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1000 BCE
Hebrew Law denies Deaf Rights
Torah protects the deaf from being cursed by others, but does not allow them to participate in the rituals of the temple. Special laws concerning marriage and property were established for deaf-mutes, but deaf-mutes were not allowed to be witnesses in courts. -
Period: 427 BCE to 237 BCE
Philosophy of Innate Intelligent/Plato
Plato divided humans up based on their innate intelligence, strength, and courage and those who are not overly bright, strong, or brave are suited to various productive professions: farming, smithing, building, etc. The philosophy of innate intelligence is that it is inherent within us. This intelligence is expressed in our bodies via our nervous system. -
355 BCE
Ancient Greeks Deny Deaf Education/Aristotle
Aristotle said that "those who were born deaf all become senseless and incapable of reason" and that "the blind were more intelligent than the deaf". -
Period: 345 to 550
Early Christians see Deafness as Sin/St. Augustine
St. Augustine tells the early Christians that deaf children are a sign of God's anger at the sins of their parents. -
Period: 476 to May 10, 1453
Dark and Middle Ages - Middle Ages
People that were born deaf could not have faith and could not be saved and were barred from churches. It was necessary that they "hear" the word of God and being deaf was punishment from God. -
Period: May 9, 1500 to
Enlightenment Begins: First Attempts at Educating the Deaf - Geronimo Cardano of Padua, Italy
Geronimo Cardano was the first physician to recognize the ability of the deaf person. He taught his deaf son to communicate using a code of symbols. He also believed that the deaf can be taught written language.
Pedro Ponce de Leon - A Benedictine Monk: He invented signs to circumvent the "vow of silence". To communicate necessary information, the monks developed their own form of sign language and successfully taught speech to people that have been deaf since birth. -
Juan Pablo Bonet
He was a Spanish priest and pioneer of education for the deaf. He published the first book on deaf education in 1960 in Madrid. The book was named "Summary of the Letters and the Art of Teaching Speech to the Mute". Bonet's system of signs and manual alphabet has influenced many sing languages such as Spanish Sign Language, French Sign Language, and American Sign Language. -
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Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard was settled on by 200 immigrants from Kent County England, also known as "the Weald". All of the immigrants carried dominant and recessive genes for deafness. By the 1700's, a sign language for the deaf and hearing had developed on the island, but it was not ASL. The birth rate of deaf children on the island was 1 in 155 and the average is 1 in 1000. The island deaf children went to Hartford to be educated when the American School for the Deaf was established in 1817. -
Oral Education/Samuel Heinicke
Samual Heinicke was a German oral teacher of the deaf who started the first oral school for the deaf in the world in Germany. He was the originator of systematic education for the deaf and was born in Nautshutz, Germany. He taught people speech by having them feel his throat while he spoke. His method was termed "the German Method". -
French Sign Language Established - Charles Michel De L'Eppe
Charles Michel De L'Eppe was a french priest and the "father of Sign Language and Deaf Education". He established the first free public school for the deaf in France in 1771 and worked to develop a bridge between the deaf and hearing worlds through ha system of standardized signs and finger spelling. De L'Eppe founded a shelter for the deaf in Paris and a school for deaf children in Truffaut, France. IN 1788 he published a dictionary of French Sign Language. -
England - Thomas Braidwood
Thomas Braidwood opened the first school for the deaf in England. -
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Deaf Education Spreads Around the World
England, Germany, and Rome. -
Germany - Arnoldi
German pastor, Arnoldi, believed that education of the deaf should begin as early as four years old. -
Rome - Abba Silvestri
Abba Silvestri opened the first school for the deaf in Rome, Italy. -
First American Deaf School Founded - T.H. Gallaudet, L. Clerc, & Alice Cogswell
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet: He was an American that was interested in deaf education. He traveled to Europe and met Laurent Clerc. They both return to American and founded the American school for the deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. Many teachers of the deaf trained in Hartford. Sign-based schools began to flourish in New York, Pensylvania, Kentucky, etc.
