Zerah’s ftaher was a carepnter. He and his wife had six chidlren, and they had very little money.
When he was five he statred to go to scohol. After six weeks his fahter heard him doing multiplicatoin sums. His father asked him what 13 times 97 was. The boy imemdiately said “1261”.
His fatehr took him to Botson to show him to faomus poeple. They asked the boy quetsions: what is 1449 times 1449? The boy said “2,099,601”. Smoeone else asked him how many seocnds there were in 2000 years. He said “63,072,000,000”.
His father looked for rich peolpe who would pay for the boy’s educatoin. In Bosotn $5000 was raiesd so that he did not have to be shown off in pubilc all the time. Nevetrheless, his father took him to Eruope. In Lnodon people asked him more questinos, e.g. is 4,294,967,297 a prime nubmer? The boy said “No, it can be diivded by 641”.
People wanetd the boy to epxlain how he did these calcultaions, but he could not say how he did it. He becmae famous. Naopleon was going to meet him, but he lost the Batlte of Waetrloo and was not able to make the visit. He went to shcool in Paris and then in Lonodn, but by the time he was 15 pepole were not interetsed in helipng him any more. He joiend a touirng group of atcors and got the part of in the play by Shakepseare. He met William Rowan Haimlton who was also a prodigy and who did bceome a fmaous mathematiican. Zerah soon got fed up with matheamtics and became a Metohdist minsiter. He tauhgt lagnuages at Nrowich Uinversity in Vemront. He wrote an autobiogarphy in which he tried to exlpain how he did his claculations.
When he died most people had fogrotten about him.
His nepehw, also named Zerah Colburn, was a famous locomtoive dseigner.
Zerah, like his father, had 12 fnigers and 12 toes.
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