A. William Underwood (born c. 1855) was a young

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

man from

Paw Paw, Michigan Paw Paw is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,534 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Van Buren County. Overview The village is located at the confluence of the east and south branches of the Paw Paw River ...

purported in his time to have

pyrokinetic Pyrokinesis is the purported List of psychic abilities, psychic ability allowing a person to create and control fire with the mind. As with other parapsychological phenomena, there is no conclusive evidence in support of the actual existence of p ...

abilities. In January 1882, Dr. L. C. Woodman of Paw Paw wrote in the ''Michigan Medical News'' of Underwood, whose purported abilities had made him a local celebrity:

I have a singular phenomenon in the shape of a young man living here, that I have studied with much interest, and I am satisfied that his peculiar power demonstrates that electricity is the nerve force beyond dispute. His name is Wm. Underwood, aged 27 years, and his gift is that of generating fire through the medium of his breath, assisted by manipulations with his hands. He will take anybody's handkerchief, and hold it to his mouth, and rub it vigorously with his hands while breathing on it, and immediately it bursts into flames and burns until consumed.

Woodman claimed to have performed comprehensive scientific testing on Mr. Underwood's abilities, proclaiming them a genuine phenomenon. His story became a topic of discussion in many medical and scientific journals of the day, including ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

''. Gaddis, Vincent H. (1967). ''Mysterious Fires and Lights''. New York: David McKay Company, Inc. pp. 173-174. Skeptics later suggested that Underwood would hide a small piece of

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

in his mouth, then spit it out into a handkerchief. The heat from his breath and rubbing his hands together would ignite the phosphorus, which burns in air at about . Skeptical investigator

Joe Nickell Joe Nickell (born December 1, 1944) is an American skeptic and investigator of the paranormal. Nickell is senior research fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and writes regularly for their journal, ''Skeptical Inquirer''. He is als ...

has written that Underwood may have used a "chemical-combustion technique, and still other means. Whatever the exact method—and the phosphorus trick might be the most likely—the possibilities of deception far outweigh any occult powers hinted at by

Charles Fort Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold w ...

or others." Nickell, Joe. (2004). ''The Mystery Chronicles: More Real-Life X-Files''. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 56-60. A century later, the tale of Mr. Underwood was brought to the public eye again as the subject of a 1974 song by musician

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

, entitled "The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch", from his debut solo album ''

Here Come the Warm Jets ''Here Come the Warm Jets'' is the debut solo album by British musician Brian Eno, released on Island Records in January 1974. It was recorded and produced by Eno following his departure from Roxy Music, and blends glam and pop stylings with ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, A. William 1855 births Year of death missing Psychokineticists People from Paw Paw, Michigan