The blind are those who want, or are deficient in, the sense of sight. Blindness may vary in degree from the slightest impairment of vision to total loss of sight; it may also be temporary or permanent. It is caused by defect, disease, or injury to the eye, to the optic nerve, or to that part of the brain connected with it. Old age is sometimes accompanied with blindness, occasioned by the drying up of the humours of the eye, or by the opacity of the cornea, the crystalline lens, etc. The blind are often distinguished for a remarkable mental activity, and a wonderful development of the intellectual powers. Their touch and hearing, particularly, become very acute.
As early as 1260 an asylum for the blind (L'hospice des Quinze-Vingts) was founded in Paris by St Louis for the relief of the Crusaders who lost their sight in Egypt and Syria; but the first institution for the instruction of the blind was the idea of Valentin Hauy, brother of the celebrated mineralogist. In 1784 he opened an institution in which the blind were instructed not only in appropriate mechanical employments, as spinning, knitting, making ropes or fringes, and working in paste-board, but also in music, in reading, writing, ciphering, geography, and the sciences. For instruction in reading he procured raised letters of metal; for writing he used particular writing-cases, in which a frame, with wires to separate the lines, could be fastened upon the paper; for ciphering there were movable figures of metal, and ciphering-boards in which the figures could be fixed; for teaching geographymaps were prepared upon which mountains, rivers, cities, and the boundaries of countries were indicated to the sense of touch in various ways, etc.
Similar institutions were soon afterwards founded in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dresden, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Vienna, and in many towns of the United States. By 1900 there were comparatively few large cities that did not possess a school or institution of some kind for the blind.
At the start of the 20th century the attitude towards the blind was rather patronising, and one source may be quoted as saying 'the occupations in which the blind are found capable of engaging are such as the making of baskets and other kinds of wicker-work, brushmaking, rope and twine making, the making of mats and matting, knitting, netting, fancy work of various kinds, cutting fire-wood, the sewing of sacks and bags; the carving of articles in wood, etc'. However, it was also recognised that more skilled tasks could also be performed by blind persons, and the same source notes that 'Piano-tuning is also successfully carried on by some, and the cleaning of clocks and watches has even been occasionally practised by them'.
Around 1900 an impetus was given, in Britain, to the higher education of the blind by the formation of the British and Foreign Blind Association, the establishment of a college for the Blind Sons of Gentlemen at Worcester, and the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind, Upper Norwood.
Various systems were devised for the purpose of teaching the blind to read, some of which consisted in the use of the ordinary Roman alphabet, with more or less modification, and some of which employ types quite arbitrary in form. In all systems the characters rise above the surface of the paper so as to be felt by the fingers. The type adopted by Hauy was the script or italic form of the Roman letter. This was introduced into England by Sir C. Lowther, who printed the Gospel of St. Matthew in 1832 with type obtained from Paris. Before this Gall of Edinburgh made use of an embossed alphabet based on the ordinary Roman small letters, in which all curves were replaced by angular lines, and in 1834 he published the Gospel of St John in this character. Subsequently he introduced various improvements, and in particular the letters were produced with serrated surfaces, thus giving greater distinctness. Alston of Glasgow, Howe of Boston, and others also used the Roman form; but the former (who was the first to print the whole Bible, in 1840) adopted the Roman capitals, while the latter adopted the small letters, printing in this type the Bible and many other books. Of alphabets deviating entirely or nearly so from the Roman letter, one consists of a stenographic shorthand invented by Lucas of Bristol; another was a phonetic shorthand devised by Frere of London. In Dr. Moon's alphabet some of the characters are Roman, others are based on or suggested by the Roman characters. The Braille system, widely adopted by the laye 20th century, is one in which the letters are formed by a combination of dots. Dr. Moon's system from its simplicity and the size of its characters is in very general use in books for the blind. There are also systems by which the blind are enabled to write, and the writing may be either in relief so as to be read by the blind, or in characters that may be read by those who see. Research Blind
Both Ends Meet was a British situation comedytelevision show starring Dora Bryan, David Howe, Deddie Davis and Pat Ashton about a middle-aged woman supporting her family by working in a factory. Both Ends Meet was aired during 1972. Research Both Ends Meet
In 1869 the desirability of San Domingo (Hispaniola island) as a coaling station for US vessels and other American interests there caused a movement toward the annexation of that republic to the United States. President Grant sent General Babcock to examine into the matter and, on his favourable report, a treaty was concluded on November the 29th,1869. The Senate rejected the treaty on June the 30th, 1870, and the movement became generally unpopular. Grant still persisted and Congress concurred in sending a commission, consisting of Wade, White and Howe, to examine the matter in 1871. Their report was favourable, but Congress continued to disapprove of annexation. Grant abandoned the question in a special message in April, 1871. Research San Domingo Question
