This past Friday, December 10th, was Thomas Gallaudet's 234th Birthday. Gallaudet began working with deaf students after an encounter with a nine-year old deaf girl sent him to Europe to study methods for teaching deaf students. While in Paris, Gallaudet learned of a method of teaching the deaf which involved manual communication. Gallaudet learned sign language from Laurent Clerc and Jean Massieu. Gallaudet would go on to open the American School for the Deaf. Today, Thomas Gallaudet is memorialized by Gallaudet University in Washington D.C.
Reference:
Virginia Commonwealth University. (2018, February 26). Gallaudet University. Social Welfare History Project. Retrieved September 25, 2021, fromhttps://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/gallaudet-university/