A view from within Leedskalnin's Coral Castle.

Edward Leedskalnin (Latvian: Edvards Liedskalniņš or Lēdskalniņš) (August 10, 1887, Riga – December 7, 1951, Miami) was an eccentric Latvian emigrant to the United States and amateur sculptor who, it is alleged, single-handedly built the monument known as Coral Castle in Florida. He was also known for his unusual theories on magnetism. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 323 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Edward Leedskalnin Coral Castle Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 323 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Edward Leedskalnin Coral Castle Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... The nine-ton revolving door at Coral Castle The Coral Castle is a mysterious stone structure created by the Latvian American eccentric, Edward Leedskalnin, in Homestead, Florida. ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... Coordinates: Founded 1201 Government  - Mayor Jānis Birks Area  - City 307. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ... Sculptor redirects here. ... The nine-ton revolving door at Coral Castle The Coral Castle is a mysterious stone structure created by the Latvian American eccentric, Edward Leedskalnin, in Homestead, Florida. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with magnet. ...

Life

Edward Leedskalnin was born August 10th, 1887 (per WWI draft registration) Riga, Latvia. Little is known of his childhood, aside from the fact that he was not wealthy and achieved only a fourth-grade education.^[1] At the age of 26, he was engaged to marry Agnes Scuffs, a girl ten years younger.^[2] However, the girl that Leedskalnin referred to as his "Sweet Sixteen" broke the engagement the night before their wedding, on account of his age. Several years later, he emigrated to the United States, where he found work in lumber camps in Canada, California, and Texas. Riga (Latvian: RÄ«ga), the capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of River Daugava, at 56°58′N 24°8′E. Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states and serves as a major cultural, educational, political, financial, commercial and industrial center... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ...

After contracting a case of tuberculosis, Leedskalnin moved to the warmer climate of Florida around 1919, where he purchased a small piece of land in Florida City. Over the next 20 years, Leedskalnin putatively constructed and lived within a massive coral monument he called "Rock Gate Park," dedicated to the girl who had left him years before. Working alone at night, Leedskalnin, who weighed less than 100 lbs., eventually quarried and sculpted over 1,100 tons of coral into a monument that would later be known as the Coral Castle. Leedskalnin gave polite, but cryptic answers to visitors' questions regarding his construction methods, which to this day remain a mystery. In spite of his private nature, he eventually opened his monument to the public, offering tours for 10 cents. He was a surprisingly accommodating host, even cooking hotdogs for visiting children in a pressure-cooker of his own invention. Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease that is caused by mycobacteria, primarily Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Florida City is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. ... Extant Subclasses and Orders Alcyonaria    Alcyonacea    Helioporacea Zoantharia    Antipatharia    Corallimorpharia    Scleractinia    Zoanthidea [1][2]  See Anthozoa for details For other uses, see Coral (disambiguation). ... A small cinder quarry A dimension stone quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. ... The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Pressure cooking is a method of cooking things at high heat without boiling them. ...

This building was originally located in Florida City in the 1920s; then in the mid 1930s Leedskalnin moved it single-handedly to its present location on a ten-acre site near Homestead, Florida. In December 1951, he left a note on his front gate which read "Going to the Hospital," and rode a bus to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He died three days later of malnutrition and kidney failure, at the age of 64. Location of Homestead in Miami-Dade County, Florida Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ...

Writings

Magnetism

Leedskalnin's other four pamphlets addressed his theories on magnetism, detailing his theories on the interaction of electricity, magnetism and the body; Leedskalnin also included a number of simple experiments to validate his theories. Leedskalnin describes electrons and positrons as "north and south pole magnets." It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with magnet. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ...

An intriguing feature of three of these pamphlets is a diagram labeled "Perpetual Motion Holder." This diagram shows how electricity can be stored in a magnetic loop made from a permament horseshoe magnet and a "bridge" of soft iron across the horseshoe ends, forming a circle (loop) of magnetic metals. Energy is introduced into the loop through windings of electric wire around the soft iron (forming an electromagnet). When an electric pulse is sent into the wire windings, it will circulate in the magnetic loop until the soft iron bridge is physically removed from the horseshoe magnet ends, at which time the stored electric pulse is released into the wire windings as available energy. According to Leedskalnin, this stored energy can be kept circulating in the magnet for weeks or months, without appreciable loss.

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: ...

Reader, if for any reason you do not like the things I say in the little book, I left just as much space as I used, so you can write your own opinion opposite it and see if you can do better.
The Author

In the first section, Leedskalnin vents his anger at his "Sweet Sixteen", arguing 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:

Everything we do should be for some good purpose but as everybody knows there is nothing good that can come to a girl from a fresh boy. When a girl is sixteen or seventeen years old, she is as good as she ever will be, but when a boy is sixteen years old, he is then fresher than in all his stages of development. He is then not big enough to work but he is too big to be kept in a nursery and then to allow such a fresh thing to soil a girl---it could not work on my girl. Now I will tell you about soiling. Anything that is done, if it is done with the right party it is all right, but when it is done with the wrong party, it is soiling, and concerning those fresh boys with the girls, it is wrong every time.

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." An aphorism is a wise saying that bears repetition. ...

Bibliography

During his lifetime, Ed Leedskalnin published five pamphlets, advertising them in local newspapers: A pamphlet is an unbound booklet (that is, without a hard cover or binding). ...

• A Book in Every Home. Containing Three Subjects: Ed's Sweet Sixteen, Domestic and Political Views^[3]
• Mineral, Vegetable and Animal Life^[4]
• Magnetic Current (19 pages)^[5]

• Magnetic Base
• Magnetic Current (4 pages)

References

1. ^ Coral Castle (official site). Retrieved on 2006-10-30.
2. ^ Coral Castle: English Tour Guide. 
3. ^ Leedskalnin, Edward (1936). A book in every home : containing three subjects : Ed's Sweet Sixteen, domestic and political views. Homestead, Fla: Leedskalnin. 
4. ^ Leedskalnin, Edward (1988, 1945). Magnetic current; Mineral, vegetable & animal life. Mokelumne Hill, CA: Mokelumne Press. 
5. ^ Leedskalnin, Edward (1945). Magnetic current. Homestead, Fla.: Rock Gate. ISBN 0-7873-0549-9. 

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 62 days remaining. ...

External links

• Coral Castle official website
• Pictures and references on the Coral Castle and Ed Leedskalnin
• Unexplained Mysteries / Edward Leedskalnin’s Coral Castle
• Compilation of Published Writings
• Magnetic Current Research
• Ed Leedskalnin MAGNETIC CURRENT illustrated
• Ed Leedskalnin page at myspace.com