Alfred Howe Terry was an American general. He was born in 1827 and died in 1890. He was one of the most successful of the civilian officers in the War of the Rebellion. Before the struggle he had been a lawyer, paying some attention to militia matters. During the first year he commanded a regiment at the capture of Port Royal and Fort Pulaski. Being made a brigadier-general, he served in 1862-1863 in the operations near Charleston. He commanded a corps in the Army of the James, and fought at Chester Station, Drewry's Bluff and the siege of Petersburg. He was entrusted with the military part of the second attempt on Fort Fisher, in January, 1865, co-operating with the admiral. The successful storming of the fort on January the 14th made Alfred Howe Terry a brigadier-general in the regular army. He captured Wilmington, and was a departmental commander after the war. General Alfred Howe Terry became major-general in 1886, and retired in 1888. Research Alfred Howe Terry
Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford) was an Anglo-American soldier and scientist. He was born in 1753 at Massachusetts and died in 1814. He sympathized with the pre-Revolutionary movements in America, but the jealousy of his fellow-officers in the New Hampshire regiments alienated his patriotism. He carried dispatches from Howe to England in 1776. He raised the King's American Dragoons in New York in 1781 and was appointed lieutenant-colonel. He went to England in 1783. He entered the service of the Elector of Bavaria, acquired great influence, and was made prime minister and a count in 1790. He contributed valuable observations and discoveries to science, particularly on the nature and effects of heat and in chemistry, of which he was one of the founders. Research Benjamin Thompson
Charles Grey (Earl Grey) was a British soldier. He was born in 1729 and died in 1807. A major-general, he accompanied Howe from England in 1775, surprised and defeated General Wayne's force near the Schuylkill on September the 20th, 1777, had a command at Germantown and Tappan, and destroyed the shipping and stores at New Bedford in 1778.
Charles Grey (Ear Grey) was an English statesman. He was born in 1764 and died in 1845. The eldest son of Charles Grey, the first earl Grey, he was educated at Eton and at King's College, Cambridge. In 1786 he was returned to parliament as member for Northumberland. On the accession of the Grenville ministry in 1806, Charles Grey, now Lord Howick, was made first lord of the admiralty, and on the death of Fox succeeded him as secretary for foreign affairs and leader of the House of Commons. The death of his father in 1807 raised him to the House of Peers, and from this period up to 1830 he beaded the opposition in the Lords, and especially opposed the proceedings against Queen Caroline. On the accession of William IV and the retirement of the Wellington ministry, Earl Grey was summoned to office. The great event which marks his administration is the passing in 1832 of the first reform bill. In 1834 Earl Grey resigned, and was succeeded by LordMelbourne. The remainder of his life was chiefly spent in retirement. Research Charles Grey
Edward Rutledge was an American politician. He was born in 1749 and died in 1800. He was a delegate from South Carolina to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1777. He signed the American Declaration of Independence. He was a member of the first Board of War in 1776, and a member of the committee to draw up Articles of Confederation. He was a commissioner to confer with LordHowe in 1776. He commanded a company of artillery during the siege of Charleston. He was a member of the South Carolina Legislature from 1783 to 1798, and Governor of South Carolina from 1798 to 1800.
*Edward Sabine
Sir Edward Sabine was a British physicist. He was born in 1788 at Dublin and died in 1883. He acted as astronomer in the Ross and Parry expedition of 1819 to 1820 in search of the North-West Passage. He was engaged from 1821 to 1827 in experiments connected with the determination of pendulum vibrations and was president of the Royal Society from 1861 to 1871. Research Edward Rutledge
Elias Howe was an American engineer. He was born in 1819 at Spencer, Massachusetts and died in 1867. He was the inventor of the first successful sewing-machine, in 1846 and was for several years involved in expensive and harassing lawsuits to establish his right to reap the benefits of his own ingenuity. Immense numbers of the Howe sewing-machine were subsequently manufactured and sold in America, Great Britain, and elsewhere at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th century. He served in a Connecticutregiment during the American Civil War, and aided the American Government by large loans. Research Elias Howe
Sir John Bart Barrow was a British geographer and administrator. He was born in 1764 near Ulverston and died in 1848. At the age of sixteen he went in a whaler to Greenland. A gifted mathematician, he was made a fellow of the Royal Society taught mathematics at Greenwich for three years and was sent with Lord Macartney in his embassy to China in 1792, to take charge of philosophical instruments for presentation to the Chinese emperor. His account of this journey was of great value, and not less so was the account of his travels in South Africa, whither he went in 1797 as secretary to Macartney. In 1804 he was appointed second secretary to the admiralty, a post occupied by him for forty years. In 1835 he was made a baronet. Besides the accounts of his own travels he published lives of Earl Macartney, LordAnson, and LordHowe; Voyages of Discovery and Research within the Arctic Regions; an autobiography of himself written at the age of eighty-three, etc. Research John Barrow
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Blind
