After studies at Uppsala University (1796–1798), he became a secretary in the Central Government Office (centrala ämbetsverk) in Stockholm.

[2] After having seen a play where a deaf boy communicated by gestures, he was inspired to create a manual alphabet.

Following the example of l'Abbé de l'Épée founded by Charles-Michel de l'Épée in Paris, in 1809 he founded Allmänna institutet för döfstumma och blinda å Manilla (Public Institute of the Blind and Deaf at Manilla; Manillaskolan).

[1] Among his notable students was concert singer, composer and poet Charlotta Seuerling (1782/1784–1828).

He was the guardian and mentor of Johanna Berglind (1816–1903), also an important figure in the history of the education of the deaf in Sweden.