“Deaf people can do anything, except hear.”- I. King Jordan (Former President of Gallaudet University)
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TIMELINE OF DEAF HISTORY
1000 BC The Torah protected the deaf from being cursed by others, deaf could not marry hearing, deaf could not participate fully in temple rituals, deaf could not be witnesses in court and they were denied simple things like property rights.
425-345 BC During the Plato era Deaf people were considered to have no idea of how to create simple ideas or languages. This was because intelligence was seen through speech, the Deaf appeared to have no outward sign of intelligence.
355 BC The Deaf Culture was looked upon as Barbarians because they could not speak Greek, the language of perfection.
345-550 AD Saint Augustine tells early Christians that deaf children are a sign of God's anger at the sins of their parents.
Dark Ages 410-470 Deaf Adults were used as objects of ridicule and taken into asylums because their speech and behavior were thought to be possessed by demons.
Middle Ages 475-1453 Punishment of God, must be able to "hear" the word of God in order to worship and follow the word of God.
1500's Geronimo Cardano of Padua, Italy is the first physician to realize the truth about deafness, attempts to teach is his deaf son using a code of symbols. Pedro Ponce de Leon, a Benedictine Monk helps create a form of sign language that we still use today, teaches his sons and elderly deaf in the area.
1620 Juan Pablo Bonet, an advocate of early sign language, to write the first well-known book of manual alphabetic signs for the deaf in 1620.
1690-1800 Deaf islanders married, had families, worked, voted, held public office and were equal in Martha's Vineyard. All of the Deaf came from Kent County, England. American School for the Deaf was established 1817. Island deaf children went to Hartford to be educated. They brought island signs with them and influenced FSL in its change to ASL.
1755 Samuel Heinicke, German oral teacher of the deaf and also created the first oral school for the deaf in the world in Germany.
1760-1788 Charles Michel De L'Eppe, a French priest, and also named the "father of Sign Language and Deaf Education". He established the first free public school for the deaf in France (1771) and tried to develop a bridge between the deaf and hearing worlds through a system of standardized signs and finger spelling. He wrote "The Instruction of Deaf and Mute Persons Using Methodological Signs", first book to advocate the use of natural signs (1776). In 1788 he published a dictionary of French sign language.
Deaf Education Spreads Around the World 1760-1780’s
England 1760 Thomas Braidwood opened first school for the deaf in England.
Germany 1777 Arnoldi, a German pastor, believed education of the deaf should begin as early as four years of age in Germany.
Rome 1784 Abba Silvestri opened the first school for the deaf in Italy in Rome.
1817 The First American Deaf School Founded by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc. Alice Cogswell, was the first to graduate from the American School.
Deaf Education Continues to Spread Especially in the United States 1818-1912
1818 - New York School for the Deaf established
1820 - Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
1823 - Kentucky School for the Deaf
1829 - Ohio School for the Deaf
1839 - Virginia School for the Deaf
1840-1912 - Known as the "Golden Age of Deaf Education" because American Sign Language flourishes. About 40% of all teachers are Deaf in the U.S. schools.
1843-1912 - 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, North Carolina, Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina and Arkansas. The number just kept growing after the year 1912.
1850 Jeff Flournoy purposed to the Congress that there should be a Deaf State
1864 Gallaudet College opens
1870-1876 Alexander Graham Bell creates the telephone and attempts to help the deaf through "visible speech".
1880's In the U.S., the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is founded and gains support in reaction to the Milan resolution.
1887 Women are now admitted to the National Deaf-Mute College, also known as Gallaudet College.
1892 Electrical Hearing Aid is invented
1894 National Deaf-Mute College is named Gallaudet College.
1900-1920 Sport's begin to use ASL signs during games.
1950 Deaf Employment begins to skyrocket
1960 First Linguistic book and defense of ASL as a language by William Stoke.
1964 Robert Weitbrecht, who is deaf, invents the teletypewriter (TTY), which enables deaf people to use phone lines to call each other and type out their conversations.
1967 The National Theater of the Deaf is established.
1968 The Bilingual Education Act (P.L. 89-10) is passed. American Sign Language is not included because it is not recognized as a language at the time.
1972 Program Captioning is invented to help guide the deaf while watching television.
1973 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is passed to help give all disabled people equal rights.
1979 The Signs of Language Klima and Bellugi. The first Linguistic research on ASL is completed.
1980 The first sign language books by deaf authors, Padden, Humphries and O'Rourke's titled "ABC's of ASL" are published.
1981 The first channel on television is broadcasted called, Silent Network - A Deaf Cable Channel.
1985 Cochlear implants begin to improve.
1987 The first deaf actress, Marlee Matlin wins an Academy Award for her role in "Children of a Lesser God".
1988 Deaf President Now protest at Gallaudet College.
1990 Americans with Disabilities Act is passed.
1993 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is passed.
1995 Heather Whitestone, First Deaf Miss America is crowned. Cochlear implant use increases.
1998 The FCC released new information on captioning rules and regulations.
2000 Christy Smith, an athletic deaf woman competed on Survivor a reality television show.
2001 Rush Limbaugh, talk show host receives cochlear implant after becoming completely deaf in one ear.
2003 Curtis Pride is the first deaf baseball player to play for Major League Baseball. He played for the New York Yankees.
