Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe - The Champion of the Blind

Born: November 22, 1801, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Died: January 9, 1876, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Samuel Gridley Howe was a reformer who worked to improve education for people with disabilities and dedicated himself to the fight against slavery.

Samuel Gridley Howe was born on November 22, 1801, in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Joseph Howe, was a rope maker for ships, and his mother, Martha Gridley Howe, raised Samuel and his six siblings. Growing up, Samuel was known more for being mischievous than for being a top student, but he was bright and curious. He attended Brown University, graduating in 1821, and later earned his medical degree from Harvard in 1824.

Not long after finishing his studies, Howe set off for Greece, which was fighting for independence from the Ottoman Empire. For six years, he worked as both a soldier and a doctor, treating wounded fighters and civilians. He also sent letters home to American newspapers, describing the struggles of the Greek people. After the war, Howe helped secure supplies from Americans to support Greek citizens. This early experience showed his lifelong desire to help people in need, even outside his own country.

When Howe returned to Boston in 1831, his life took another important turn. His friend, Dr. John Fisher, had founded the New England Asylum for the Blind and asked Howe to serve as its first director. Since there were no other schools like it in America, Howe traveled to Europe to study how blind students were taught. He brought back new ideas, equipment, and teaching methods, opening the school in 1832. Soon, the institution gained a new name, the Perkins School for the Blind, after wealthy merchant Thomas H. Perkins donated his home for the classrooms.

Howe believed that blind students should not be objects of pity but should have the same opportunities as others. He worked tirelessly to create programs that allowed his students to read, write, and develop skills for independence. Howe even invented a special raised lettering system for reading called “Boston Line Type,” which was widely used before Braille became popular.

One of Howe’s most famous students was Laura Bridgman, a girl who was both blind and deaf. She arrived at Perkins in 1837, and under Howe’s direction, she learned to read and write through finger spelling. Her success amazed the public, and when the English author Charles Dickens visited the school in 1842, he wrote about Laura, making both her and Howe internationally famous.

Howe did not stop at one school. He traveled across 15 states to promote education for the blind and helped establish schools in Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Later, he also founded schools for children with intellectual disabilities in 1848 and for deaf students in 1867. Although he opposed the use of sign language, preferring lipreading and speech, his main goal was always to help his students become active members of society.

In 1843, Howe married Julia Ward, who would later become famous for writing the song “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Julia was an abolitionist and suffragist, but their marriage was difficult. Samuel believed women should stay home, which conflicted with Julia’s passion for activism. Still, the couple worked together on causes they both cared about, especially the fight against slavery.

Howe became an outspoken abolitionist. He co-founded the Boston Vigilance Committee to protect freedom seekers from being captured and sent back to slavery under the Fugitive Slave Law. He also helped edit an anti-slavery newspaper, the Boston Daily Commonwealth, with Julia. In 1854, Howe protested the capture of Anthony Burns, a man who had escaped slavery. Although the protest failed, Howe later helped raise money to purchase Burns’s freedom. He also supported the Underground Railroad and interviewed former enslaved people in Canada, publishing their stories in 1864 to push for equal rights.

During the Civil War, Howe served as a director of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which worked to improve conditions for soldiers by preventing disease and promoting hygiene. After the war, he helped the Freedmen’s Bureau, an agency that provided food, clothing, shelter, and education to formerly enslaved people. Howe also became chair of the Massachusetts State Board of Charities in 1864, continuing his efforts to support society’s most vulnerable.

Samuel Gridley Howe died in 1876 at the age of 74. He left behind a legacy of courage and compassion, remembered as a man who fought for education, dignity, and freedom for all.

References:
“Samuel Gridley Howe (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/people/samuel-gridley-howe.htm.
“Samuel Gridley Howe.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Gridley-Howe.
“Says:, Koko, et al. “Howe, Samuel Gridley.” Social Welfare History Project, 17 Oct. 2016, socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/howe-samuel-gridley.

Keywords:
Civil Rights, Innovation, Courage, Perseverance, Achievement, Responsibility, Challenge Injustices, Make a Difference

View Discovery Award projects about this Unsung Hero:
‍Samuel Gridley Howe - Discovery Award 2021