Kate M. Foley
Kate M. Foley | |
|---|---|
 Kate M. Foley, from a 1928 newspaper photograph. | |
| Born | Catherine M. Foley May 26, 1873 East St. Louis, Illinois |
| Died | October 7, 1940 (aged 67) Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | librarian |
| Known for | California Library Hall of Fame (2015) |
| Notable work | Five Lectures on Blindness (1919) |
Kate M. Foley (May 26, 1873 – October 7, 1940) was an American librarian and advocate for blind literacy, based in San Francisco, California.
Early life[edit]
Catherine M. Foley was born in East St. Louis, Illinois,[1] the daughter of James Foley and Bridget E. Dunn Foley. Her parents were both immigrants from Ireland. She was blind from infancy, from ophthalmia neonatorum.[2] "I was in my sixth year before I understood the meaning of the word blind. Up to that time, I had romped and played with other children, climbed trees, jumped ditches, accepting bumps and bruises as part of the game, and having no sense of fear, since some child always held my hand."[3] She attended the California Institute for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind, graduating in 1895.[4]
Career[edit]
Foley began working for the California State Library in 1914,[5] in the Books for the Blind department, as Home Teacher of the Blind.[6][7] She started a public school class for blind children in Los Angeles in 1917,[8] and taught a class of men at the Industrial Home for the Adult Blind in Oakland, California. "The pupils have confidence in a blind teacher," she explained, "because they know that every step in their difficult path is familiar to her feet."[3] She also trained educators to work with blind students, trained clubwomen to copy texts into Braille,[9] and worked with blind prisoners at San Quentin.[10] She published Five Lectures on Blindness in 1919, based on lectures she gave at the University of California in 1918.[3][4][11] In the 1920s she gave radio talks for blind listeners, and promoted radio as a medium for blind education.[12] She also promoted an early prototype of a "talking book" machine.[13]
She was second vice-president of the American Association of Workers for the Blind,[14] and chaired the American Braille Commission.[4][5] She was a frequent speaker before civic groups and conferences, including the 1931 World Conference on Work for the Blind in New York.[15]
Personal life[edit]
On October 7, 1940, Foley died at her brother's home in Los Angeles, California. Foley was 67 years old.[16][17][18][1] In 2015, she was inducted into the California Library Hall of Fame.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Pioneer Teacher of Blind Will be Laid to Rest Today" The Los Angeles Times (October 8, 1940): 39. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Angela Gates, "'A (blind) woman's place is (teaching) in the home': The life of Kate Foley, 1873-1940" (master's thesis, San Jose State University 2016): 31-33. via ProQuest
- ^ a b c Kate M. Foley, Five Lectures on Blindness (California State Printing Office 1919).
- ^ a b c d "California Library Hall of Fame: Kate M. Foley (1873-1940)" California Library Association (2015).
- ^ a b Biennial Report of The California State Library (1934). California State Library. pp. 5, 7.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ California Legislature, "Report of the State Librarian" Journal of the Senate (California State Printing Office 1917): 11-12.
- ^ "Hollywood". The Los Angeles Times. December 6, 1914. p. 36. Retrieved April 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Teacher of Blind Transferred North" The Los Angeles Times (October 27, 1917): 12. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Red Cross Women Help to Prepare Books for Blind" Oakland Tribune (June 24, 1928): 58. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Blind Teaches Blind" Oakland Tribune (March 2, 1936): 9. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Gillis, Mabel. "State Library" Outlook for the Blind 13(Winter 1918-1919): 33.
- ^ "Radio Talks Win Pupils" Oakland Tribune (August 4, 1929): 111. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Listening to a Book Talk" The St. Louis Star and Times (June 28, 1934): 9. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "1919 Toronto Convention of the A. A. W. B." Outlook for the Blind 13 (Summer 1919): 44.
- ^ World Conference on Work for the Blind. Inc American Printing House for the Blind. 1931.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "Miss Kate M. Foley" The New York Times (October 8, 1940): 25. via ProQuest
- ^ "Services Today for Miss Kate Foley, 67, Who Died in the South" Oakland Tribune (October 8, 1940): 20. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Blind Teacher of Blind Dies" The Los Angeles Times (October 7, 1940): 15. via Newspapers.com
External links[edit]
- Kate M. Foley, "The Re-Education of the Blind Adult" Outlook for the Blind 13(Summer 1919): 47–52. One of her published lectures on blind education.
- Angela Gates, "'A (blind) woman's place is (teaching) in the home': The life of Kate Foley, 1873-1940" (master's thesis, San Jose State University 2016). ISBN 9781369569865
- Kate M. Foley at Find a Grave