Anne Thompson MacDonald (December 15, 1896 – October 9, 1993) was an American philanthropist, founder of

Recording for the Blind Learning Ally, which was previously named Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), is a non-profit volunteer organization operating nationwide in the United States. It produces and maintains a library of educational accessible audiobooks for ...

Early life

Anne Hunter Thompson was the daughter of Robert O. Thompson and Frances Walton Thompson. She was raised in the Brooklyn home of her uncle, banker John J. Walton.

Career

During World War II, Anne Thompson MacDonald was assistant director of the Nurses' Aide Corps of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

. Immediately after the war, she was active in helping released

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

return to home. She was a member of the Women's Auxiliary at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

, when she learned about the need for

audio books An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

for newly blind veterans of the war. She founded The National Committee for Recording for the Blind in 1948 (incorporated in 1951), in New York City, with the motto "Education is a right, not a privilege". She established recording studios in other cities, and oversaw a system involving thousands of volunteers recording, duplicating, cataloging and mailing vinyl records (and later cassette tapes) for blind readers. In 1973, she was awarded the Migel Medal by the

American Foundation for the Blind The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is an American non-profit organization for people with vision loss. AFB's objectives include conducting research to advance change, promoting knowledge and understanding, and shaping policies and practice ...

. In 1983, the Anne T. MacDonald Center opened in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, as the new headquarters of Recordings for the Blind. In 1988, MacDonald was awarded an honorary doctorate from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, for her lifetime of service.

Personal life and legacy

In 1919, Anne Thompson married stockbroker Ranald Hugh MacDonald Jr. They had two children, Ranald and Anne. She was widowed when Ranald MacDonald died in 1988; she died in 1993, aged 96 years, a nursing home in Huntington, New York. In 2011, Recordings for the Blind rebranded itself as Learning Ally.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:MacDonald, Anne Thompson 1896 births 1993 deaths People from Brooklyn 20th-century American philanthropists