William Moon

William Moon
William Moon
Born December 18, 1818(1818-12-18)
Horsmonden, Kent, UK
Died October 9, 1894(1894-10-09) (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.

Contents

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

  1. ^ a b Farrell, p. 102.
  2. ^ Day & McNeil 1995, p.499.

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


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William Moon — (1818–1894) William Moon (* 18. Dezember 1818 in Horsmonden; † 9. Oktober 1894 in Brighton) ist der Entwickler des Moonalphabets, einer mit Braille konkurrierenden Blindenschrift, das sich an die Buchstaben der Sc …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Moon type — Alphabet Languages English Creator William Moon Time period 1845 to present Parent systems …   Wikipedia

  • Moon — bezeichnet: Moon (Automobilhersteller), US amerikanischer Automobilhersteller Moon (Band), deutsche Wave Band Moon (Film), Science Fiction Film von Duncan Jones ein japanisches Adventure, siehe Moon. den deutschen Namen der estnischen Insel Muhu… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Rose (Fußballspieler) —  William Rose Spielerinformationen Voller Name William Krispinski Rose Geburtstag 9. Februar 1858 Geburtsort St. Pancras, London, England Sterbedatum …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Moon type — Moon type, 1. a system of printing for blind people, the letters being represented by nine basic characters placed in different positions, which may be read by touch. 2. the letters themselves. ╂[< William Moon, a British inventor of the 1900… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Moon (disambiguation) — Contents 1 Celestial bodies 2 Geography 3 People 3.1 Surname …   Wikipedia

  • Moon type — ▪ writing system       system of written letters invented in 1845 by William Moon of Brighton, East Sussex, to enable blind people to read. Moon type partly retains the outlines of letters in the Latin alphabet. Easily learned by those who have… …   Universalium

  • William Fox-Pitt — William Speed Lane Fox Pitt (born 2 January 1969, Hampstead) is a British three day eventing rider. He was educated at Eton College and the University of London. Fox Pitt began riding at age four, and started eventing at age 15. He was born into… …   Wikipedia

  • William Least Heat-Moon — William Least Heat Moon, byname of William Trogdon (born 1940) is an American travel writer of English, Irish and Osage Nation ancestry. BiographyHis pen name came from his father saying, I call myself Heat Moon, your elder brother is Little Heat …   Wikipedia

  • William Somerset Maugham — Nacimiento 25 de enero de 1874 París …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”