Alice Cogswell: She was the initial inspiration on Gallaudet to teach the deaf and was the first to graduate from the American School. -
New York School for the Deaf Established
The New York School for the Deaf was established in 1817 and opened its doors to its first classes in 1818 just after the American School for the Deaf. It is recognized as the second oldest deaf school in the United States, celebrating its 200th anniversary next year, 2018. -
Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
This school is the third-oldest school for the Deaf in the United States. It was founded by David G. Seixas who was a Philidelphia crockery maker-dealer and became concerned with the plight of impoverished deaf children that he observed in the city's streets. The current school building is listed by the National Register of Historic Places and two former campuses are similarly recognized. -
Kentucky School for the Deaf
The Kentucky School for the Deaf is located in Danville, Kentucky and is a school that provides education to deaf and hard of hearing children from elementary through high school levels. It was established in 1823 and was the firs state-supported school of its kind in the U.S. and the first school for the deaf west of the Allegheny Mountains. -
Ohio School For the Deaf
The Ohio School for the Deaf is located in Columbus, Ohio and is run by the Ohio Department of Education for deaf and hard of hearing students across Ohio. It is the 5th oldest residential school for the deaf in the U.S. and is the only publicly funded residential school for the deaf in Ohio. -
Virginia School for the Deaf
The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind is located in Staunton, Virginia and is an institution for educating deaf and blind children. It was established in 1839 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly and the school accepts children aged between two and 22 years old. It provides residential accommodation for those students aged five and over who live outside of a 35-mile radius of the school. -
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"Golden Age of Deaf Education"
American Sign Language flourished. Approximately 40% of all teachers were deaf. -
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30 schools for the Deaf were established
More than 30 schools for the Deaf were established by Deaf and hearing teachers from the American School for the deaf and Gallaudet College, including schools in Indiana, Tennessee, N. Carolina, Illinois, South Carolina, and Arkansas. -
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A Deaf State is Proposed - John Flournoy
John Flournoy was a former person of the Connecticut school. He proposed to congress that there should be a Deaf state with land set aside in the western territories for the creation of a Deaf state. The Deaf could control their schools and establish their own government in this state. For the Deaf community to flourish more, it would be unrestrained by prejudice and the often restrictive good intentions of the hearing society. -
Gallaudet College Opens
Abraham Lincoln: He signed the charter for the Washington, D.C. based college for the deaf to be created.
National College for the Deaf and Dumb: this was the only accredited facility for the deaf in the United States to offer college degrees.
Edward Miner Gallaudet: This was the son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and the first president of Gallaudet. The dedication of the Gallaudet family is honored when the college changes its name to Gallaudet College in 1893. -
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Alexander Graham Bell Promotes Deaf Education
Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and was a telephone inventor who began his career as a deaf educator. His mother was hard of hearing and his father promoted a teaching method for the deaf called "Visible Speech" that was used to teach deaf people how to speak. Bell helped his father with a public demonstration of Visual Speech and later became his father's partner. In 1872 in Boston, Bell opened a school for teachers of the deaf. -
Bell's Deaf School
Alexander Graham Bell opened a school in Boston, MA that concentrates on oral methods of instruction. The shool received heavy opposition from deaf school using manual sign language. Bell eventually gave up administering deaf education and focused on a contraption that mechanized speech. In 1876 he then invented the telephone and was highly recognized. because of his recognition, he went on the found the Volta Bureau to promote oral-based deaf education for deaf children. -
Helen Keller
Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama and lost both her sight and hearing at 19 months old. She was taught ways to communicate at home by her friend and teacher, Annie Sullivan, and later at the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, Mass. She later graduated from Radcliffe College with her Bachelor of Arts degree and was the first deaf-blind person to do so. She was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. -
