the child a piano lesson for piano. Tom quickly surpassed teachers to the point of being compared to great composers like Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. However, instead of cherishing, James Bethune considered Tom as a gold mine. He forced the boy to play hired music to earn $ 100,000 per year.

Increasingly, the reputation of Tom blind became more and more distant. Growing up, the slave was so famous that the American President James Buchanan invited him to Washington and became the first African-American musician to perform at the White House. Writer Mark Twain even admired Tom so much that he went to see a show three times.

Tom's performances are very special. The artist invites the audience to the stage to play the piece of music they deem the hardest and read each note and accurately reproduce the melody just heard, including errors made by the audience. Moreover, Tom was so outstanding that he could simultaneously perform three completely different songs with his right hand, left hand and mouth.

In addition to his ability to play music, Tom remembers about 7,000 works. In 1861, he produced his most famous work, The Battle of Manassas.

The talent of blind Tom is said to be derived from scholarly syndrome.(Photo: NYP).

Despite possessing outstanding talent, Tom is emotionally lacking, always so cold that he is described as "a gramophone with the ability to memorize and create sound automatically" . He also could not take care of himself or communicate but needed the help of a third person. Some witnesses confirmed that Tom did not know he was African-American.

With all these characteristics, experts concluded that Tom was autistic and. In fact, it is a rare disease in the world. It makes people suddenly superior in a certain area but often comes with a mental defect or neurodevelopmental disorder. Patients with schizophrenia often face difficulties in normal activities and communicate so they are alienated from society.

Returning to the blind Tom, due to the bizarre illness and slavery, the artist was under the management of the Bethune family for the rest of his life. All the money he earned was robbed by this family to serve the lavish lifestyle. On June 13, 1908, Tom died of a heart attack.