This extraordinary man was born in 1705, at Elmeton, in Derbyshire. His
father was a schoolmaster; and yet, from some strange neglect, Jedediah
was never taught either to read or write. So great, however, were his
natural talents for calculation, that he became remarkable for his
knowledge of the relative proportions of numbers, their powers and
progressive denominations. To these objects he applied all the powers of
his mind, and his attention was so constantly rivetted upon them, that
he was often totally abstracted from external objects. Even when he did
notice them, it was only with respect to their numbers. If any space of
time happened to be mentioned before him, he would presently inform the
company that it contained so many minutes; and if any distance, he
would assign the number of hair-breadths in it, even though no question
were asked him.
Being, on one occasion, required to multiply 456 by 378, he gave the
product by mental arithmetic, as soon as a person in company had
completed it in the common way. Being requested to work it audibly, that
his method might be known, he first multiplied 456 by 5, which produced
2,280; this he again multiplied by 20, and found the product 45,600,
which was the multiplicand, multiplied by 100. This product he again
multiplied by 3, which gave 136,800, the product of the multiplicand by
300. It remained, therefore, to multiply this by 78, which he effected
by multiplying 2,280, or the product of the multiplicand, multiplied by
5, by 15, as 5 times 15 is 75. This product being 34,200, he added to
136,800, which gave 171,000, being the amount of 375 times 456. To
complete his operation, therefore, he multiplied 456 by 3, which
produced 1,368, and this being added to 171,000, yielded 172,368, as the
product of 456 multiplied by 378.
From these particulars, it appears that Jedediah's method of calculation
was entirely his own, and that he was so little acquainted with the
common rules of arithmetic, as to multiply first by 5, and the product
by 20, to find the amount when multiplied by 100, which the addition of
two ciphers to the multiplicand would have given at once.
A person who had heard of these efforts of memory, once meeting with him
accidentally, proposed the following question, in order to try his
calculating powers. If a field be 423 yards long, and 383 broad, what
is the area? After the figures were read to him distinctly, he gave the
true product, 162,009 yards, in the space of two minutes; for the
proposer observed by the watch, how long it took him. The same person
asked how many acres the said field measured; and in eleven minutes, he
replied, 33 acres, 1 rood, 35 perches, 20 yards and a quarter. He was
then asked how many barley-corns would reach eight miles. In a minute
and a half, he answered 1,520,640. The next question was: supposing the
distance between London and York to be 204 miles, how many times will a
coach-wheel turn round in that space, allowing the circumference of that
wheel to be six yards. In thirteen minutes, he answered, 59,840 times.
On another occasion a person proposed to him this question: in a body,
the three sides of which are 23,145,789 yards, 5,642,732 yards, and
54,965 yards, how many cubic eighths of an inch? In about five hours
Jedediah had accurately solved this intricate problem, though in the
midst of business, and surrounded by more than a hundred laborers.
Next to figures, the only objects of Jedediah's curiosity were the king
and royal family. So strong was his desire to see them, that in the
beginning of the spring of 1754, he walked up to London for that
purpose, but returned disappointed, as his majesty had removed to
Kensington just as he arrived in town. He was, however, introduced to
the Royal Society, whom he called the _Folk of the Siety Court_. The
gentlemen present asked him several questions in arithmetic to try his
abilities, and dismissed him with a handsome present.
During his residence in the metropolis, he was taken to see the tragedy
of King Richard the Third, performed at Drury Lane, Garrick being one of
the actors. It was expected that the novelty of everything in that
place, together with the splendor of the surrounding objects, would have
filled him with astonishment; or that his passions would have been
roused in some degree, by the action of the performers, even though he
might not fully comprehend the dialogue. This, certainly, was a rational
idea; but his thoughts were far otherwise employed. During the dances,
his attention was engaged in reckoning the number of steps; after a fine
piece of music, he declared that the innumerable sounds produced by the
instruments perplexed him beyond measure, but he counted the words
uttered by Mr. Garrick, in the whole course of the entertainment; and
declared that in this part of the business, he had perfectly succeeded.
Heir to no fortune, and educated to no particular profession, Jedediah
Buxton supported himself by the labor of his hands. His talents, had
they been properly cultivated, might have qualified him for acting a
distinguished part on the theatre of life; he, nevertheless, pursued the
"noiseless tenor of his way," content if he could satisfy the wants of
nature, and procure a daily subsistence for himself and family. He was
married and had several children. He died in the year 1775, aged seventy
years. Though a man of wonderful powers of arithmetical calculation,
and generally regarded as a prodigy in his way--it is still obvious
that, after the practice of years, he was incapable of solving
questions, which Zerah Colburn, at the age of six or seven years,
answered in the space of a few seconds.
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