The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-02-24

KNOW muCn ABOUT MIN. Many OF
them, as well as the older ones, think
of him as the author of Colburu's
arithmetic, which he was not, but
Warren Colburn, owing the world
great spite, brought that into being.
Zerah Colburn was born in Cabot
VT, September LIST, 1904. When about
six years of age while playing on the
floor one day he began to repeat what
his father thought parts of the multi
plication table, he had learned from
the older children, as he could not
read, and of course did not knew any
thing of figures, not even the names
of them. When he began to question
him he found he could go through the
table all right. Then he asked the
product of 1897 to which 1861 was
instantly given. Questions in multi
LEGATION of two or three places of fig
ures were answered with much great
er rapidity than they could be solved
on paper. also questions involving an
| application OF this rule, as in reduc-
ton, and the rule of three and SEEM
ed to be perfectly adapted to his
mind. The extraction of the roots of
exact squares and cubes was done
with very little effort and what has
been considered by the mathemati-
clans of Europe an operation for which
no rule existed, namely finding the
factors of numbers was performed by
him, and in course of time he was
able to point out his method of OBJ
tanning them, Questions in addition,
! subtraction and division were done
with less facility, on account of the
complicated ard continuous effort of
the memory. Among questions asked
was one by the Duke of Cambridge
after he was taken by his father to
| England: Give the number OF seconds
since the Christian Era, 1918 years, {
months and q days. The answer was
given 1924 3S4,000 He then raised
the number 3 TO the sixteenth power,
and gave the answer correctly in the
| last result, namely 2S1 ,474,976,656.
| He was then tried as to numbers con-
sisting of one figure all of which he
raised as high as the tenth power.
with SO much facility, that the person
appointed to take down the results
was obliged 10 ask him not to be too
rapid. He was then asked to give the
square root OF 106,929 and before the
number could be written down gave
327 Another question namely the fac
tors which will produce the number
247 4S3 which he did by naming GAL
263 the only numbers which will do
| it. These with so many others with
many more figures l will not name
them when only nine years OF age.
| During the time of Zerah's, exhibit
lions his education was Of course
neglected but since leaving Cabot
he had learned to read, and write;
but that was all. AS many have wish
ed to know in regard to his facility in
acquiring knowledge from books,
when a boy, he delighted in reading
as a pastime. In studies to which be
| afterWard gave his attention, he man
| Tested no uncommon skill or quick
ness, though his progress was always
respectable. The equipment of lar
| guages was easy and pleasant. Arit,-
metic in books entertaining; geometry
plain but dull. Two years passed be-
fore he made any disclosure of his
methods of calculation. The first was
his method OF extracting the square
and cube roots. This as well as
others, was given without any pre-
meditation. Indeed this as well as
| everything in regard to his calcula-
tons was performed without any pre-
vious effort except such as suggested
| ltself on the spur of the moment. Tie
use of the tenn root was explained to
MIN by Prof. Adams of Dartmouth.
| His rule for extracting the square
root was as follows: First What
I number squared would give a sum
ending with the two last figures of
the given square; and what number
squared will come nearest under the
| first figure in the given square when
it consists of five places. If there are
six figures in the proposed sum the
nearest square under the two first
| figures must be sought, which figures
combined will give the answer. The
cube root is found by the application
of the same principle, but must not
go on as it would take many pages
to give all the problems given in his
life written more than seventy years
ago. In 1885 he received a call to
| the professorship of Modern Lam
| guages in Norwich University. teach
| ing French, Spanish Latin and Greek
and at the same time having private
pupils. In 1896 he was made an hon
| Orary member of Dartmouth College.
His life work was ended March 2
1899, and he was laid to rest in a
beautiful cemetery at Norwich Centre
now a much neglected spot. A wife
and five children were left the young
| est boy of ten weeks, who enlisted