Burns, John

Born deaf at Monaghan, Ireland and orphaned before age 10. Was taught to read and write, and then taught himself arithmetic, geography, history and chronology through self-study. At first he worked as a peddler, then became a shopkeeper. He married but his wife died young, leaving him responsible for raising two children. Imprisoned for debt, he turned to writing to try to better support his children. His book An Historical and Chronological Remembrancer appeared in 1775 and marks him as the earliest known Irish deaf author.