Thomas Greene “Blind Tom” Wiggins

How this work helped shape America

Born enslaved in Georgia in 1849, Thomas Greene “Blind Tom” Wiggins demonstrated extraordinary musical memory and piano ability from childhood. Beginning in the 1850s, he became a widely touring concert performer whose appearances generated substantial revenue across the United States and abroad. Although others controlled much of his labor and earnings, his performances made him one of the nineteenth century's most commercially successful American musicians.