ID
0826
Nationality
French
Occupation
Author
Bookbinder
Summary
Wrote the first book by a deaf author about deaf people, Observations d'un Sourd et Muet sur 'Un Cours Elementaire d'Education des Sourds et Muets' (1779). This very small book is sometimes claimed to be the first book of any kind by a deaf author, but in truth was preceded by Charles Bonnet (q.v.); in addition, Saboureux de Fontenay (q.v.) had even earlier published a letter in a journal. Born in the Touraine region; deafened between ages 7 and 9 by smallpox; worked as a bookbinder; lived in Paris. Surname sometimes misspelled Desloches. An English translation of his little book appears in The Deaf Experience: Classics in Language and Education.
References
Notable Deaf Persons, p.45-46; Gallaudet Encyclopedia, vol.1 p.301-302; Looking Back, p.37-40; The Deaf Experience, p.28-48; The Frat, vol.36 no.11, June 1939, p.2-3.
Dates
21 September 1742-sometime after 1794