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	Biography of Thomas Bethune also known as Thomas Wiggins - Blind Tom
		The Bethune entourage, with Tom in tow, hastily exited New Albany and fled to Ohio.
		Tom, it appears, used to soliloquize about himself and his music, and Mark's memory was full of his quaint sayings, of which Mark poured out a stream to me, and so vividly that I can't tell today whether I ever saw and heard Tom, or whether my imagination has constructed him from Mark's account.
		Blind Tom, the negro pianist, was spoken of, and it was said that he could accurately play any piece of music, howsoever long and difficult, after hearing it once; and that six months later he could accurately play it again, without having touched it in the interval.
	www.twainquotes.com /archangels.html (3204 words)

	Blind Tom Wiggins - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (May 25, 1849–June 13, 1908) was an African American autistic savant and musical prodigy on the piano.
		Born blind, the first historical record of Thomas Wiggins is from 1850 when his slave mother, Charity Wiggins, was sold to general (or colonel) and lawyer James N. Bethune alongside with her blind child.
		Blind Tom died in 1908 in Hoboken, New Jersey and was buried in the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn, New York.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Blind_Tom (446 words)

	African American Registry: "Blind Tom," the Mozart of his race!
		After the Battle of Manassas, Tom and his manager were confined in Nashville for several months and after hearing the battle discussed for several weeks, Tom sat down at the piano and produced a composition incorporating melodies representing the Union Army, the Confederate Army, and Confederate and Union leaders Beauregard and McDowell.
		The Bethune entourage, with Tom in tow, hastily exited New Albany and fled to Ohio.
		Newspapers reported Tom, disappointed and grief stricken at the thought of having to leave Virginia and the old General, was threatening to "fight them all." On the date of surrender, General Bethune's son James brought Tom to the courtroom.
	www.aaregistry.com /african_american_history/1246/Blind_Tom_the_Mozart_of_his_race (1354 words)

	Wisconsin Medical Society - Savant Profile, Blind Tom
		"Blind Tom" — Thomas Greene Bethune (sometimes identified as Thomas Wiggens Bethune) — was an internationally recognized musical savant around the time of the civil war, referred to at that time as "the eighth wonder of the world" and "the greatest musical prodigy of the age".
		Tom, exactly like Leslie Lemke exactly a century later, was blind and mentally handicapped yet possessed an incredible musical genius that exploded on the scene early in life and then developed into an international presence and reputation.
		While separated by a century in years, Blind Tom and Leslie share remarkably similar physical and mental limitations, similar prodigious musical genius and similar life stories with respect to their discovery, the unfolding of that incredible musical genius, and the musical zenith they both reached, each in their own era.
	www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org /savant/blindtom.cfm (2035 words)

	Tom Wiggins: Raw Deal (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Tom Wiggins was the most publicized pianist-instrumentalist-vocalist-orator-composer of the 19th century.
		But Tom was no mere "idiot savant;" he was a virtuoso whose skills improved steadily over years of diligent practice - the only education he was allowed - and tutoring by some of the most renowned musical instructors of his time.
		"Blind Tom" was exhibited as a freak; his talents, although acknowledged to be extraordinary, were credited as a "satanic gift." Although he died in 1908, Tom had been a de facto slave his entire life, earning millions for his managers but none for himself.
	www.blastbooks.com /RAWDEAL/Wiggins/fr2wigns.htm (232 words)

	neurodiversity.com \| blind tom wiggins (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Blind Tom, The Last Legal Slave in America, was born in 1849, Thomas Greene Bethune was the son of field slaves, but over the course of a 50 year career, his dazzling skills at the piano enthralled audiences worldwide.
		The blind pianist had so many vaudeville imitators claiming to be him that people at his 1908 funeral debated whether the body they were burying was the authentic Blind Tom.
		Blind Tom died at age fifty-nine on June 13, 1908 in Hoboken, New Jersey...
	www.neurodiversity.com /bio_blind_tom_wiggins.html (1954 words)

