Deaf History

By Artemis_lol
  • 1500

    1500s

    1500s
    There was a growing recognition of the Deaf community their ability to learn.
    - Physician Geronimo Cardano was one of the first to acknowledge that deaf individuals could reason were capable of being educated. Even attempted to teach his son using a set of symbols.
  • 1555

    Pedro Ponce de Leon

    Pedro Ponce de Leon (1520-1584) established a school for the deaf at the San Salvador Monastery in Oña.

  • 1760 - "Father of the Deaf"

    1760 - "Father of the Deaf"
    Charles Michel De L’Epée established French Sign Language
    - Founded a shelter for the deaf in Paris and a school for deaf children in Truffaut, France.

  • 1817 - Gallaudet

    1817 - Gallaudet
    The First American Deaf School was founded by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who was interested in deaf education.
    - Travels to Europe meets Laurent Clerc. Upon return to America with Clrec, they found the American School for Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.
    - Alice Cogswell, Gallaudet’s initial inspiration to teach the deaf, is the first to graduate from the American School.