Truman Henry Safford

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Truman Henry Safford (6 January 1836-13 June 1901 ^[1]) was an American calculating prodigy. In later life he was an observatory director.

He was born in Royalton, Vermont, USA on 6 January, 1836. At an early age he attracted public attention by his remarkable calculation powers. At the age of ten, a local priest asked him to multiply 365,365,365,365,365,365 by itself. In less than a minute he gave the correct answer of 133,491,850,208,566,925,016,658,299,941,583,225. However before giving the answer he reportedly "flew around the room like a top, pulled his pantaloons over the tops of his boots, bit his hands, rolled his eyes in their sockets, sometimes smiling and talking and then seeming to be in agony, until, in not more than a minute said he, 133,491,850,208,566,925,016,658,299,941,583,225!" At around this age he also developed a new rule for calculating the moon's risings and settings, taking one-quarter of the time of the existing method.

Unlike many other calculating prodigies, Safford did not give public exhibitions. He went to college and studied astronomy. He became the second director of the Hopkins Observatory at Williams College, the oldest college-operated observatory in the United States. He served as director of the Observatory until his death in 1901. The Safford Fund for student researchers was created by his descendants to honor him. His natural calculating abilities seemed to wane with age.

[edit] References

The Remarkable `Lightning Calculator,' Truman Henry Safford, Harvard Magazine, vol. 85 (1982), pp. 54-56. Co-author: K.R. Lewis.
Describes his agitation at calculating
Hopkins Observatory