Maria Fedorovna, empress of Russia

Hearing. Not to be confused with Marie Fedorovna, 1847-1928 (q.v.) