Thomas Fuller, an African sold into slavery in 1724 at the age of 14, was sometimes known as the “Virginia Calculator” for his extraordinary ability to solve complex math problems in his head.
According to Quora, he was asked how many seconds there were in a year and a half, he answered in about two minutes, 47,304,000.
“Again he was asked how many seconds a man has lived who is 70 years, 17 days and 12 hours old, he answered in a minute and a half 2,210,500,800,” the post adds.
One of the men was working out the problems on paper, and informed Fuller that he was wrong, because the answer was much smaller. Fuller hastily replied, “‘Top, massa, you forget de leap year.” When the leap year was added in, the sums matched.
A named his documentation of abilities
“When Fuller was about 70 years old, William Hartshorne and Samuel Coates of Pennsylvania were in Alexandria and, having heard of Fuller’s powers, sent for him. They asked him two questions which satisfied their curiosity, reports a Wikipedia entry.
“When they asked how many seconds a man has lived who is 70 years, 17 days and 12 hours old, he answered in a minute and a half 2,210,500,800. One of the men was working out the problems on paper, and informed Fuller that his answer was too high. Fuller hastily replied, ‘Top, massa, you forget de leap year.’ When the leap year was added in, the sums matched,” the entry adds.
It is widely held that despite Fuller’s perfect answers, it appeared that his mental abilities must have once been greater.
