ID
0565
Nationality
American
born French
Occupation
Teacher
Summary
Born at La Balme, near Lyons, France; educated at the Paris School; came to America in 1817 to help Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet start education of deaf persons; taught at the American School for the Deaf until his retirement in 1858 (first deaf teacher of the deaf in America); helped get the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf get started by serving temporarily as its first principal in 1821; died at Hartford, Connecticut. Honorary M.A. from Trinity College. His marriage to Eliza Boardman in 1818 is the first recorded marriage of a deaf couple in the United States. A dormitory building at Gallaudet University is named in his honor.
References
Deaf Life, Dec. 1995, p.10-13, 15-21, Plus 22-31; Deaf Persons in the Arts and Sciences, p.78-80; Great Deaf Americans, The Second Edition, p.34-39; Gallaudet Encyclopedia, vol.1 p.190-193; Encyclopedia of Special Education, vol.1, p.348; Notable Deaf Persons, p.3-4; ABC-Clio companion, p.70-71; Movers & Shakers, p.21-26; Deaf Heritage in Canada, p.14-15; Biographical Dictionary of American Educators, v.1 p.272; Gallaudet Almanac, p.231; Interesting Deaf Americans, p.59-61.
Dates
26 December 1785-18 July 1869