Sir Charles Frederick Fraser (born 4 January 1850 in

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Nova Scotia Highway 101, Highway 101. The community has a history d ...

– d. 5 July 1925 in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

) was the first superintendent (1873-1923) of the

Halifax School for the Blind Halifax commonly refers to: *Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada *Halifax, West Yorkshire, England * Halifax (bank), a British bank Halifax may also refer to: Places Australia *Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook * Halifax ...

, the first residential school for the blind in

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

. He became blind through an accident at age 7 and then went to study at

Perkins School for the Blind Perkins School for the Blind, in Watertown, Massachusetts, was founded in 1829 and is the oldest school for the blind in the United States. It has also been known as the Perkins Institution for the Blind. Perkins manufactures its own Perkins B ...

in Boston. He was a member of the

North British Society The North British Society (also known as "The Scots" and "Scots Club") was founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1768, the oldest Scottish heritage society outside Great Britain. North British is an adjective used as an alternative to "Scottish". ...

. He was knighted in 1915.

Blindness

When Fraser was 7 years old, he was

whittling Whittling may refer either to the art of carving shapes out of raw wood using a knife or a time-occupying process of repeatedly shaving slivers from a piece of wood. It is used by many as a pastime, or as a way to make artistic creations. Backgr ...

a stick with a

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. It slipped and hit his eye. Neither his physician father nor the Boston specialist he consulted was able to repair the damage. Although he attended primary school in Windsor, his eyesight deteriorated steadily, and the sight in his other eye also worsened. At the age of 13, when an

operation Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

to create an artificial pupil failed, Fraser was enrolled in the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind in Boston, the first and most famous school for the blind in the United States. By the time he left in 1872 he was completely blind.

Legacy

* Sir Frederick Fraser School

References

Joanna L. Pearce. "Fighting in the Dark: Charles Frederick Fraser and the Halifax Asylum for the Blind, 1850–1915.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Charles Frederick 1850 births 1925 deaths Canadian blind people Canadian activists Canadian Knights Bachelor People from Windsor, Nova Scotia Blind activists Canadian activists with disabilities