Julie Brace was born on June 13, 1807. At the age of 17, the deafblind woman enrolled at the American School for the Deaf, in Hartford, Connecticut. The story of Julia Brace: Born in Hartford County, Connecticut. Became deaf-blind at age five from typhoid fever. Developed a home sign that she used with her parents. On June 11, 1825, she moved to the Hartford Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb (now called the American School for the Deaf). She learned tactile signing, depite being

Here are two videos filmed in 1954 at the UK's Royal School for Deaf Children in Margate.

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 when he ran onto the field when the St. Louis Cardinals took on the Philadelphia Eagles in 1973. His career only lasted one season because of a knee injury, but he made his mark. The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder came out of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he was the first player to bench press 500 pounds. Sloan was an A

About 20 years before Helen Keller’s education, Laura Bridgman became first deaf-blind American to gain a significant education in the English language. The two were connected through Bridgman's friend Anne Sullivan who became Helen Keller's teacher and aide. Born in New Hampshire on Dec. 21, 1829, Bridgman lost her sight and hearing at two years of age to scarlet fever. She had limited communication skills until the director of the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown,

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 leagues for seven seasons, mostly for the Cincinnati Reds. Born on May 23, 1862, in Houcktown, Ohio, near Toledo. Hoy lost his hearing at the age of three due to meningitis. He graduated from the Ohio State School for the Deaf as class valedictorian in 1879. The school honored him with a plaque in March of 2023. WXYX-TV has a report on it here.

Frank Gallo Jr., born on May 16, 1947, in Lanham, Maryland, became the first deaf member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) in 1972. In 1990, Gallo became the first person to win both tournaments of the National Deaf Bowling Association. The rules were then changed to prevent professional bowlers from participating in these tournaments. Gallo was married on April 4, 2004, in Las Vegas, while bowling in the ABC Seniors Masters. He worked in computer programming with

It was on this date (May 5) in 1889 that Frederick Barnard died at the age of 80. His full name was Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard. The deaf American educator was quite the renaissance man. Besides teaching college students, he was a scientist, writer and mathematician. Barnard served as president of the University of Mississippi, then took the same position at Columbia College in New York City (it later became a university). The year he died, an affiliated college for wom

The Texas Archive of the Moving Image has posted footage showing a day at Austin's Texas School for the Deaf in the 1960s. The activities include students in the classroom, playing basketball, and in their dormitory.

One of the first deaf actresses to have a major role on a TV series died on this day (April 22, 2015) in Fremont, California. CBS Photo archive Audree Norton was 88 years old. A founding member of The National Theatre of the Deaf, Norton appeared on the CBS show Mannix in 1968 and later on The Streets of San Francisco and Family Affair. When she was cut out of a role just because she was deaf, Norton filed a complaint with the Screen Actors Guild. John Schuchman suggests in h

On this date (April 20) in 1786, John Goodricke died. Goodricke only survived to the age of 21, but the deaf astronomer made a major impact on his field. Working with Edward Pigott, Goodricke learned to measure the variation of light coming from stars. This would eventually lead astronomers to figure out the distance of galaxies from the Earth. While still a teenager, the Royal Society of London awarded him the Copley Medal, making him the youngest person to be given its high

Ursula Bellugi, the first to demonstrate that ASL is a true language, died at the age of 91, four years ago today ( April 17, 2022). Credit: Salk Institute Bellugi's research focused on how the brain processes language. She proved it is just as complex, abstract and systematic as spoken language, reports the New York Times . A leading researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies for nearly 50 years, she studied the linguistic structure and neurological basis of Am

It was on this day (April 15) in 1817 that the American School for the Deaf, the oldest permanent public school for the deaf, opened its doors. Founded by Laurent Clerc and Thomas Gallaudet, the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut is more than 200 years old. Read more about the school here . Meanwhile, the New York School for the Deaf also was established that day on April 15, 1817. They open its doors in 1818.

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

It was on this day, April 5, in 1887, when Helen Keller grasped the meaning of the word “water” as spelled out in the manual alphabet with the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan. Her blind and deaf pupil had learned to memorize words but failed to connect the words to their meanings. When Anne took Helen to an old pump house, Helen, she finally understood that everything has a name. Sullivan put Helen’s hand under the stream and began spelling “w-a-t-e-r” into her palm, first

On March 29, 1976, Louise Fletcher accepted an Academy Award for her role in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest." She had played the memorable role of Nurse Ratched. She made an emotional and unique acceptance speech at the Oscars that year for her best actress award. The actress decided to honor her parents, who were both deaf, by using American Sign Language. Fletcher told the audience: “I wanted to say thank you for teaching me to have a dream. You are seeing my dream come t

It was 38 years ago today (March 13, 1988) that the Deaf President Now movement succeeded. It happened when I King Jordan became the first deaf president of Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. Read the details of what happened here .

‘CODA’ Star Troy Kotsur won the best supporting trophy at the Film Independent Spirit Award on March 6, 2022. Image: Variety That makes him the first deaf actor to win the award. Kotsur plays deaf fisherman Frank Rossi in the film CODA. In accepting the honor, Kotsur thanked the film’s producers and applauded them for their vision. He went on to thank his wife and daughter. Backstage he said: “You know how long it took me to get here? And it takes doctors a long time to get

It was on this date (March 4, 2013) an episode of Switched at Birth was aired that made history. The dialogue of the entire show was in ASL. Producers of the ABC Family program (now known as Freeform ) say this was the first time a scripted series on mainstream television used only American Sign Language.

On this date (March 3, 1887) Anne Sullivan arrived at the Keller's home in Alabama to work with their deaf and blind daughter, Helen. Through their work together, Helen Keller would go on to become one of the most influential people in history. Below is a video about Helen Keller from Biography.com or you can read the material here .

Luther "Dummy" Taylor was born on this day (Feb. 21) in 1875. Luther Taylor, known as Dummy Taylor, played for the San Francisco Giants when they were in upper Manhattan, and later for the Cleveland Bronchos a in the early 1900s. Taylor was an important pitchers on the Giants' championship teams of 1904 and 1905. He not only "bridged a gap between hearing and nonbearing athletes," he "remains a unique link between Kansas City and the Giants." Read more in the New York Times