Passage Five Most famous people have some unusual story associated with their names. Casanova, for example, was a legend in his own time. He was the epitome of the gallant adventurer and lover. However, he spent thirteen years of his life as a librarian! Thomas Edison, the brilliant inventor, was deaf from the age of twelve. The young Edison's hearing loss was long believed to have been caused when he tried to catch a moving train and a conductor grabbed him by the ears to pull him on board. Edison himself liked to tell this story. No one is really sure how he did lose his hearing. Great writers and artists often require various types of inspirational warm-up before they create. Rudyard Kipling could not write unless his pen was filled with black ink, and only black ink. Ludwig van Beethoven poured icy cold water over his head before he composed his music. He felt that the cold water would refresh his brain. The author Charles Dickens always faced north when working or sleeping. Tycho Brahe, an important Danish astronomer, had his nose shot off in a duel with a Danish nobleman in 1566. He replaced it with another nose made of gold. President James Garfield could simultaneously write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other. 52. This passage is about famous ______.