Deaf History and Culture Timeline

  • Douglas Tilden

    Douglas was a sculptor who was born hearing and went deaf at the age of five because of scarlet fever.
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    William W. Beadell

    Widely respected for his integrity, truthful articles, treating his employees with respect. And his utmost dedication for all of his work. He was fearless, publishing many articles criticizing unethical practices of big corporations. He supported deaf drivers, and help to fight against discrimination.
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    Anne Sullivan

    Anne Sullivan born April 14th 1866, in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts, showed great promise as a teacher at the ripe young age of 21 while teaching Keller. She showed that anything is possible if you have the right attitude, determination and willingness to try.
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    Helen Keller

    She lost her most conventional methods of communication when she was 19 months old due to what some doctors of today suspect could have been scarlet fever or meningitis. She was deaf, blind and mute.
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    Milan Conference

    The ban passed against using sign language. Even though it passed through the conference the United States represented by Edward Miner Gallaudet, Rev. Thomas Gallaudet, Issac Peet, James Denison, and Charles Stoddard and Britain opposed the idea. The decision made at this conference started many years of oppression and oralism in education for the Deaf.
  • NAD

    In 1880 the National Association of the Deaf was shaped by deaf leaders who believed that it was the right of Deaf Americans to use sign language to communicate and they still remain today to help the deaf community.
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    Regina Olson Hughes

    Regina Olson Hughes born February 1st 1895 married to Gallaudet University Economics professor Frederick Hughes, led a double life as a wife and a botanical artist working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And in later years the Smithsonian’s Department of Botany. Well-respected and known for her intricate water color paintings.
  • Deaf Clubs

    In 1919 Deaf clubs began to show up everywhere, places where deaf community member gathered to share stories, games, and personal experiences.
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    Andrew Foster

    A man that was an empowering symbol is Andrew Foster, he was the first African American man to be admitted into Gallaudet and graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. He helped establish 31 schools for the deaf in 13 different African countries, he was born in 1925 on June 27th, in Birmingham, Alabama.
  • Louis Frisino

    Louis’s work focused on animals his works were realistically creative and beautiful.
  • Betty G. Miller

    Betty born in 1934 showed the struggles and issues that the deaf community dealt with on a day to day.
  • Irving King Jordan

    June 16th of 1943 born was the man that would become the first deaf president of the 124 year old university of Gallaudet. Irving King Jordan was a candidate that was by passed for the presidency when it was given to a hearing woman. His presidency is a symbol of the mountains that can be overcome when the deaf community stands as one to overcome unfairness, and injustice.
  • Chuck Baird

    Chuck Baird born deaf in 1947 known for being a De’VIA artist.
  • VIP COMMUNICATOR

    In 1978 a hand held TTY machine called the VIP COMMINICATOR was introduced to the public from Ultratec.
  • INTELE-MODEM

    In 1984 Ultratec introduced a conversion modem to the public allowing home computers to communicate with TTY’s they were called the INTELE-MODEM.
  • DPN

    In March 1988 the University of Gallaudet appointed a hearing president which was not accepted by the student body and staff member especially since there were two qualified deaf candidates. Deaf President Now (DPN) was a protest filled with self-determination, and empowerment from students, staff, and community member, shutting down the entire campus until a deaf president was appointed.
  • COMPACT

    In 1990 a fold up pocket-sized TTY for mobile communication was introduced, called the COMPACT.
  • ADA

    The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. It was to given millions of disabled Americans rights that they had been being denied, or had been having difficulty in getting them.
  • SUPERCOM 4400

    The new SUPERCOM 4400, the latest in the company's line of advanced TTYs. The SUPERCOM 4400 is a non-printing TTY that includes advanced capabilities such as Turbo Code, Auto ID, auto-answer, 32k memory, and direct connect features.
  • Not Deaf Enough

    Many years after DPN happened and the first Deaf President stepped down from his position in 2006, Jane K. Fernandes was placed in the position by the board, but her deafness came into question when it was rumored that she didn’t sign. Not Deaf Enough brought into light her degree of deafness and the level of what deafness people would accept as being deaf.
  • Cap Tel 840i

    In 2012 Ultratec released the Cap Tel 840i captioned telephone that worked with wifi, it increased captioning space, larger fonts, and different colors.