History of Deafness

Alexander Graham Bell Promotes Deaf Education 1870

Telephone inventor Bell, whose mother was hard of hearing and whose father spent much of his life promoting a defunct teaching method for the deaf called "visible speech," begins his career as a deaf educator. In 1872, he opens a school in Boston that concentrates on oral methods of instruction for teachers of the deaf. The school is not successful, however, due to heavy opposition from established deaf schools that use manual sign methods. Bell eventually gives up administering deaf education and refocuses his attention on a contraption he has been tinkering with that mechanizes speech. In 1876, he invents the telephone. Armed with wealth and enormous recognition, he goes on to found the Volta Bureau to promote oral- based education for deaf children. A period of upheaval in deaf education begins with a backlash against sign language.

The Conference of Milan Endorses Oral Education 1880

In a move with repercussions well into the future, this international gathering of deaf educators pronounces oral education methods superior to manual communications systems. The only country opposing the vote for oral-based education is the United States, where manual education has made great strides. During the next 10 years, the popularity of manual education for the deaf declines sharply. Seventy-five percent of teachers using the manual method have retired by 1890. In the U.S., the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is founded and gains support in reaction to the Milan resolution. The NAD is instrumental in keeping sign language and manual education alive.

Electrical Hearing Aid Invented 1892

While early hearing aids are not easy to use (most weigh several pounds and must be placed on a desk), the carbon-based microphones, powered by large three- and six-volt batteries, give hearing-impaired people truly amplified sound for the first time. Alexander Graham Bell reportedly develops an earphone for amplifying sound, but he never pursues a patent.

Deaf Players Change Baseball and Football 1880 - 1920

In 1901, baseball's American League gets its first grand slam thanks to William "Dummy" Hoy, a deaf player. Umpire hand signals are developed so that Hoy can see a strike call from the outfield. In the 1920s, Gallaudet University's football team keeps its plays a secret by hiding signed instructions in a huddle formation. Soon, other teams are huddling up too, and a football tradition is born