2006 Cochlear implants have reached great potential, over 30,000 people have been implanted worldwide and children as young as 12 months are able to undergo this surgery.
1000 BC The Torah protected the deaf from being cursed by others, deaf could not marry hearing, deaf could not participate fully in temple rituals, deaf could not be witnesses in court and they were denied simple things like property rights.
425-345 BC During the Plato era Deaf people were considered to have no idea of how to create simple ideas or languages. This was because intelligence was seen through speech, the Deaf appeared to have no outward sign of intelligence.
355 BC The Deaf Culture was looked upon as Barbarians because they could not speak Greek, the language of perfection.
345-550 AD Saint Augustine tells early Christians that deaf children are a sign of God's anger at the sins of their parents.
Dark Ages 410-470 Deaf Adults were used as objects of ridicule and taken into asylums because their speech and behavior were thought to be possessed by demons.
Middle Ages 475-1453 Punishment of God, must be able to "hear" the word of God in order to worship and follow the word of God.
1500's Geronimo Cardano of Padua, Italy is the first physician to realize the truth about deafness, attempts to teach is his deaf son using a code of symbols. Pedro Ponce de Leon, a Benedictine Monk helps create a form of sign language that we still use today, teaches his sons and elderly deaf in the area.
1620 Juan Pablo Bonet, an advocate of early sign language, to write the first well-known book of manual alphabetic signs for the deaf in 1620.
1690-1800 Deaf islanders married, had families, worked, voted, held public office and were equal in Martha's Vineyard. All of the Deaf came from Kent County, England. American School for the Deaf was established 1817. Island deaf children went to Hartford to be educated. They brought island signs with them and influenced FSL in its change to ASL.
1755 Samuel Heinicke, German oral teacher of the deaf and also created the first oral school for the deaf in the world in Germany.
1760-1788 Charles Michel De L'Eppe, a French priest, and also named the "father of Sign Language and Deaf Education". He established the first free public school for the deaf in France (1771) and tried to develop a bridge between the deaf and hearing worlds through a system of standardized signs and finger spelling. He wrote "The Instruction of Deaf and Mute Persons Using Methodological Signs", first book to advocate the use of natural signs (1776). In 1788 he published a dictionary of French sign language.
Deaf Education Spreads Around the World 1760-1780’s
England 1760 Thomas Braidwood opened first school for the deaf in England.
Germany 1777 Arnoldi, a German pastor, believed education of the deaf should begin as early as four years of age in Germany.
Rome 1784 Abba Silvestri opened the first school for the deaf in Italy in Rome.
1817 The First American Deaf School Founded by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc. Alice Cogswell, was the first to graduate from the American School.
Deaf Education Continues to Spread Especially in the United States 1818-1912
1818 - New York School for the Deaf established
1820 - Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
1823 - Kentucky School for the Deaf
1829 - Ohio School for the Deaf
1839 - Virginia School for the Deaf
1840-1912 - Known as the "Golden Age of Deaf Education" because American Sign Language flourishes. About 40% of all teachers are Deaf in the U.S. schools.
1843-1912 - 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, North Carolina, Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina and Arkansas. The number just kept growing after the year 1912.
1850 Jeff Flournoy purposed to the Congress that there should be a Deaf State
1864 Gallaudet College opens
1870-1876 Alexander Graham Bell creates the telephone and attempts to help the deaf through "visible speech".
1880's In the U.S., the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is founded and gains support in reaction to the Milan resolution.
1887 Women are now admitted to the National Deaf-Mute College, also known as Gallaudet College.
1892 Electrical Hearing Aid is invented
1894 National Deaf-Mute College is named Gallaudet College.
1900-1920 Sport's begin to use ASL signs during games.
1950 Deaf Employment begins to skyrocket
1960 First Linguistic book and defense of ASL as a language by William Stoke.
1964 Robert Weitbrecht, who is deaf, invents the teletypewriter (TTY), which enables deaf people to use phone lines to call each other and type out their conversations.
1967 The National Theater of the Deaf is established.
1968 The Bilingual Education Act (P.L. 89-10) is passed. American Sign Language is not included because it is not recognized as a language at the time.
1972 Program Captioning is invented to help guide the deaf while watching television.
1973 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is passed to help give all disabled people equal rights.
1979 The Signs of Language Klima and Bellugi. The first Linguistic research on ASL is completed.
1980 The first sign language books by deaf authors, Padden, Humphries and O'Rourke's titled "ABC's of ASL" are published.
1981 The first channel on television is broadcasted called, Silent Network - A Deaf Cable Channel.
1985 Cochlear implants begin to improve.
1987 The first deaf actress, Marlee Matlin wins an Academy Award for her role in "Children of a Lesser God".
1988 Deaf President Now protest at Gallaudet College.
1990 Americans with Disabilities Act is passed.
1993 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is passed.
1995 Heather Whitestone, First Deaf Miss America is crowned. Cochlear implant use increases.
1998 The FCC released new information on captioning rules and regulations.
2000 Christy Smith, an athletic deaf woman competed on Survivor a reality television show.
2001 Rush Limbaugh, talk show host receives cochlear implant after becoming completely deaf in one ear.
2003 Curtis Pride is the first deaf baseball player to play for Major League Baseball. He played for the New York Yankees.
2006 Cochlear implants have reached great potential, over 30,000 people have been implanted worldwide and children as young as 12 months are able to undergo this surgery.