Tom Thumb

For other uses, see Tom Thumb (disambiguation).

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.

Tom Thumb was a name of one of the first trains too. Peter Cooper designed and built the first American steam locomotive in 1830. Called the Tom Thumb, it got off to a bad start. In a race against a horse-drawn train in Baltimore, the Tom Thumb's engine failed. Engineers soon improved the engine, and within 10 years steam locomotives were pulling trains in the United States.

Also, Tom Thumb was the name of a young elephant which "Jumbo", the elephant, tried to save, giving his life. This is likely a myth, though.

External link

[The History Of Tom Thumb; to which are added the stories of The Cat And The Mouse and Fire! Fire! Burn stick!]; editor Henry Altemus, Project Gutenberg edition.

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