A. W. Underwood

A. William Underwood (born ) was a young African American man from Paw Paw, Michigan, purported in his time to have pyrokinetic abilities.

In January 1882, Dr. L. C. Woodman of Paw Paw wrote in the Michigan Medical News Skeptics later suggested that Underwood would hide a small piece of phosphorus 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 .

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, entitled "The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch", from his debut solo album Here Come the Warm Jets.