	Washingtonpost.com: Live Online
		Blind Tom was virtually forgotten to history for most of the 20th century, until John Davis, a Juilliard-trained pianist, found a new musical mission as a modern day interpreter of Blind Tom’s music.
		Blind Tom's story is part of this week's episode of "Life 360," a new Friday night series on PBS (check local listings).
		Tom was in some sense a rival, but nothing Tom could have done could have threatened him.
	discuss.washingtonpost.com /wp-srv/zforum/01/life360_101901.htm (3213 words)

	Biography of Thomas Bethune also known as Thomas Wiggins - Blind Tom
		Tom was born on May 25, 1849 with a condition that today's doctors might diagnose with the politically correct term "autistic savant"--one of only about 100 cases recorded in medical history.
		Tom, it appears, used to soliloquize about himself and his music, and Mark's memory was full of his quaint sayings, of which Mark poured out a stream to me, and so vividly that I can't tell today whether I ever saw and heard Tom, or whether my imagination has constructed him from Mark's account.
		Blind Tom, the negro pianist, was spoken of, and it was said that he could accurately play any piece of music, howsoever long and difficult, after hearing it once; and that six months later he could accurately play it again, without having touched it in the interval.
	twainquotes.com /archangels.html (3204 words)

	BAM: The Slave and the Doctor’s Son, Features, September/October 2001
		Blind Tom was already fading from memory when he died, poverty-stricken, in 1908.
		Above all, the story of Blind Tom is a musical and medical mystery that has intrigued such observers as the physician-writer Oliver Sacks, whose studies of autistic patients bear a striking similarity to the life of this forgotten pianist.
		Blind Tom died of a stroke in 1908 at the age of fifty-nine.
	www.brownalumnimagazine.com /storydetail.cfm?ID=289 (2968 words)

	'Wonderchild' tells story of UI student's 'discovery' of African-American pianist Blind Tom
		She was intrigued enough to track down some of the music Blind Tom created, and what she discovered convinced her that the music could not be product of an idiot capable only of mimicry.
		Tom Wiggins was born a slave in 1849, and the remarkable capabilities of this blind boy became evident at an early age.
		Southall's research also documented the fact that Tom studied with many of the leading piano teachers of the time, and was active as a composer and performer into the 20th century, until his death in 1908.
	itsnt166.iowa.uiowa.edu /uns-archives/2002/march/0322wonderchild.html (992 words)

	Amazon.ca: John Davis Plays Blind Tom, The Eighth Wonder: Music: Thomas Wiggins (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Between 1857 and 1904, Tom Wiggins led a life fit for the big screen: He was born a blind slave, but his masters soon discovered his real value lay in his prolific talents at the piano.
		Billed as both "The Eighth Wonder of the World" and an idiot savant, Blind Tom (presumably autistic) could replay passages on first hearing, take requests from a list of 7,000 works, and impress the classical music critics of the Civil War-era with his stunning virtuosity--all the while scaring audiences with his inexplicable onstage antics.
		Tom's music is charming--he imitated nature sounds ("The Rainstorm," composed when Tom was just five) and sewing machines ("Sewing Machine")--and, at times, sophisticated.
	www.amazon.ca /Davis-Plays-Blind-Eighth-Wonder/dp/B00003OPAP (1057 words)

	The Post-Searchlight - A contributor to the local culture (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Tom Brown’s blindness is, in fact, what brought him to Bainbridge, as he came here to live and work at Georgia Industries for the Blind.
		Tom, who was born three months premature, and like many preemies of the day, was exposed to large amounts of oxygen that resulted in a condition called retrolental fibroplasia.
		Tom lives independently, as do many of the employees at GIB, and he is thankful for the good friends in the community that he said make his life bearable and get him to church at Faith Baptist on Sundays.
	www.zwire.com /site/news.cfm?BRD=2068&dept_id=387472&newsid=13074858&PAG=461&rfi=9 (924 words)

