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...

Helen Keller graduated with honors from Radcliffe College on June 28, 1904. She became the first deaf and blind person to graduate from...

Below are some facts about James Caverly who already has a number of acting credits. He was born on this day (Jun 16) in 1989. Born deaf...

It was on this date (June 23) 1943 that Vinton Cerf, who is hard of hearing, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. (image Royal Society)...

Karen Alkoby became the first deaf woman in the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. in computer science on this date (June 15) in 2008. She graduated...

Canada's first deaf Roman Catholic priest was ordained in 2012. Raised a Baptist in Michigan, Matthew Hysell lost his hearing after a bout with meningitis as a toddler. He made the decision to become a priest as a teenager after reading about the priesthood in school. He graduated from City University in New York, then earned a master's in theology from a California program. He celebrates mass using sign language. He was as Associate Pastor at Corpus Christi Parish with respo

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....

It was on this date (Nov. 24) in 2004, when sign language interpreter Nataliya Dmytruk refused to translate the official script during a...

A woman from the UK became the first deaf person to row across the Atlantic Ocean on this date (Jan 31) in 2020. Image from ReSound video...

The "royal court" of the 134th Rose Parade making history by including a "princess" who is deaf. image: Tournament of Roses Salia Baligh...

The Museum of Deaf History, Arts & Culture is located in Olathe, Kansas, across the street from the Kansas School for the Deaf. image...

The Stan Mikita Hockey School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing got its start nearly 50 years ago in 1973. image from CBS-2 video The camp...

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) board has picked April as the National Deaf History Month. image from NAD video This resolves...

A study of sign language in Europe has found that Spanish sign language is possibly the oldest in existence. A map of sign language...