1912 — An accidental gunshot wound leaves Montana cowboy J. Robert Atkinson blind and without direction. He learns to read braille and soon begins transcribing books for his personal library.

1917 — In less than five years Atkinson has transcribed nearly one million words of ink print into braille.

1919 — Impressed by Atkinson, philanthropist Mary Longyear and her husband, John, donate $25,000 to help him establish the Universal Braille Press. The fledgling organization occupies several rooms and the garage of his Los Angeles home until 1922.

1929 — Atkinson's lobbying efforts result in federal legislation to fund the printing and national distribution of raised-print materials through the Library of Congress Services for the Blind, known currently as the National Library Service (NLS). The Universal Braille Press incorporates as Braille Institute of America, Inc.

1933 — Atkinson moves his organization to 741 North Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles. The headquarters is still there today and now takes up an entire city block.

1934 — Braille Institute joins the NLS and becomes a Branch Library.

1936 — Determined to get more blind people working, Atkinson successfully lobbies for a bill to provide rent-free space for blind vendors in federal office buildings.

1938 — Braille Institute produces the first braille Webster's dictionary in more than 100 years of braille printing.

1948 — The first edition of a brailled children's anthology is published. Today Expectations reaches 3,000 readers worldwide.

1954 — Visual Aids consultants begin demonstrating magnification devices that help people maximize their existing vision. Volunteers take on a bigger role, with many teaching home management skills in the Institute's newly expanded facility.

1964 — J. Robert Atkinson passes away at the age of 76.

1971 — The Orange County Regional Center opens in Anaheim.

1972 — The first Braille Institute Track and Field Olympics is held at the Youth Center. It has grown to become one of our premiere events.

1973 — A Rancho Mirage Regional Center is opened in rented space.

1983 — A new Santa Barbara Regional Center is dedicated, stretching our services northward to the Tri-County area. A Sensory Aids Learning Center is dedicated at the Sight Center and a Financial Subsidy Program begins.

1990 — Our permanent Rancho Mirage Regional Center opens in Rancho Mirage to meet the needs of people in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

1993 — A San Diego Regional Center is established in leased space near La Jolla. With an eye on the future, Braille Institute acquires a 3.8-acre site to build a permanent San Diego facility.

1998 — Braille Institute launches its web site at: http://www.brailleinstitute.org

1999 — Our permanent 28,000-square-foot San Diego Regional Center opens in the University Towne Centre area near La Jolla to meet the needs of people in San Diego and Imperial counties.

1999 — Mobile Solutions — a traveling display of our programs and services — is launched, reaching out to people who are not able to come to one of our five regional centers.

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