William Moon

William Moon was born in Kent in 1818. He lost his sight at the age of 21 after being partially sighted throughout his childhood. He soon mastered all the existing systems of embossed reading available at that time but found none of them particularly satisfactory.

William Moon set about designing a simple system which was easy to learn. At that time he was teaching blind boys, who quickly got to grips with his new system.

In 1847, Dr Moon issued his first booklet in Moon. It was 'The Last Days of Polycarp', and was followed a month later by 'The Last Hours of Cranmer'.

As news of the new system spread, requests for sections of the Bible flooded in. As Dr Moon was producing all the documents at home in his spare time, this meant that he had to find a way of making printing plates.

In 1856, a small workshop was built near to Moon's home in Brighton with the help of Sir Charles Lowther, his friend and benefactor.

Dr Moon travelled widely, establishing libraries and home teaching societies throughout the British Isles. With his son and daughter he travelled the world - setting up printing presses as he went.

William Moon died in 1894, but his work was carried on by his daughter, Adelaide. On her death, the Moon Works became part of the then National Institute for the Blind. - Source