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In 355 B.C., Aristotle stated that Deaf people were not educated. Without hearing, people could not learn. Those born deaf become senseless and incapable of reason
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In 427 B.C., Plato stated that without speech, there was no outward sign of intelligence, so Deaf people must not be capable of ideas or language
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In Martha's Vineyard, the birth rate for deaf children was 1 out of 155. The average deaf birth rate is 1 out of 1,000.
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Jonathan Lambert, a deaf man, was one of the first residents of Martha's Vineyard.
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Abbe de L'Epee founded the first social and religious association for the deaf.
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Thomas Braidwood opened the first school for the deaf in England.
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Abbe Charles Michel de L'Epee established the first public, free deaf school.
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Abba Silvestri opened the first school for the deaf in Italy in Rome.
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Laurent Clerc was the first Deaf person to address the Connecticut Legislator.
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American Sign Language flourishes. Approximately 40% of all teachers are Deaf.
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Gallaudet College opens in Washington, D.C.
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President Abraham Lincoln signed the charter supporting the establisment of a deaf college in Washington, D.C.
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Two of the largest deaf schools in America began educating the deaf using only oral methods.
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Alexander Graham Bell started an institution in Boston to train teachers of deaf people to use oral education.
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The International Congress on the Education of the Deaf met in Milan, Italy to discuss the dispute of sign language vs. spoken language.
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Women are admitted to the National Deaf-Mute College (now Gallaudet).
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Seventy-five percent of teachers using the manual method have retired by 1890.
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Alexander Graham Bell founded the organization “Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf.”
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The first electric hearing aid was invented. It was several pounds and was not easy to use.
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American League gets its first grand slam thanks to William “Dummy” Hoy, a deaf player.
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Umpire hand signals are developed so that Hoy can see a strike call from the outfield.
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Almost all deaf education programs used the oralism method.
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Deaf men and women are hired in record numbers to work in defense industries after not being allowed to.
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William Stokoe published a dissertation that proved ASL is a genuine language with a unique syntax and grammar.
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Babbidge Report was issued by Congress on the oral education of the deaf. It stated that oralism is a “dismal failure”.
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Bilingual Education Act (P.L. 89-10) is passed. ASL is not included because it is not recognized as a language.
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Total Communication was formed- a teaching method that did not fully support either sign language or oralism. It attempted to bring together several educational methods and form a new philosophy for deaf education.
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Marlee Matlin won an Academy Award for her role in Children of a Lesser God.
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Students at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C, protested to have a deaf university president.
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Heather Whitestone became the first deaf woman to be named Miss America.
