Fontenay, Saboureux de

Born deaf; a pupil of Jacob Rodrigues Pereire; taught at least one deaf pupil himself. He was a self-taught linguist of some note; wrote several unpublished books and one autobiographical letter which was published in a 1765 French periodical, the first writing by a deaf person to be published. Although famous in his time for being able to speak as a young man, reports of him in his 20s and 30s indicate that he had ceased to speak and instead communicated with pen and paper.