Thomas Greene Wiggins was born on May 25, 1849, to Mungo and Charity Wiggins, slaves on a Georgia plantation. He was blind and autistic but a musical genius with a phenomenal memory. In 1850 Tom, his parents, and two brothers were sold to James Neil Bethune, a lawyer and newspaper editor in Columbus, Georgia. Thomas Greene Wiggins was born on May 25, 1849, to Mungo and Charity Wiggins, slaves on a Georgia plantation. He was blind and autistic but a musical genius with a phenomenal memory. In 1850 Tom, his parents, and two brothers were sold to James Neil Bethune, a lawyer and newspaper editor in Columbus, Georgia. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Young Tom was fascinated by music and other sounds and could recognize tunes on the piano by the age of four. He made his concert debut at eight years old, performing in Atlanta. In 1858 Tom was hired as a slave musician, at a price of $15,000. In 1859, at age 10, he became the first African-American performer to play at the White House when he gave a concert before President James Buchanan. His piano pieces "Oliver Galop" and "Virginia Polka" were published in 1860. During the Civil War, he returned with his owner, raising money for Confederate relief. In 1863 he played his composition, "Battle of Manassas". In 1865, sixteen-year-old Tom Wiggins, now "in the care" of James Bethune, could play difficult works by Bach, Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven and Thalberg. He also played songs after listening to and memorizing poems and lyrics in foreign languages. The advertisement claimed that Tom was not a teacher, but was actually taught by a music professor who traveled with him. James Neil Bethune took Tom Wiggins to Europe where he collected testimonials from music critics Ignaz Moscheles and Charles Halle, which were printed in a booklet "The Marvelous Musical Prodigy Blind Tom". With these and other confirmations, Blind Tom Wiggins has become an internationally recognized artist. By 1868 Tom and the Bethune family were living on a Virginia farm in the summer while touring the United States and Canada the rest of the year, averaging $50,000 a year in income from concerts. James Bethune eventually lost custody of Tom to his late son's ex-wife, Eliza Bethune. Charity Wiggins, Tom's mother, was a party to the lawsuit, but she did not gain control of her son or his income. One of the most famous American entertainers of the nineteenth century, Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins was an African-American musician and composer. Blind from birth and born into slavery, Wiggins became famous for his piano virtuosity. Although he was not diagnosed at the time, it is likely that he was also autistic. Thomas Greene Wiggins was born near Columbus on May 25, 1849, to Charity and Domingo Wiggins, slaves owned by Wiley Jones. After discovering that the child was blind, Jones refused to feed or clothe him. Wiggins' mother interceded to save his life, and several months later Wiggins, his two older brothers, and his parents were sold at auction to General James Bethune, a Columbus lawyer. The Bethune family had seven musically gifted children who played the piano or sang, and Wiggins watched, rapt, as the children practiced. Soon he began playing the music he heard on the keyboard, and Bethune realized that her young slave was a musical prodigy. He was given piano lessons, and Wiggins' skill quickly surpassed that of his teachers. Bethune recognized his talent as a potential source of income, and Wiggins was hired at the age of nine or ten by a.