Born: March 25, 1839 (Amsterdam, New York)
Died: October 25, 1916 (New York)
Famous For/Known For: Teacher and inventor for the visually handicapped.
A Little About William Bell Wait: Born in Amsterdam, New York.
Wait received his early education at public schools in New York.
In 1859, he graduated from Albany Normal College and became a teacher at the New York Institute For The Education Of The Blind.
Wait invented the New York Point System, an alphabet for the blind using raised dots (similar to braille). This system used 1 to 4 pairs of dots that were side by side and containing 1 or 2 dots horizontally, for each letter of the alphabet.
In 1894, Wait invented an embossing machine that allowed the New York Point System to be placed on paper, the Kleidograph.
Later he invented another embossing machine, this time a gadget that embossed metal plates that would be used in printing books for the blind.
In 1900, Wait was awarded the John Scott Medal by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia for his inventions. Inscribed on the medal was, To the most deserving.
Wait published a few books and many pamphlets that pertained to the education of the blind.
He was an advocate for equal privilege for women, believed in state and national prohibition, and universal free trade.
William Bell Wait died at the age of 78.
Books By/Written By William Bell Wait
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