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 "Hartford School for the Deaf" 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 in 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. While Gallaudet helped to bring to signing to the deaf, it would not be until 1960 that Dr. William C. Stokoe, Jr.,Professor Emeritus at Gallaudet University, proposed that proposed to linguists that American Sign Language was indeed a language, and not a signed code for English. He was the author of Sign Language Structure, published in 1960.

Many people within the deaf community believe Dr. Stokoe to be the real father of American Sign Language as opposed to Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet.^{[citation needed]} The residual effect of Dr. Stokoe's studies has resulted in American Sign Language becoming a federally protected and recognized language in the academic world.^{[citation needed]}

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.

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

• "Recent Deaths"; New York Daily Times; September 18, 1851; page 2. (Accessed from The New York Times (1851–2003), ProQuest Historical Newspapers, September 19, 2006).

• "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

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