The Untold Story of Thomas Fuller – The African Math Genius Who Defied Expectations
This is a history that every African, especially West Africans, should know, a story packed with powerful lessons and deep emotions.
Thomas Fuller, famously known as the “Virginia Calculator“ or “Negro Tom” was an enslaved African with extraordinary mathematical abilities.
His story challenges perceptions and remains one of the most fascinating buried tales of African brilliance.
The Journey of a Genius
Born in Africa, Thomas Fuller was captured and enslaved at the age of 14 before being transported to America in 1724.
He became the legal property of Presley and Elizabeth Cox in Alexandria, Virginia.
Despite being illiterate, Thomas Fuller possessed an incredible gift: his mind could calculate complex equations faster than most educated mathematicians of his time.
The Cox family enslaved 16 people but valued Thomas Fuller the most.
He expressed gratitude for not being sold, despite the widespread cruelty of slavery.
The Astonishing Mental Calculations
By the age of 70, Thomas Fuller’s reputation had spread far and wide.
His skills were so remarkable that two Pennsylvania gentlemen, William Hartshorne and Samuel Coates, sought to test him.
They asked him two challenging questions:
How many seconds are in a year and a half?
Thomas Fuller answered in just two minutes: 47,304,000 seconds.
How many seconds has a man lived if he is 70 years, 17 days, and 12 hours old?
Fuller responded in a minute and a half: 2,210,500,800 seconds.
One of the men tried to calculate the answer on paper and thought Thomas Fuller had made a mistake.
But Thomas Fuller quickly corrected him, saying, “Top, massa, you forget de leap year.” When the leap year was accounted for, Fuller’s answer was confirmed as accurate.
A Mind Beyond Formal Education
Despite his genius, Fuller remained enslaved. His mental prowess was even used by abolitionists as proof that Black people were just as intelligent, if not more so, than their white counterparts.
Observing Fuller’s abilities, Hartshorne and Coates noted:
“He was grey-headed, and exhibited several other marks of the weakness of old age. He had worked hard upon a farm during the whole of life but had never been intemperate in the use of spirituous liquors. He spoke with great respect of his mistress, and mentioned in a particular manner his obligations to her for refusing to sell him, which she had been tempted to by offers of large sums of money from several persons. One of the gentlemen, Mr. Coates, having remarked in his presence that it was a pity he had not an education equal to his genius, he said, “No, Massa, it is best I had no learning, for many learned men be great fools.”
Fuller’s story is a powerful testament to African excellence, defying the limitations imposed upon him by slavery. His legacy remains a crucial part of African history that deserves to be told.
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