John of Beverley, St.

ID
1489
Nationality
English
British
Occupation
Teacher
Patron saint
Saint
Summary
Hearing. Possibly the earliest recorded teacher of the deaf. Also known as Bishop John of Hexham. Was Bishop of Hagulstad; reportedly taught "the dumb boy of Hexham" (q.v.) to speak the letters of the alphabet and a few words, as recorded by the Venerable Bede. He is the patron saint of teachers of the deaf, but sometimes erroneously said to be the patron saint of deaf people, which is actually St. Francis de Sales (q.v.).
References
The Conquest of Deafness, p.28; Peeps into the Deaf World, p.243-245; Arnold on the Education of the Deaf, p.5-6..
Dates
?-721 A.D.