Tom Thumb
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Tom_Thumb_hitches_a_ride_on_a_butterfly_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_15661.jpg
Tom_Thumb_hitches_a_ride_on_a_butterfly_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_15661.jpg
Tom Thumb hitches a ride on a butterfly
Tom Thumb is the name of a traditional hero in English folklore who was no bigger than his father's thumb. Aside from folk tale, Tom Thumb figures in Henry Fielding's The Tragedy of Tragedies, or the History of Tom Thumb the Great, which became, when printed, The Author's Farce (1731). The name is often adopted for people or objects of small stature, including:
- Tom Thumb was the name of the first American-built steam locomotive used on a common-carrier railroad. Designed and built by Peter Cooper in 1830, it was designed to convince owners of the newly formed Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to use steam engines. Cooper held a race between Tom Thumb and a horse along Baltimore and Ohio tracks near Baltimore, Maryland. Tom Thumb led until an engine belt slipped. The horse then pulled ahead and won.
- General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838-1883), a midget who achieved great fame under American circus pioneer P.T. Barnum.
- Tom Thumb was the name of a movie from 1958 directed by George Pal. Cast included Peter Sellers.
External link
- The History Of Tom Thumb; to which are added the stories of The Cat And The Mouse and Fire! Fire! Burn stick! (http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/1988); editor Henry Altemus, Project Gutenberg edition.