FAMOUS BLIND PEOPLE It may be interesting, in conclusion, to mention here some prominent blind people; biographies of others, such as Milton or Fielding, will be found under their names.
John Stanley (1713-1786), Mus.Bac.Oxon., was born in London in 1713. At seven he began to study music, and made such rapid progress that he was appointed organist of All-Hallows, Bread Street, at the age of eleven. He graduated as Mus.Bac. at Oxford when sixteen, and was organist of the Temple church at the age of twenty-one. He composed a number of cantatas, and after the death of Handel he superintended the performance of Handel's oratorios at Covent Garden. He received the degree of doctor of music, and was master of the king's band.
Marie Therese von Paradis 0759-1824), daughter of an im perial councillor in Vienna. She was a godchild of the empress Marie Therese, and as her parents possessed rank and wealth, no expense was spared in her education. Weissembourg, a blind man, was her tutor, and she learned to spell with letters cut out of pasteboard, and read words pricked upon cards with pins. She studied the piano with Richter (of Holland) and Kozeluch. She was a highly esteemed pianist, and Mozart wrote a concerto for her; she also attained considerable skill on the organ, in singing and in composition. She made a concert tour of Europe, visiting the principal courts and everywhere achieving great success.
Louis Braille 08o9-1852). In 1819 he went to the school for the blind in Paris. He became proficient on the organ, and held a post in one of the Paris churches. While a professor at the Insti tution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles, he perfected his system of point writing.
Dr. T. R. Armitage 0824-189o). After spending his youth on the Continent, he became a medical student, first at King's col lege, and afterwards at Paris and Vienna. His career promised to be a brilliant one, but at the age of 36 failing sight caused him to abandon his profession. For the rest of his life he devoted his time and fortune to the interests of the blind.
Elizabeth Gilbert (1826-85), daughter of the bishop of Chi chester. She lost her sight at the age of three. She was educated at home, and took her full share of household duties and cares and pleasures. When she was 27, she began to consider the condi tion of the poor blind of London. She saw someone must befriend those who had been taught trades, someone who could supply material, give employment or dispose of the articles manufactured. In 1854 her scheme was started, and work was given to six men in their own homes, but the number soon increased. In 1856 a committee was formed, a house converted into a factory, and the Association for Promoting the General Welfare of the Blind was f ounded.
Sir Francis Joseph Campbell 0832-1914) was born in Tennes see, U.S.A. An acacia thorn pierced his eye-ball during a childish game when he was about three years of age. Shortly afterwards the family fortunes suffered a reverse, and the household was removed to a mountain farm, on which all the children worked except the blind boy. He was urgent that a task should be given to him, but it was refused and it was only when he had proved his capability by chopping up a stack of firewood that his father was convinced that a niche could be found in the world for one with out sight. He was sent to a school for the blind and took full advantage of his opportunities. Later, when a school was estab lished in his native State, the duty of finding scholars was deputed to young Campbell, who with sighted friends, rode from border to border, climbing mountains, swimming rivers and bringing blind children in, sometimes strapped to his waist and riding pillion be hind him. At 2 2 he was musical director in an educational estab lishment, but his abolitionist tendencies ruined him and he was forced to leave the town and start again. In 186i he spent a year in Germany, and started homeward determined to found a con servatorium of music for the blind. At Liverpool he met Dr. Armitage. The foundation of the Royal Normal College was the result of the association of these two men and the generosity of the duke of Westminster and the general public. He wrote an article on blindness in the th ed. of the Encyclopedia Britan nica.
Henry Fawcett was accidentally blinded when in his 25th year by stray shot from his father's gun. Courageous and ambitious, his first words were, "This shall make no difference." Fawcett re turned to Cambridge and a year or so later became professor of political economy. He was elected member of parliament for Brighton and subsequently for Hackney. In 188o, he became postmaster-general. So little was it realized that a blind man could be a normal human being that the committee of the Reform Club hesitated to accept Fawcett as a member until persuaded by an eloquent speech from Thackeray, who asserted that Fawcett would soon make all forget his blindness. In later life, Germany and France, as well as England and Scotland, did him honour. Fawcett's monument in Westminster abbey was raised by public subscription. (See also FAWCETT, HENRY.) Dr. William Moon 0818-1894) lost his sight in early manhood when preparing to enter the ministry, and henceforward devoted himself to missionary work among the blind. Having studied the various systems of embossed writing he evolved a simpler method to be known as the Moon type, by which the blind of all ages might learn to read, but the system though readable was not writeable. Backed financially by Sir Charles Lowther, also blind, and by grants from other sources, Dr. Moon was able to lay the foundations of a great work. The Moon Society came into being in 1847 and over half a million volumes and pamphlets and 17o, 000 book plates have been produced. The Moon Society is now under the control of the National Institute for the Blind.
Sir (Cyril) Arthur Pearson, Bt., G.B.E. 0866-1921). Becom ing blind between 1910 and 1913 after a life of unusual activity in the foundation and conduct of newspapers and periodicals, Arthur Pearson inspired a renaissance in the blind world. He es tablished the National Institute for the Blind 0913-14) as at present constituted, and St. Dunstan's (q.v.) 09'5). His person ality and knowledge of affairs and publicity were a new factor in the blind world. The influence of his work at St. Dunstan's, through the blinded soldiers, spread throughout the empire and to many foreign countries where a new spirit invigorated existing work for the blind and new activities were started.
Henry Martyn Taylor, F.R.S. 0842-1927), became blind about 1894, and was elected to the Royal Society 1898. He developed the Braille alphabet and devised amplifications which rendered possible the reproduction of mathematical formulae, figures and diagrams. He personally transcribed into Braille text-books on geometry, algebra, conic sections, the foundations of mathematics, metaphysics, physiology, sound, music, mechanics, etc. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Embossed Scientific Books Fund which has been accepted as a trust, administered by the Royal Society. He was the author of many valuable treatises and wrote the Encyclopcedia Britannica article on Newton.
(I. FR.) Helen Keller (b. 188o), lost her sight and hearing through ill ness when she was 19 months old, and soon became dumb. Through the teaching of Anne Sullivan, who had been partially cured of blindness, Helen Keller learned to read, write and talk, and wrote many books. See KELLER, HELEN ADAMS.