Between 1857 and 1904, _______ led a life fit for the big screen: He was born a blind slave, but his masters soon discovered his real value lay in his prolific talents at the piano. Billed as both “The Eighth Wonder of the World” and an idiot savant, ___________ (presumably autistic) could replay passages on first hearing, take requests from a list of 7,000 works, and impress the classical music critics of the Civil War-era with his stunning virtuosity–all the while scaring audiences with his inexplicable onstage antics.
In the 1860s, he was earning $100,000 a year* for his masters (and for the Confederacy), touring the country and Europe. Of course, this story has a sadder ending: After being traded numerous times by masters (and later “guardians”) and eventually giving up his career–__________ was buried in a pauper’s grave.
Tweet
Share