Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet

Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, LL.D., (December 10 1787 – September 10 1851) was a renowned American pioneer in the education of the deaf. He helped found and was the principal for many years of the first institution for the education of the deaf in the United States. When opened in 1817, it was called the "American Asylum at Hartford for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb" in Connecticut, but it is now known as the American School for the Deaf. He was instrumental in the creation of American Sign Language, and Gallaudet University, the only university in the world designed for the deaf, was named in his honor.

Life

Gallaudet was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was the oldest of eight children. His family soon moved to Hartford, Connecticut and as a young boy he attended school there. Gallaudet suffered from health problems mainly due to his lungs from a young age. He went to Yale University at age fourteen, earning his Bachelor's degree in 1805, at the top of his class. He then received his Master's degree in 1810. He excelled at all subjects and was well liked by his classmates. He studied law for one year, studied teaching for two, and was actively involved in business for three years. He also attended Andover Theological Seminary from 1811-1814. In 1814 Gallaudet became a preacher, and his strong Congregationalist faith guided him throughout his life. Although most of his life would not be actively spent preaching, Gallaudet continued to serve in this capacity, giving guest sermons that were said to uplift both congregations and individuals. He later became interested in writing children's books.

He declined an offer to be the minister of a large church in America, and thereafter Gallaudet devoted most of his life to the communication of the deaf. Upon her graduation from the the Hartford School for the Deaf, he married one of his students, Sophia Fowler. They had a happy marriage, and had eight children. He died at his home in Hartford on September 10, 1851, at the age of 63.

Work

Gallaudet put his wish to become a preacher aside when he met Alice Cogswell, the nine-year-old deaf daughter of a neighbor, Dr. Mason Cogswell. He taught her many words by writing them with a stick in the dirt. Then Cogswell asked Gallaudet to travel to Europe to study methods for teaching deaf students, especially those of the Braidwood family in London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland. Gallaudet found that the Braidwoods were only willing to share their methods of teaching the deaf if he promised to be their assistant for three years, and would not share the knowledge he learned with others. Gallaudet felt an expediency to return to America to start teaching to deaf and did not want to wait three years. He also was not convinced that the Braidwood method was the best way to teach the deaf, and was eager to travel to France and be trained in their methods as well.

While still in Great Britain, he met Abbé Sicard, head of the Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets in Paris, and two of its deaf faculty members, Laurent Clerc and Jean Massieu. Sicard invited Gallaudet to Paris to study the school's method of teaching the deaf using manual communication. Impressed with the manual method, Gallaudet studied teaching methodology under Sicard, learning sign language from Massieu and Clerc, who were both highly educated deaf graduates of the school.

While at the school in Paris, Clerc offered to accompany him back to the United States and teach with Gallaudet, and the two sailed to America. The two men toured New England and successfully raised private and public funds to found a school for deaf students in Hartford, which later became known as the American School for the Deaf. Young Alice was one of the first seven students in the United States. Some hearing students came to this school to learn as well. The school was well recognized and was visited by President James Monroe visited in 1818. Gallaudet at times had difficulty with the board members, who were not always in agreement with him on how the school should be run. Though he was principal and founder of the school he was paid less than some of the teachers for several years.

Gallaudet was principal of the school from its opening to 1830, when he retired due to health problems. During most of his time as principal he also taught a daily class. By the time he retired the school had 140 students and was widely recognized throughout the United States. Gallaudet was offered other teaching leadership positions at special schools and universities, but declined these offers so he could write childrens' books and advance education. At this time there were very few childrens' books published in America, and Gallaudet felt a strong desire to assist in the training of children in this way. During a period of eight years he worked mainly as a writer, and also devoted himself to other social causes he deemed worthy. Gallaudet wrote several religious-themed childrens' books, as well as a dictionary and a speller. He also took to caring for those with mental illness and was chaplain twice of both an insane asylum and a county jail.

