Guilly d'Herbemont (25 June 1888 – 28 February 1980) was a French advocate for the blind who popularized the use of white canes.
Early life Guilly d'Herbemont was born on June 25, 1888. She was raised in an aristocratic family and grew up in the Charmois château near Verdun, but she traveled between Paris and Belgium. She was educated by governesses and nuns.
White cane movement D'Herbemont lived near a home for the blind on in Paris. It was not always obvious to the public when someone was blind, and automobile traffic made the roads dangerous for the blind to cross. In 1930, she saw a blind woman nearly get struck by a car. D'Herbemont spoke to the local government about improving the situation for blind people in the community, but they felt a woman of high social class should not involve herself in public affairs.
D'Herbemont started the white cane movement when she proposed that the blind use white canes, inspired by the ones used by Paris police officers. She wrote a letter to the editor to L'Écho de Paris, which the paper published on November 30, 1930. The following month, d'Herbemont met with the leadership of local associations for the blind and with the police department, which had endorsed her proposal to distribute white canes. Some advocates for the blind initially questioned her approach because they feared there would be a stigma associated with the canes. The proposal was then approved by the city council.
D'Herbemont privately funded the project herself. She bestowed the first two white canes in a ceremony at the Cercle de l'Union interalliée on 7 February 1931. This was followed by the distribution of 5,000 white canes, most of them going to veterans who had been blinded in World War I. D'Herbemont also advocated other safety measures, such as establishing speed limits and increasing the number of pedestrian crosswalks. The use of white canes spread to other nations in Europe and to the United States over the next few years.
The original invention of the white cane is attributed to others, including of Argentina and James Biggs of England.
Later activity D'Herbemont organized a meeting of about 3,000 blind people at the Salle Pleyel on 11 June 1933. In 1938, she spoke to about one hundred blind people in Lausanne, Switzerland, describing how to use the cane.
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External links Website about Guilly d'Herbemont by Free.fr