Lincoln, Abraham

Hearing. On April 8, 1864, signed the Charter, passed by Congress, that established what is now Gallaudet University; this made him the College's first patron ex officio, a status that has also been held by every U.S. President since. The statue of Lincoln by Daniel Chester French in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, is often said to have its hands in the shapes of the deaf manual alphabet letters "A" and "L", though it has not been proven that this was the sculptor's intention.