Colburn

Colburn, ZERAH, a mathematical prodigy, born in Vermont, U.S., in 1804, displayed such remarkable powers of calculation that in 1810 his father left Vermont to exhibit him. At this period he answered correctly such questions as 'How many hours in 1811 years?' in twenty seconds; and a few years later much more complicated problems were solved with equal rapidity. He was shown in Great Britain, and for some time in Paris; from 1816 to 1819 he studied at Westminster School at the expense of the Earl of Bristol. His father died in 1824, and he returned to America; here he was a Methodist preacher for nine years, and from 1835 professor of Languages in Norwich University, Vermont, where he died 2d March 1840. His remarkable faculty disappeared as he grew to manhood.