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The Conference of Milan Endorses Oral Education
This was an international gathering of deaf educators in a move with repercussions well into the future pronouncing all oral education methods superior to manual communication systems. The only country that opposed the vote for oral-based education was the United States, where manual education had been successful. Over the next 10 years, the population of manual education for the deaf declined sharply. In the U.S., the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) was founded and gained support. -
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Deaf Players make changes in Baseball and Football
William "Dummy" Hoy was a deaf baseball player who gave American Lague its first grand slam in 1901. The umpire hand signals were developed so that Hoy could see a strike from the outfield when he was playing. In the 1920's, Gallaudet University's football team kept its plays a secret by hiding signed instructions in a huddle formation. Other teams quickly followed the huddling, creating a football tradition. -
Women are admitted to the National Deaf-Mute College
In 1887, women are starting to be admitted to the National Deaf-Mute College (now Gallaudet). This was thanks to laura Sheridan, a hearing women, who inquired about accepting women and she was told that deaf women could not enter the institution. In 1887, Gallaudet agreed to allow women to apply with the intent that women would not stay and temporary living arrangments were made.. -
Electric Hearing Aid Invented
Early hearing aids were not easy to use. They were often heavy, weighing several pounds. The carbon-based microphones that were powered by large three and six-volt batteries gave hearing impaired people amplified sound for the first time. Alexander Graham Bell reportedly developed an earphone for amplifying sound, but never pursued it with a patent. -
National Deaf-Mute College became Gallaudet College
In 1865, the 38th Congress removed the instruction that the institution was to educate the blind and became the Columbia Institution fo the Instruction of the Deaf in Dumb. In 1894, it was then renamed as Gallaudet College after T.H. Gallaudet. -
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Deaf Employment Skyrockets
Wartime labor shortages during WWI and WWII provided many new job opportunities for deaf people, although they were not allowed to serve in the U.S. Military during this time. Many deaf people tool manufacturing jobs and new deaf communities flourished, such as one based near the Goodyear plant in Akron, Ohio. -
Rise of Oralism - Oralism in America is at its Zenith
In 1927, Oralism in America was at its Zenith. Only 15% of teachers were Deaf at the time. -
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World War Two creates a need for labor
Deaf men and women were hired in record numbers to work in defense industries. Many relocated to work in factories in California, Ohio, New York, and Washington, D.C. Many employers noted the capabilities of Deaf workers for the first time. -
ASL as a Language - First Linguistic Book
First linguistic book and defense of ASL as a language was written by William Stokoe and named "Sign Language Structure". He was also the creator of the linguistic study of the sign languages of the deaf. Stokoe was a long-time professor at Gallaudet University and American linguist. -
Phone for Deaf Invented - Robert Weitbrecht
Robert Weitbrecht, who was a deaf man, was interested in amateur radio and used radiotelegraph to communicate with fellow radio operators around the country. His love for communication came together with the need to interact with a colleague who could not operate amateur radio. To sold this problem, he invented the teletypewriter (TTY). This device enabled deaf people to use phone lines to call each other and type out their conversations. -
Oral Deaf Education Labeled 'Failure'
Congress issued the Babbidge Report on oral deaf education and concludes that it has been a "dismal failure". Many in the deaf community applauded this report and viewed it as a clear acknowledgment of the superiority of manual communication and education. -
Deaf Theater Takes Shape - Bernard Bragg
Bernard Bragg is a deaf actor and mime that starred in "The Silent Man", a TV program in California. Bragg is a graduate from the Fanwood School for the Deaf in White Plains, NY and is a co-founder of the National Theater of the Deaf. He has toured America with his one-man show. -
National Theater of the Deaf is Established
The National Theater of the Deaf (NTD), an American theater, was established in 1965 and is based in Waterford, Connecticut. It was the world's first professional deaf theater company and was, in the early 21st century, the oldest continually producing and touring theater company in the U.S. -
Legislation at Work - Bilingual Education Act (P.L. 89-10) is passed.
