- William Moon
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William Moon Born December 18, 1818
Horsmonden, Kent, UKDied October 9, 1894 (aged 75) Resting place Extra-Mural Cemetery, Brighton, East Sussex, UK Nationality British Occupation Teacher, Philanthropist Known for inventing Moon Type Home town Brighton, East Sussex, UK Religion Christian (Non-Conformist) Spouse Mary Ann Caudle Children Robert, Adelaide Awards FRGS (1852), FRSA (1857), Hon. LLD (Philadelphia, 1871) William Moon, Hon. LLD, FRSA, FRGS (December 18, 1818 – October 9, 1894) was an Englishman who created Moon Type, the first widely-used practical reading alphabet for the blind.
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Life and career
Moon was born in Horsmonden, Kent. As a small child, he lost sight in one eye from scarlet fever, and by the age of twenty-one he had become totally blind.[1] He moved in with his widowed mother and sister in Brighton, East Sussex. He became a teacher, and taught boys how to read using the existing embossed reading codes.
Moon realised that the boys found these reading codes difficult to learn. He devised a new system, Moon Type, based on a simplified Roman alphabet, which he designed to be easier to learn.[1] He first formulated his ideas in 1843 and they were published in 1845. Moon Type was subsequently replaced in popularity by Braille but it is still important for people who have difficulty reading Braille.
Moon achieved several distinctions during his lifetime: he was elected to fellowships of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society of Arts in 1852 and 1857 respectively; he was also awarded an honorary LLD degree by the University of Philadelphia in 1871.[2]
References
Bibliography
- Day, Lance & McNeil, Ian (editors). 1995. Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology. Routledge.
- Farrell, Gabriel (1956). The Story of Blindness. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. OCLC 263655.
External links
Categories:- 1818 births
- 1894 deaths
- Blind people
- British inventors
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