Baker, Henry

Hearing. An early teacher of the deaf in Britain; his first pupil was Jane Forster. Baker kept his methods extremely secret, demanding (and getting) security deposits of 100 pounds (then a very substantial amount, more than a year's salary for most people) from each of his deaf students to not reveal Baker's methods. Not until long after his death were his notes on his teaching methods found in the archives of the Royal Microscopic Society. He was also selective with his pupils, accepting only those he thought could succeed under his methods.