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
The British Medical Association (BMA) was founded at Worcester in 1832 as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association. Its aims were the advancement of medical science and the maintenance of the dignity and welfare of the profession. In 1853 the name was altered to
British Medical Association. Research British Medical Association
The Cherokee Nation v Georgia was an important case heard before the US Supreme Court, and decided in 1831. By the Hopewell treaty of 1785 the United States recognized the Cherokees as a nation capable of making peace and war, of governing its citizens and of owning and governing its lands. About 1826 the Georgia Legislature through Governor Troup declared these treaties not. binding upon the State, on the ground that Georgia and the Federal Government were equal and independent powers, and that disputes between them could not be decided by the Supreme Court, but by negotiation.
In 1830 an act was passed by the Georgia Legislature authorizing a survey and apportionment of the Cherokeelands within the State, their gold mines were seized and they were considered under the Slaters dominion, thus ousting the Cherokees from the lands solemnly guaranteed by the United States. The Cherokees. applied to President Jackson without success. Then they tried the Supreme Court. This court decided them not a foreign State, capable of maintaining an action in the court, but a domestic, dependent nation. The injunction was refused and the Cherokees relegated to the mercy of Georgia. Later, in the case of Worcester v Georgia, State authority in such matters was denied by the Supreme Court, Federal treaties being declared to have precedence. Research Cherokee Nation v Georgia
Chinaware is a name given to porcelain (pottery made from kaolin), so called from China being the first country to supply it to Europeans. It is thought that the Chinese produced porcelain from ancient times, but it wasn't until around 500 AD that they perfected the art. Chinaware first came to Europe in the beginning of the 16th century and won immediate popularity for its beauty and novelty.
The European consumers thought it impossible to match the whiteness of Chinaware, until John Frederick of Saxony, an alchemist, discovered a means of producing a porcelain equal in whiteness to the Chinaware. This led to the establishment by the Government of a factory at Meissen which started to produce porcelain rivalling the Chinaware in beauty and quality.
In France also about the middle of the 18th century the celebrated factory at Sevres was set up and soon acquired a great renown. In England a porcfaiain work was established at Chelsea some years prior to 1745; it was made at Stratford-le-Bow about the same time, at Derby as early as 1750, at Worcester in 1751. About 1755 kaolin or porcelain clay was discovered in Cornwall, and this contributed greatly to improve the quality of English porcelain, which began to be largely manufactured in Staffordshire under the auspices of Josiah Spode and Thomas Minton.
Chinaware, when broken, presents a granular surface with a compact, dense, firm, hard, vitreous and durable texture. It is semi-transparent, with a covering of white glaze, clear, smooth, unaffected by all acids except hydroflouric acid, and able to withstand sudden changes of temperature. Research Chinaware
Eikon Basilike was the name of a book published shortly after the execution of Charles I in January 1649, and supposed by some to have been written by the king himself. At the Restoration Gauden, afterwards Bishop of Worcester, laid claim to the authorship, and a memorandum in the copy of the Earl of Anglesea, lord privy-seal under Charles II, affirms his claim with the authority of Charles II. and the Duke of York. 48,000 copies were sold within a year of its publication, and the republicans put forward Milton to answer it,his Eikonoklastes (that is 'image-breaker') appearing the same year, by order of parliament. The Eikon Basilike professes to be a sort of private journal of the king, written in an affectedly dignified strain, and. containing numerous assertions of love for his misguided and ungrateful people. Research Eikon Basilike
The Massachusetts Spy was an American newspaper founded at Boston, on August 1st, 1770. This newspaper was established to support the Whig element in the New England colonies in opposition to the Boston Chronicle which favoured the British Government. It was edited by Isaiah Thomas, and was suspended in six months for a time, but was begun again and removed to Worcester. Contributions were at first made by members of both political parties, but its sympathies were so evidently revolutionary that the royalist writers withdrew. Research Massachusetts Spy
Oak-apple Day, on May the 29th, is the anniversary of the Restoration in 1660, and was formerly commemorated by the wearing of oak apples or oak leaves, recalling the Boscobeloak in which Charles II hid after the battle of Worcester. Research Oak-apple Day
When the Romans conquered Britain in 43 AD, they set about imposing their civilisation in the way they knew best - by providing it with towns and joining them up by roads. Every town laid out by the Romans was arranged on a chess board or grid iron plan of intersecting streets, and was usually protected by a massive square stone wall with a gate in the middle of each side. Most of these towns came into existence as fortified places; the Roman word 'castrum' or 'chester' means 'a military encampment'. Almost all the towns whose names end in this way, such as Winchester, Chichester, Dorchester and Manchester, as well as those whose name endings have been modified, such as Lancaster, Worcester and Gloucester, began their existence as Roman fortified places. The core of the city was the Forum, a group of buildings which comprised the town hall, the court of justice, a shopping centre and spacious meeting place for the people of the town and its surrounding countryside. Roman ideas in town planning were fundamental to the later development of the English town. Research Roman Towns
After the close of the American War of Independence, much discontent and indeed actual want prevailed through New England, especially in Western Massachusetts. The annual State tax amounted to $1,000,000. Riots and armed mobs were frequent, the especial grievances being the high salary of the Governor, the refusal to issue paper money, and the specific taxes to pay the interest on the State debt. On December the 5th, 1786, 1000 armed men under Daniel Shays took possession of Worcester and prevented the session of the Supreme Court. Springfield was mobbed by the same men. General Lincoln, commanding 4000 militia, attacked Daniel Shays near Springfield, on January the 25th, 1787, quickly routing his force. They fled to Amherst, where 150 were captured. The insurgents were pardoned on laying down their arms. Research Shays' Rebellion
Walker Vs Jennison was an American legal case, the decision in which in 1783 was the deathblow to slavery in Massachusetts. A negro servant had been beaten and imprisoned by a citizen who claimed him as his slave. The public would not overlook the offence. The Supreme Court held in Worcester County judged the defendant guilty of assault and fined him forty shillings. The Court held that the State Constitution of 1780, in declaring all men free and equal, had abolished slavery in Massachusetts. Research Walker Vs Jennison
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Blind