	Tom Ley Plus NFB Skills And Confidence Equal Capable And Confident High School Math Teacher (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Tom Ley was a 1987 National Federation of the Blind scholarship winner, and he has been an active member of the organization and a leader in the Louisiana affiliate and the student division.
		I had seen it in other blind people, and I knew that it might be mine, maybe in the future.
		Blindness is no longer something which overwhelms me or predominates in my life.
	www.blind.net /bg500004.htm (1712 words)

	Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins, African American Pianist
		Blind from birth, he was "thrown in" as a bargain when Colonel James Neil Bethune, a highly respected Columbus, Georgia lawyer, and newspaper editor purchased his parents, Charity and Mingo Wiggins, and two of his brothers at a slave auction in fall 1850.
		According to most accounts, Tom demonstrated his aptitude for music before his fourth birthday, having slipped unnoticed to the piano and picked out several tunes he had heard played by the Bethune daughters, all of whom were accomplished musicians.
		Inasmuch as the guardianship agreement permitted the Bethunes to receive ninety percent of Tom's earnings with nothing to guarantee that they would not expropriate the ten percent promised to Tom and his parents, the trial offered one more example of how ex-slave owners were able to re-enslave their slaves, the Emancipation Proclamation notwithstanding.
	chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com /Wiggins.html (4688 words)

	CNN.com - Transcripts
		CABELL: Blind Tom was a celebrity, albeit a freakish one, for much of his life, but over the last century, he's almost been forgotten by the American public.
		She is Blind Tom's great-grandniece, and she's here with us in the studio.
		And his mother was a house slave, and she had this little blind child, and they just let him run loose in the house.
	www-cgi.cnn.com /TRANSCRIPTS/0203/04/lt.03.html (1416 words)

	ELL \| Little Known Facts: Blind Tom legend to railroad men (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Tom's job was to move the rails from the store yards up to the front where the track was being laid.
		So appreciated and honored was Tom that he was allowed to stand next to the dignitaries on May 10, 1869, when the railroad was completed and the Golden Pike was driven.
		Blind Tom drove that wagon alone across 1,100 miles of prairie and desert absolutely alone.
	www.edmondpaper.com /print_this.php?55905,4,19 (437 words)

	John William Boone aka "Blind Boone" (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Starting at a young age, Boone played mouth instruments, a tin whistle and later a mouth organ much to the delight of the neighborhood and was often "invited" to perform for local families.
		"Blind" Boone Community Center, established in 1963, and the Blind Boone Highsteppers are well known for their fantastic performances.
		Blind Boone never let his lack of eyesight limit is vision of how music can engage and delight everyone from the youngest to the oldest and he remains an inspiration to everyone.
	www.bocomo.org /blindb.htm (1859 words)

	NPR : The Tale of 'Blind Tom' Wiggins
		"Blind Tom" Wiggins was able to mimic music and other sounds at an early age.
		The subject of Twain's back-handed praise was Thomas Wiggins, a blind slave from Georgia known as Blind Tom who toured concert halls throughout America and Europe as a musical oddity.
		Years later, after two court battles, Tom was returned to his mother, who was unable to care for him.
	www.npr.org /programs/morning/features/2002/mar/blindtom/index.html (762 words)

	Father and Son Duo Tackle Diabetes
		Tom, a 39-year-old devout Christian and self-described “math geek,” lost his sight to diabetes at age 17.
		Shortly after Tom became blind, his father took down a volume of the encyclopedia from the bookshelf and opened it to “blindness.” There he read that blind people succeed at many jobs, “and,” Tom recalls with a smile, “lo and behold one of the jobs listed in the encyclopedia was electrical engineer!”
		Tom uses a talking meter, the ACCU-CHEK VoiceMate, while JonCarlos uses a traditional meter with a visual display, the ACCU-CHEK Compact, and reports the numbers on the display to his parents.
	www.nfb.org /Images/nfb/Publications/vod/vod213/vodsum0603.htm (1623 words)

