Edward Leedskalnin

Edward Leedskalnin was born on January 12, 1887, in Stāmeriena Parish, Latvia. He was the fifth son of Mina and Andrejs Liedskalniņš, who were farmers on rented land. It's during his time in Latvia that it's believed under the tutelage of his father that Leedskalnin learned stonemasonry. Little is known of his childhood, aside from the fact that his parents were not wealthy and he received only a fourth-grade formal education. Edward was a sickly boy who often spent time reading books, helping him to develop an inquisitive mind and lifelong yearning for knowledge. It was suggested that he learned stonemasonry from his father and practiced this craft in Latvia after coming of age. However, the girl who Leedskalnin later referred to as his "Sweet Sixteen" broke their engagement. He then decided to emigrate to North America. On April 7, 1912, Leedskalnin arrived in New York City. After looking for suitable work around the East Coast until August, he relocated to the Pacific Northwest, which was experiencing a logging boom. On June 5, 1917, while in Oregon, he filled in his draft registration, stating that he was self-employed and engaged in ax-handle manufacturing. The 1920 census data reveal that he resided in Reedsport, Oregon. He used various basic tools available under his modest means including salvaged timber and old automobile parts. First, he built a house out of limestone blocks and wood, then he gradually constructed the stone structure for which he is now famous. Some local residents later remembered that as school children they had field trips to the construction site of the future Coral Castle, and Leedskalnin personally explained manual methods of his work. In his later years, he starved himself. == Death ==

On November 9, 1951, he checked himself into Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Apparently, Leedskalnin suffered a stroke either before he left for the hospital or at the hospital. He died twenty-eight days later of pyelonephritis (kidney infection) at the age of 64. His death certificate noted that his death was a result of "uremia; failure of kidneys, as a result of the infection and abscess". ==Publications==

Leedskalnin published five pamphlets on various subjects, advertising them in local newspapers. Magnetic Current was first published in 1988 and the only source for any of these pamphlets is the Coral Castle gift shop. Moral education His first and longest booklet, a treatise on moral education, is printed on only the left-hand pages, and begins with the following preface: In the first section, Leedskalnin argues that girls should be kept pure, and that boys are primarily a soiling influence upon them. On page 4 of A Book in Every Home, Leedskalnin writes: The second section continues along the theme of moral education, with several aphorisms aimed at parents regarding the proper way to raise children. The last, "Political" section, reveals that the reclusive Leedskalnin had strong political views. He advocates voting for property owners only (and in proportion to their holdings), and argues that "Anyone who is too weak to make his own living is not strong enough to vote." Some writers have suggested that Leedskalnin's booklet contains further information on his electromagnetic research and philosophies encoded in its pages, and the blank pages are provided for the reader to fill in their decrypted solutions. It has also been suggested that Leedskalnin's frequent referral to his "Sweet Sixteen" may in fact refer to the numerological and/or scientific relevance of the number sixteen to his research and theories. He wrote that a mother's most important task is to ensure that her daughter remains "chaste and faithful": His four pamphlets addressed interaction of electricity, magnetism and the body; Leedskalnin also included a number of simple experiments to validate his theories. Contradicting the standard model of electromagnetism, but remarkably in line with the concept of "magnetic moment" / "electron spin theory", his thesis is based upon the theory that the metal is not the magnet and that the real magnets are circulating in the metal. These individual north and south pole magnets are particles smaller than atoms or photons and each particle in the substance is an individual magnet on its own. Leedskalnin claimed that all matter was being acted upon by what he called "individual magnets". He also claimed that scientists of his time were looking in the wrong place for their understanding of electricity and that they were observing only "one half of the whole concept" with "one-sided tools of measurement" ==In popular culture==

Ed Leedskalnin and his megalithic creation of Coral Castle became a part of the American popular culture due to the magnitude of a single man's effort and ingenuity. Some conjectured that he used esoteric ancient knowledge to levitate blocks of stone and move them with the aid of the Earth's magnetic energy. The emotional side of Ed Leedskalnin's life story drew the attention of authors, songwriters and performers, including: • Billy Idol recorded the song "Sweet Sixteen" for his Whiplash Smile album. It was based on the love story of Leedskalnin and his runaway girl. The music video was recorded at Coral Castle in 1986. • The Brooklyn-based band Piñataland recorded a song about Leedskalnin, titled "Latvian Bride", for their 2003 album Songs for the Forgotten Future Vol. 1. • Andrew Peterson recorded a song, "The Coral Castle", in his Carried Along (2002) studio album that evoked Leedskalnin's broken heart story. • Cuban-American author Daína Chaviano, dedicated a whole chapter ("Very close to my heart") from her novel The Island of Eternal Love to the history of Coral Castle and his builder Edward Leedskalnin. == Bibliography ==