ASL is not included as being bilingual in this act because it was not recognized as a language at the time. -
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Development of other Sign Systems - Signed English, SEE, SEE II
Signed English, Seeing Essential English and SEE II methods were developed in order to create a manual code for English that can be used to supplement the oral method. These sign systems are to be used simultaneously with speech to promote the development of English skills. -
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Total Communication Leads to Mainstreaming
Two historically divergent education methods converge, in theory, as Total Communication is developed and promoted. Total communication is a combination of manual and speech based instruction for the deaf. It was formulated in the 1960's by a mother that was dissatisfied with oral-based attempts to teach her daughter. This system gained grassroots support and became the foundation for a new approach to deaf education within public school systems. -
Program Captioning Introduced
The caption Center at WGBH in Boston open captioned "The French Chef", the country's first nationally broadcasted captioned program. It aired on PBS and by 1980, close captioning was then developed and the first show broadcast. Closed Captioning hides the text from view unless the user has a decoding device. By 1993, the FCC requires that all newly manufactured TVs have a decoding chip. -
Disabled Gain Right to Equal Access
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 includes a section requiring that the disabled be given access and equal opportunity to use the resources of organizations that receive federal funds or that are under federal contracts. This opened many doors for wheelchair-bound and blind individuals, and also requires that accommodations such as TTY phones and interpreters be provided for the deaf. -
Census
The National Association of the Deaf conducted census of Deaf Americans. This counted 13.4 million hearing and 1.8 million Deaf Americans. -
Public Law 94-142
This was passed in 1975 requiring handicapped children in the U.S. to be provided with free and appropriate education (FAPE), allowing many to be mainstreatmed into regular public schools. This is where they would receive special instruction but interact with general school population. Mainstreaming is accepted as a current educational philosophy. The number of Deaf teachers dropped to its lowest point at this time at 11%. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is passed and requires that all businesses, colleges, and organizations which have federal contracts or receive federal funds be open and accessible to physically disabled people. -
Linguistic Research - The Signs of Language by Klima and Bellugi
In this book, Klima and Bellugi present a complete exploration of a language in another mode - a language of the hands and eyes. The discuss the origin and development of American Sign Language, the internal structure of basic units, the grammar, and it heightened use of poetry and wit. They look at research to answer crucial questions on what is fundamental to language and what is determined by the mode that language is produced. This was the first linguistic research on ASL. -
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Silent Network - A Deaf Cable Channel
The Silent Network broadcasted in 1981 with only 2 million homes watching. By 1990, 14 million homes had access to the program. The network operated 24-hours a day, seven days a week. -
Deaf Mosaic
The Deaf Mosaic begins broadcasting from Gallaudet University Television Studios in Washington, DC in 1985.The program, which ended in 1995, won Emmy awards for the producers and hosts Mary Lou Novitisky and Gil Eastman. -
Cochlear Implants Approved
The cochlear implant is approved for clinical trials in people 18 and older. The implant bypasses the bones of the inner ear, placing electrodes directly into the cochlear, where sound waves are absorbed and interpreted by the auditory nerve. The cochlear implant stirs a lot of controversy among the Deaf. -
Deaf Access Wins Oscar
Marlee Matlin became the first deaf actress to win an Academy Award for her role in "Children of a Lesser God". -
'Deaf President Now' Protest Held
Students and faculty at Gallaudet University protested the selection of another hearing president The 'Deaf President Now' protest continued for one week with multiple rallies, press conferences, and marches. After eight days of protests, I. King Jordan is named the first Deaf president of Gallaudet University. Congress recommended that ASL be sued as the primary language for the Deaf, with English as a second language. -
ASL and Deaf Education - "Signing Naturally"
"Signing Naturally" Curriculum published, written and produced by Deaf authors Ella Mae Lentz and Ken Mikos. -
ASL and Deaf Education - "Unlocking the Curriculum"
"Unlocking the Curriculum" published by the Gallaudet University Linguistics Department. This proposes a return to ASL as the first method of instruction for Deaf children. It refutes the Manually Coded English approaches, using speech and sign. -
Congressional Report Published - "Toward Equality: Education of the Deaf"