Legacy

His son Edward Miner Gallaudet (1837-1917) helped found the first college for the deaf in 1857, and was its first superintendent. The college was originally called the Columbia Institution, in 1864 it became Gallaudet College, named after Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. In 1986 it became Gallaudet University. The university also offers education for those in elementary, middle, and high school. The elementary school on the Gallaudet University Campus is named Kendall Demonstration School for the Deaf, the middle and high school is Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD). The primary language used on the Gallaudet University Campus is American Sign Language(ASL).

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet's work helped to develop American Sign Language. Like any language, ASL has a complex history. It is a combination of the informal signs that were already in use by the deaf in America, French Sign Language, and efforts by Gallaudet and Clerc to add English grammar to some words. While Gallaudet helped to bring to signing to the deaf, it would not be until 1960 that [[William Stokoe, Dr. William C. Stokoe, Jr.,Professor Emeritus at Gallaudet University, proposed to linguists that American Sign Language was indeed a real language, and not just a signed code for English. He was the author of Sign Language Structure, published in 1960. Some within the deaf community believe Dr. Stokoe to be the real father of American Sign Language as opposed to Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. The residual effect of Dr. Stokoe's studies has resulted in American Sign Language becoming a federally respected and recognized language in the academic world.

Gallaudet had another son, Thomas Gallaudet, who became an Episcopal priest and also worked with the deaf.

Following Gallaudet's death in September of 1851, plans for a public tribute to Gallaudet began. Three years later a granite monument of Gallaudet in Hartford was unveiled. The monument includes the inscription:

ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF

REV. THOMAS HOPKINS GALLAUDET, LL.D. BY THE DEAF AND DUMB OF THE UNITED STATES, AS A TESTIMONIAL OF PROFOUND GRATITUDE TO THEIR EARLIEST AND BEST FRIEND

AND BENEFACTOR.

There is also a statue of Gallaudet on the campus of Gallaudet University of Gallaudet with Alice Cogswell, the young girl who inspired him to teach the deaf.

Thomas H. Gallaudet saw a barrier between the hearing world and the deaf and spent his adult life bridging the communication gap. There is a residence hall near where he lived in Hartford named in his honor at nearby Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.

Major Works

Gallaudet, T. H. 1818. Discourses on various points of Christian faith and practice most of which were delivered in the chapel of the Oratoire, in Paris, in the spring of MDCCCXVI. Hartford [Conn.]: Samuel G. Goodrich.

Gallaudet, T. H. 1832. The youth's book on natural theology; illustrated in familiar dialogues, with numerous engravings. New York: American Tract Society.

Gallaudet, T. H., and Horace Hooker. 1834. Scripture biography for the young: with critical illustrations and practical remarks. New York: American Tract Society.

Gallaudet, T. H. 1834. The child's book on repentance: designed, also, for older persons. New-York: American Tract Society, No. 150 Nassau-Street.

Gallaudet, T. H. 1836. The child's book on the soul: two parts in one. New York: American Tract Society.

Gallaudet, T. H., and Horace Hooker. 1840. The practical spelling-book, with reading lessons. Hartford: Belknap and Hamersley.

Gallaudet, T. H., and Horace Hooker. 1841. The school and family dictionary, and illustrative definer. New York: Robinson, Pratt & Co.

Gallaudet, T. H. 1972. A scriptural catechism, designed principally for the deaf and dumb in the American asylum. Hartford: Press of Case, Tiffany.

Sources

• "Tribute to Gallaudet—A Discourse in Commemoration of the Life, Character and Services, of the Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet, LL.D.—Delivered Before the Citizens of Hartford, Jan. 7th, 1852. With an Appendix, Containing History of Deaf-Mute Instruction and Institutions, and other Documents." By Henry Barnard, 1852. (Download book: http://www.gallyprotest.org/tribute_to_gallaudet.pdf)

External links

• Photographs of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet statue at Gallaudet University

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Thomas_Hopkins_Gallaudet  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.