John Metcalf, or as he was more popularly known, Blind Jack was born on August 15th, 1717 into a working class family and had a typical upbringing. At the age of six, he lost his sight to a smallpox infection. Losing his sight in childhood did not deter him from carrying on a productive life as he learned to play the violin and guided people around Knaresborough, Yorkshire. August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... // Events January 4 â The Netherlands, Britain & France sign Triple Alliance February 26-March 6 What is now the northeastern United States was paralyzed by a series of blizzards that buried the region. ... Smallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera) is a highly contagious disease unique to humans. ... Map sources for Knaresborough at grid reference SE3557 Knaresborough is a historical market town and spa town in North Yorkshire, England, located four miles east of Harrogate. ... Yorkshire as a traditional county. ...
As a young man, Blind Jack once raced the coach from London to Leeds. The roads were so poor the coach often beame stuck in the muddy, rutted roads. He won the race in about six days. St. ... Leeds Coat Of Arms Map sources for Leeds at grid reference SE297338 Leeds is a city in the county of West Yorkshire, in the north of England. ...
Later in life he became a roadmaker, building hundreds of roads and bridges in Northern England. The term civil engineer refers to an individual who practices civil engineering. ... The three northern Regions Northern England is a rather ill-defined term, with no universally accepted definition. ...
Blind Jack died in 1810 at the age of 92 in Spofforth. 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Spoffoth can refer to: Places Spofforth, Harrogate, North Yorkshire where lived Blind Jack People Fred Spofforth - Australian cricketer. ...
Jack then took on road building contracts in Cheshire Lancashire and Derbyshire, retiring in 1792 to live with his other daughter and son-in-law at their farm at Spofforth.
Jack dictated his life story in 1806, and finally died in 1810 at the age of ninety three.
Jack married Dorothy Benson the daughter of Christopher Benson, the landlord of the 'Granby Arms', Harrogate.
Jack Straw Productions, in partnership with Arts for Visually Impaired Audiences (AVIA), is proud to offer a variety of programs providing access and training in audio production for blind and visually impaired persons.
Blind Youth Audio Project, initiated in 1995, is an annual workshop series run in conjunction with the Department of Services for the Blind's Youth Employment Solutions (YES) program.
Blind and visually impaired high school students from across Washington state are housed at the University of Washington for 6 weeks while participating in job placement programs all around Seattle.