The Priest Known as "Father of the Deaf" was Born on this Day

Charles-Michel de l'Épée was born November 24, 1712, in Versailles, France.

L'Épée become known as the "Father of the Deaf"after founding the Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris in 1760, which is considered by some to be the first public school for the deaf. Here are some details of his life:

• The priest was inspired to develop a system of sign language after meeting two deaf twins who were using their own signs to communicate with one another.

• Although he is sometimes described as the inventor of sign language, L'Épée was actually taught sign language by the deaf.

• He used a generous inheritance to start and financially support a deaf school on the rue des Moulins in Paris.

• L'Épée died in 1789 at the beginning of the French Revolution.

• In 1791, the French National Assembly recognised his work and declared that deaf people had rights according to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.