Famous Deaf People

There are some that are well known and others who, although they have contributed much to this world are still unknown to those outside of the deaf world. This article will concentrate across this spectrum, the unknown and the famous, because as you will see, some of the unknown have affected those that are famous and should be recognized for their contributions.

Some, such as William Willard started schools for the deaf, and others are important because they inspired others. Laura Dewey Bridgeman was such an individual, she was the inspiration for Hellen Keller’s mother to seek educational advice from Alexander Graham Bell. Others are still serving society. One such person is Dr. Frank Bowe (1947-Present) the first disabled person to assist the UN in planning their International Year of Disabled Persons.

Contributors to the deaf world

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Composer and musician. Although he wasn’t born deaf, he did lose his hearing at an early age. It is said also that after his first public performance of his ninth symphony he cried when he was turned around in order to see the audience’s response to the music. His musical talent was recognized early and had even met Mozart in 1787 and had wanted to study under him in 1796, but Mozart had died a year earlier. Instead, he studied under Joseph Haydn instead. He went on to live a full life as composer and musician.

William Willard (1809-1881)
He was born in Battleboro, VT, and after he married a young deaf teacher, (he also being deaf) they moved to Indianapolis, Indiana to set up a school for the deaf. Having gotten previous approval from the state officials, he founded what was later to become Indianapolis School for the Deaf in 1843. It was officially recognized in 1846 and Indiana became the sixth state to provide free education to the deaf.

Laura Dewey Bridgman: 1829-1889 (Thedford, VT)
Laura bridgman was the first blind and deaf person to learn the English language. Although she was small as a baby, she was born normal; however, her family was hit with a bout of Scarlet Fever when she was two years old. This left her a blind deaf-mute as it would Hellen Keller years later. She entered the Perkins School for the Deaf and Blind in 1837. Dr. Howe, principal of the school, taught her how to recognize everyday items such as knives and spoons by assisting her to associate them with labels with the raise letters spelling "knife" or "spoon" and later teaching her to recognise the items without the labels. This eventually end up teaching her how to spell the various words that she had learned using the above method.

Hellen Keller1880-1968- (Tuscumbia, Al)
Hellen Keller’s early life almost mirrored that of Laura Bridgman. She to was born a normal child and at 19 months of age also developed Scarlet Fever that also left her deaf and blind. From this time until she was six years old, she had only one friend, a family servant named Martha Washington. This was because her family didn’t have any any idea of how to communicate with her and needed as much teaching as she did. However, this is often the case with deaf and blind children, especially those born deaf and blind.

However, her mother read about Laura Bridgman and immediately sought out Alexander Graham Bell (who had a deaf mother and a deaf wife) concerning possible education for her daughter Hellen. He recommended that she take hellen to the same school that Laura Bridgman attended, Perkins Institute for the Deaf and Blind. It was there that Hellen met Anne Sulivan, who would be both her companion for nearly 50 years.

Hellen went on to eventually learn to speak and speak she did. She spoke out for the Blind and did all she could to prevent it. She went to the sweatshops in New York and spoke out for the children that worked there. She spoke out for the working class and became a socialist from 1909-1921. She went on to meet every president from Grover Cleaveland to Lyndon B. Johnson and met many celebrities as well. She was instrumental in bringing the Akito dog breed from Japan to America and in 1920 she helped to form the ACLU. She passed away in 1968, just days before she would turn 88 years old.

Frank G. Bowe (1947-Present)
He is a distinguished professor at Hofstra University and has accomplished much as an disability rights activist, teacher and author. He was the first to represent disabled people at the UN when they planned the IYDP in 1981. He headed many organizations that assists both deaf and disabled people. He wrote "Handicapping America" which points out various ways that we have been handicapping disabled people instead of helping them. He is named in many who’s who publications, such as who’s who in the world, who’s who in Education and many others. He has received multiple awards for his contributions to the disabled.

These famous deaf people are just a small minority of those whose contributions have shaped both the deaf world and the world in general. We would not have great classical music, education for the deaf and blind and the many other great contributions that these great people have given this world with their abilities.