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Article: George Dawson.(102-year-old man who recently learned to write)(Obituary)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- July 14, 2001
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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FOR the first 98 years of his life George Dawson could not read or write. He was persuaded that it was never too late to learn and turned out to be a remarkably able student. In his remaining five years he became a celebrity in the United States. Television programmes were made about his life. He was awarded honorary degrees by two universities. A school was named after him.
Literacy, or rather the lack of it, can be a touchy subject in countries whose people are materially rich but may have difficulty in constructing a decent sentence. According to the World Bank, 99% of Americans can read and write. But a report by the OECD in April shattered any complacency ...