Gerrit van der Mey

Gerrit van der Mey (5 January 1914November 2002) was a deafblind Dutch mathematician. He helped create software for PTERA and ZEBRA, some of the first computers designed in the Netherlands, as well as creating compilers for later computers. In 1982 he was made a member of the Order of Orange-Nassau at the grade of knight.

Early life and education

Gerrit van der Mey was born 5 January 1914 in Lisse. He was the son of a well-known bulb grower. He attended high school at Blinden Studien Anstalt in Marburg, Germany, where his mathematics teacher recognized his impressive aptitude for the subject. He had to relearn to walk with the help of a guide dog.

Work at PTT

In 1951 Mey began working as a calculator (computer programmer) at the Mathematical Department of the PTT (Staatsbedrijf der Posterijen, Telegrafie en Telefonie; the Dutch mail and telephone company), working closely with Willem van der Poel. Even after thirty years of total deafness, he retained near perfect speech, allowing him to answer questions with his voice; he collaborated with researchers to investigate his ability to retain speech. He used the Lorm alphabet to communicate with his wife and close friends.

Personal life and travels

In 1957 Mey, his wife Suzanne Melgerd, and coworker Willem van der Poel attended a conference hosted by the Helen Keller Foundation to share information about his communication devices. They toured the United States and Canada with a group of deafblind people; a highlight of the trip was a visit to the Oval Office to meet President Eisenhower. On the boat trip from Europe, Mey's lack of balance made it impossible for him to walk unassisted, but as a consolation he did not suffer from seasickness.

Mey traveled extensively and memorized the Dutch railway network schedules. Before becoming deaf, he was an excellent pianist and played occasionally even after losing his hearing. He and his wife had three daughters together.

Later life

When his colleague Willem van der Poel became a professor at the Delft University of Technology, Mey went to work with him. He retired in 1978. In 1982 he was designated as a Knight in the Order of Oranje Nassau. His wife unexpectedly died in 1983; he would later remarry and divorce.

Mey spent his final years at the center for the deaf-blind at Beek. He died in November 2002.