__NOTOC__ Sir John Foster Wilson

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(20 January 1919 – 25 November 1999) was a British public health advocate, best known for working to prevent blindness in developing countries in Africa and South and South East Asia.

Early life and background

He was born in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, the son of the Reverend George Henry Wilson, a Methodist minister. Blinded in a laboratory accident at school at Scarborough High School for Boys in 1931, he went on to be educated at Worcester College for the Blind (now

New College Worcester New College Worcester (or NCW; formerly RNIB New College) is an independent boarding and day school for students, aged 11–19, who are blind or partially sighted. It caters for around 80 students. It is located in the city of Worcester, England ...

), and obtain a scholarship to study law at St Catherine's College, Oxford. before becoming Assistant Secretary at the

Royal National Institute for the Blind The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a UK charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people in the UK with sight loss. History The RNIB was founded by Thomas Rhodes Armitage, a doctor who had eye ...

in 1941.

Career

He served as a member of the Colonial Office delegation investigating blindness in Africa during 1946-1947. Wilson was involved in founding several organisations, most notably the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind (now known as Sightsavers International) - of which he became the first director in 1950 - but also

Disability Awareness in Action Rachel Mary Rosalind Hurst CBE is a British activist and former director of Disability Awareness in Action (DAA), an international network working on disability and human rights. Early training and employment Born in 1939, Hurst trained as an ac ...

, the

International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) is a global alliance of eye health organisations working for the prevention of blindness and vision impairment. IAPB was established in 1975 to work as an umbrella body for global b ...

and

IMPACT Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impact ...

. At his instigation, the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

established the first International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, of which he served as president from 1974 until his retirement in 1982. He died in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

in 1999.

Personal life

Wilson was married in 1944 to Chloe Jean McDermid ("Jean"). They had two daughters, Jane and Claire. His widow, Lady Jean Wilson, continues the work of Sightsavers International. She was appointed an OBE for her charity work in 1981.

Legacy

A school,

Sir John Wilson School ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

, was established in his honour in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Published works

* ''Ghana's Handicapped Citizens'' (1961) * ''Travelling Blind'' (1963) * ''World Blindness and Its Prevention'' (1980)

Awards and honours

* Helen Keller International Award (1970) * World Humanity Award (1978) * Royal Society of Medicine's Richard T. Hewitt Award (1991) * Albert Schweitzer International Prize (1993). * OBE (1955) * CBE (1965) * Knighthood (1975) * Albert Lasker Public Service Award (1979)Lasker Foundation

References

External links

Sightsavers website

* IMPAC

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, John 1919 births 1999 deaths People from Nottingham People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English blind people Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford British non-fiction writers British disability rights activists British male writers People educated at Scarborough High School for Boys 20th-century non-fiction writers Male non-fiction writers