It was on this date (Dec. 7, 2012) that Dr. William F. House died in Oregon at the age of 89. image from House Ear Institute Dr. House is credited with installing the first cochlear implant in 1961. He was told by experts the electric current he was using would destroy the ear, but that didn't stop him. He believed in what implants could do to change someone's life. Here's a little about him: Known as the "father of neurotology." He received his do

It was on this day (Dec. 6) in 1976 that professional stuntwoman Kitty O'Neil set a record for land speed by a female driver. It was in Oregon's Alvord Desert that Kitty hit 512 miles per hour. Her women's absolute land speed record stood until 2019. The previous record had been 321 mph. Childhood diseases left her deaf and nearly killed her. She became a champion diver at a young age. As a teenager, she planned to take part in the 1964 Olympics but an injury and illness cut

In the 1600s, the court of the Ottoman Empire employed some 40 deaf servants. Sultan Selim III in front of the Gate of Felicity (1789) via Wikimedia Commons They were chosen not in spite of their deafness, but because of it. The deaf servants were favored companions of the sultan, and their facility in nonverbal communication made them indispensable to the court, where decorum restricted speech in the sultan’s presence. Read the fascinating story of the deaf servants here . .

Nyle Dimarco won America's Next Top Model  contest on this date (Dec. 4) in 2015. Photo ABC The first deaf contestant to win on the reality show, afterward Dimarco told People magazine: "Being a deaf person on a television show alone is pretty groundbreaking, so it felt incredible just to be on the show – but to win it was amazing!" Read more of that interview here .

He was born on this date (Dec. 3) in 1751. Donaldson’s School for the Deaf was named after him. Donaldson’s School for the Deaf has long been a dominant feature of the Edinburgh skyline. It was named for Edinburgh printer and businessman James Donaldson. He was born on Dec. 3, 1751, and died on Oct. 19, 1830. Donalson left large sum go to the building of a facility to care for children who would otherwise have been living on the streets. When it opened, 20 years later, the sc

Charles-Michel de l'Épée was born November 24, 1712, in Versailles, France. L'Épée become known as the "Father of the Deaf"after...

For decades it was illegal to teach ASL in US schools. PBS explains why in this video.

Professional stuntwoman Kitty O'Neil died seven years ago today (Nov. 2, 2018) from pneumonia at the age of 72. Among other things, the deaf daredevil set a record for land speed by a female driver in 1976. It was in Oregon's Alvord Desert that Kitty hit 512 miles per hour. Childhood diseases left her deaf and nearly killed her. She became a champion diver at a young age. Her work later as a Hollywood stuntwoman was featured in TV shows like Quincy, Baretta and The Bionic Wom

The Rhode Island School for the Deaf was founded by Mary Ann Lippitt who was born on this date (Oct. 7) in the year 1823. Her daughter became deaf after contracting Scarlet Fever in 1856. "Lippitt created her own program and founded the Providence Day School for the Deaf in 1876. Her husband Henry Lippitt, who had become governor in 1875, used his own influence to inspire the State to take over the administration of the school the following year." Read more here .

Edward Miner Gallaudet served as president (1864–1910) of the school that would become Gallaudet University. Edward was the youngest of eight children born to Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. He died on this date, Sept. 26, in 1917. When plans were made to change the name of the school from the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, Edward Miner Gallaudet wanted the honor to go to his father, as a pioneer in deaf education, rather than to himself. So the scho

On this day (Sept. 16) in 1973, the first deaf player ran onto the field for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Philadelphia Eagles. Bonnie Sloan played in four games at defensive tackle and only lasted one season, because of knee injuries, but he had made his mark at the age of 25. The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder was a 10th-round draft pick out of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he was the first player to bench press 500 pounds. Sloan was an All-Ohio

Long before American Sign Language, Native sign languages thrived in North America. Hand Talk would become a major influential on ASL's formation. The Vox video below explains how it came about.

Gerald “Bummy” Burstein died on this date (Aug. 31) in 2018 at the age of 91 in Riverside, California. Bummy is worth remembering for his tireless work on behalf of the deaf community even after he retired. The student center at the local deaf school carries his name. Burnstein was the certified Professional Parliamentarian for the National Association of the Deaf and the author of two books. His work for Gallaudet University led the Board of Trustees to rename the Gallaudet

Barbara Kannapell died four years ago on August 11, 2021 in Washington, DC at the age of 83. Image from Gallaudet.edu According to the New York Times , as a CODA, Kannapell considered American Sign Language her native language and... made it her life’s work to empower deaf and hard-of-hearing people with a sense of identity and an appreciation for their own distinct culture ... Throughout her early schooling, Dr. Kannapell felt the sting of what is now known as audism — reje

Casterline made a major contribution in the 1950s to a book that revolutionized the study of Deaf culture. image: Gallaudet.edu   Casterline was a young researcher when she begain helping Gallaudet University professor William C. Stokoe on what would become A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles.  Eventually published in 1965 with help from another professor, Carl Croneberg, it was the first comprehensive dictionary of American Sign Language and consi

Ed "Dummy" Dundon, who was born on July 10, 1859, went on to become the first deaf player to play baseball professionally After attending the Ohio State School for the Deaf, Dundon went on to play several years of professional baseball. He had two seasons with the Columbus Buckeyes before retiring and becoming an umpire. During his hitch with the Buckeyes in 1883 and 1884, Dundon had a record of 9-20 and a 4.25 ERA. Like many deaf ball players at the time, he got a common (al

On June 4, 1987, 4-year-old Holly McDonell (now Holly Taylor) of Sydney, Australia became the first child to receive a commercial...

On this date (June 1) in 1948 Bonnie Sloan was born in Tennessee. Bonnie would become the first deaf player in the NFL at the age of 25...

About 20 years before Helen Keller’s education, Laura Bridgman became first deaf-blind American to gain a significant education in the...

It was on this day (May 23) in 1862 that William Ellsworth Hoy was born. Known professionally as "Dummy" Hoy, he played in the major...