This report recommends that ASL be used as a primary medium of language instruction with English as a second language. It also recommends that ASL be included in the Bilingual Education ACT. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) investigates the possibility of adding ASL and Deaf children to the Bilingual Education Act. However, it is not approved because of the status of hearing parents and questions regarding ASL as a foreign language. -
Americans with Disabilities Act passed
Discriminatory practices and obstacles to accessibility for the handicapped are both outlawed. This law has a huge impact on the wheelchair development, and also requires greater communications, education, and employment opportunities for the deaf. In keeping with the ADA, caption decoder chips are required in TV sets larger than 13 inches. -
Deaf Schools Termed 'Restrictive'
The 1972 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is re-adopted and amended to recommend that disabled students should attend school with the "least restrictive environment". Residential deaf schools were struck a blow as they became labeled the "most restrictive environment". Enrollment at this time plunged and some other schools closed their doors. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is passed
The Department of Education established a policy inclusion giving all disabled students the right to attend neighborhood schools in a "least restrictive environment". The goal of IDEA is the policy of assimilation into society. Residential schools for the Deaf in some states were forced to close because of decreasing enrollment, however, the number od Deaf teachers rose slightly (to 16%) as more teaching opportunities in the public schools and the desire for Deaf role models increased. -
First Deaf Miss America Crowned
The first Deaf Miss America was crowned in 1995. Heather Whitestone was an orally educated deaf woman from Birmingham, Alabama and she won the crown. She stated that "speech worked for me, but it does not work for all deaf children". Speech versus sign clouded her reign. Her attempt to calm the storm by stressing individual differences and her statement above does not end the controversy entirely. It was questioned if she was an appropriate role model for deaf children at the time. -
Use of Cochlear Implants increases
Nucleus 22 device and SPEAK speech processing system (developed at the University of Melbourne, Australia) are the latest technological advances in implantation. Twelve thousand candidates had been implanted at a cost of around $40,000. Adults and children who were severe to profoundly deaf, ages two and older, were candidates. many people opted for the cochlear implants and mainstreamed education as an education plan for their deaf child. -
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released new captioning rules for the broadcast and cable television industry. These new rules required 100% of cable television to be captioned within eight years and required real-time captioning for many local news programs. The FCC has since revised its rule to require that 100% of new programming must be captioned, beginning January 1st, 2006. -
Deaf contestant competed on the reality TV show "Survivor"
Christy Smith, an athletic Deaf woman and alumnus of Gallaudet University, competed in the reality TV show "Survivor". -
Deanne Bray
Deanne Bray is a Deaf actress and television star. She grew up deaf since birth, May 14, 1971, and uses one hearing aid. She is bilingual in American Sign Language and English. She is best known for her role as Sue Thomas in the show "Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye. Along with this, she is known for her recurring role as Emma Coolidge on "Heroes". She was also involved in deaf theater as well in the Deaf West Theater. -
Curtis Pride
Curtis Pride was born in Washington, D.C. in the metro area and has been deaf since birth due to rubella and grew up oral. He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Maryland and was excelled in baseball, basketball, and soccer. He is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and is the current baseball coach at Gallaudet University. -
"Dancing With the Stars"
In 2008, Marlee Matlin competed on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars". -
Switched at Birth
In 2011, an American TV series premiered on ABC Family named "Switched at Birth". This is a one-hour scripted drama that revolves around two teenagers who were switched at birth and grew up in very different environments. The series' debut was the highest-rated show debut for ABC Family to date. According to ABC Family, it is the first mainstreamed television series to have multiple deaf and hard-of-hearing series regulars and scenes shot entirely in ASL. -
Switched at Birth airs an entire episode using only ASL
In 2013, "Switched at Birth" aired an entire episode using only ASL with captions for the audience unfamiliar with sign Language. This was a first for network television and drew a record-breaking audience. This episode centered around a protest inspired by the historic 1988 "Deaf President Now" protest at Gallaudet University in which students, alumni, and staff barricaded and occupied campus until their demand for a deaf university president was heard and met.