	TomCruiseForever.com \|\| News, pictures and all informations about TOM CRUISE
		Announcing the line-up, artistic director Sandra Hebron said: "In a very strong year for world cinema, we are delighted to be able to present such a wide-ranging and high quality programme of films and special events".
		Tom will be in the London Film Festival presenting "Lions For Lambs" next October 22nd.
		He was allowed to commit suicide with his own pistol but managed to blind himself instead.
	tomcruiseforever.com (2019 words)

	LCRBMRP-T2323
		Tom was born blind, and, learning nothing from sight, manifested in his early infancy so entire a want of intellect as to induce the belief that he was idiotic as well as blind.
		Tom has as much sense as a horse or dog, and I will show you that he can be taught." He thereupon arose from the table, and approaching Tom, said to him, "Tom, sit down." Tom, of course, as was expected, stood still and repeated the words.
		It has been stated that Tom was born blind; in his infancy and for years the pupils of his eyes were as white and apparently as inanimate as those of a dead fish.
	lcweb2.loc.gov /rbc/lcrbmrp/t23/t2323.sgm_old (8332 words)

	Amazon.com: Blind Tom, the Black Pianist-Composer (1849-1908): Books: Geneva Handy Southall (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Blind Tom was the stage name of Thomas Greene Wiggins, a blind fl pianist born into slavery in 1849.
		Noted by many musical authorities to be a musician of amazing skill, expressive playing, and incredible memory, he was nonetheless considered by his "admirers" still nearer to "animals" than other human beings, and was exploited by a series of whites after the Civil War for their own financial comfort.
		In this focused, consequential study, Geneva Southall reformulates the debate surrounding Blind Tom and expands its dimensions significantly.
	www.amazon.com /Blind-Tom-Black-Pianist-Composer-1849-1908/dp/0810835940 (621 words)

	CPRR Discussion Group - Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
		This apparently is unrelated to the "Blind Tom" (Thomas Bethune also known as Thomas Wiggins), an autistic Black Pianist-Composer prodigy (1849-1908) who was quite famous in the 19th century.
		There is a photograph of Blind Tom in the Carbutt stereo views of the 1866 excursion.
		As the men in front are putting down the rail Blind Tom is in the background pulling the carts loaded with rail.
	cprr.org /CPRR_Discussion_Group/2006/05/blind-tom-uprr-horse.html (1116 words)

	The New Yorker: The Talk of the Town (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Wiggins, who played the piano under the stage name Blind Tom, was in his day among the most successful entertainers in America.
		Born blind, and possibly autistic, he spent the early part of his life in slavery and the latter part essentially indentured, first to his former master, then to his master's son, and, finally, to his master's son's widow.
		According to the obituary in the Times, several mourners at the funeral home said they did not believe that the body in the casket was really Blind Tom's, and this argument was still going on as the casket was being carried off to the Evergreens.
	www.newyorker.com /talk/content/?020715ta_talk_kolbert (743 words)

	Land of the Blind (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		The story is set in an alternate reality amalgam of Great Britain and the U.S.A., where film and TV celebrities run the government and Max (Tom Hollander), the leader of the "free" world, is a sado-masochistic freak who spends the nation's money on gaudy action movies.
		Outside the palace walls, the nation is being overrun by violent rebels while their idealistic leader, Thorne (Sutherland), resides in jail, quoting William Butler Yeats and being regularly tortured.
		Tom Hollander steals most of his scenes as the Caligula-esque Max; Lara Flynn Boyle is also in fine scenery chewing form as his Imelda Marcos meets Evita Peron-style wife.
	www.rottentomatoes.com /m/10006782-land_of_the_blind/about.php (478 words)

	Idiot Savant - Photos of Blind Tom
		The blind negro Tom has been performing here to a crowded house.
		He resembles any ordinary negro boy 13 years old and is perfectly blind and an idiot in everything but music, language, imitation, and perhaps memory.
		This poor blind boy is cursed with but little of human nature; he seems to be an unconscious agent acting as he is acted on, and his mind a vacant receptacle where Nature stores her jewels to recall them at her pleasure.
	www.twainquotes.com /blindtom.html (254 words)

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