Georgia Griffith

Georgia Marie Griffith (November 12, 1931 – September 14, 2005) was an American deafblind educator, author, and online community pioneer. Griffith began her career as a music educator. When her hearing deteriorated as an adult, she worked for the Library of Congress translating music into braille. At age 50 Griffith became an early adopter of the Internet, managing message forums for CompuServe and providing assistance to people with disabilities in using computers.

Early life and education

Georgia Marie Griffith was born in Lancaster, Ohio on November 12, 1931. Her parents discovered she was blind shortly after birth. She graduated in 1954 with a bachelor's degree in music education.

Career and service to people with disabilities

After graduating from college, Griffith taught music, including directing choirs and teaching piano lessons to children.

In the early 1980s, Griffith's friends pooled their money to buy her a VersaBraille, equipping her personal computer with a refreshable braille display. This allowed her to communicate with people around the world. In a 1995 New York Times article, Griffith was described as being "known in the on-line community as a 'Net Queen,' writing faster than most people talk, with a distinctive voice that is at turns witty, forceful and self-deprecating." Griffith died September 14, 2005.

Honors and legacy

In 1987, the mayor of Lancaster declared January 11 "Georgia Griffith Day." Griffith was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1994. She received the Great Communicator Award from the Central Ohio Speech and Hearing Center in 1996. Griffith received an award from the Smithsonian Institution in 1997 for her work with the CompuServe Handicapped Users' Database, a compendium of information for and about disabled people.

She published an autobiography, Running Around in Family Circles With Friends in Pursuit, in 2003.