It was on this date, April 8, 1864, that President Abraham Lincoln signed the charter to establish what became Gallaudet University.

Deaf actress Lauren Ridloff was born on April 6, 1978. image from New. York Times video (see below) She first came to national attention with her role as Connie on the TV series The Walking Dead . Ridloff was crowned Miss Deaf America in 2000 and was nominated for several awards for her leading role in the Broadway play Children of a Lesser God. In 2021, she became Marvel’s first deaf superhero in the movie Eternals . She is a mother to two young children who are also deaf.