John Joseph Boyer (July 25, 1936 – January 17, 2023) was an American software engineer who developed open-source software for the blind.[1]
Boyer was born in Wadena, Minnesota, the fifth of 12 children of John H. Boyer and Tillie M. (Ament) Boyer.[2] His father owned a farm-equipment business.[3] Boyer was born blind, and lost his hearing before age 10 after a series of ear infections.[1]
He attended the New York Institute for the Blind and graduated from high school as the salutatorian in 1956.[3]
Boyer enrolled at the College of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, studying math and psychology.[3] The college president, Monsignor James Shannon, was initially skeptical of how a blind and deaf student could "hear lectures, recite in class or write examinations," but later said, "[Boyer] has demonstrated that he can perform each of these functions with brilliant success."[1] The National Foundation of the Blind gave Boyer a translator who took notes and signed lectures into Boyer's hand. His textbooks were translated into braille, but didn't contain any graphs.[1] In 1961, he graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in math.[2]
Unable to find a job after graduating, Boyer worked an assembly line, while also training his own guide dog and building a hearing aid.[3] He was forced to train his own guide dog because the program could only accommodate blind people and not those who were also deaf.[1]
At the University of Cincinnati, he took a course for blind computer programmers in 1964, and worked as a programmer in Ohio and later at the University of Wisconsin–Parkside.[3] In 1982 he received a master's degree in computer science from University of Wisconsin–Madison; he also worked on a doctorate but never finished his dissertation.[1][2]
While studying at UW-Madison, Boyer founded Computers to Help People Inc., a non-profit to help people with disabilities find computer-related jobs as well as publish scientific books in braille.[1]
He developed Liblouis, which translates text into braille, and released it as free and open source software under the LGPL license.[1][4] Named after Louis Braille, the project was commissioned in 2002 by ViewPlus Technologies Inc., a braille printing company.[5] Boyer extended liblouis's functionality so it could convert HTML and XML files into braille and later added support for tactile graphics.[5] Software Freedom Conservancy, which now serves as the non-profit home for liblouis, described it as "an essential tool for blind and visually impaired users."[4]
In 2010, with ViewPlus Technologies, Boyer developed BrailleBlaster, a Java application that allows users to create and edit braille text.[3][5] It is now developed by the American Printing House for the Blind.[3]
President Barack Obama named Boyer a Champion of Change in 2012 for "leading education and employment efforts in science, technology, engineering and math for Americans with disabilities".[6] He was honored at a White House ceremony, but found it frustrating because the staff had arranged for an ASL interpreter, which he couldn't see.[1]
Boyer was a fan of science fiction and at one time owned a 7-foot-long (2.1 m) boa constrictor.[1]
While working at UW-Parkside, Boyer met his wife, Hazel Mendenhall.[5] The two married in 1973, however Mendenhall died from ALS in 1977.[1] Losing his wife led Boyer into depression; he said his Roman Catholic faith and counseling helped him out of it.[1]
Boyer died on January 17, 2023, while being treated for pneumonia at UW Health University Hospital.[2] He was survived by two brothers and five sisters.[3]
