Blind Tom, the Musical Phenomenon of the Age -- August 29, 2017

New Orleans Daily Democrat, 22-February-1879

Thomas Wiggins was born into slavery in 1849.  He was blind, and probably also autistic so his owner's family considered killing him.  Instead, they let him wander around the grounds.  He heard the family's daughters playing the piano and taught himself to play at the age of four or five.  He composed music and began touring professionally at an early age.

Here we see him appearing at the Odd Fellows' Hall in New Orleans in 1879.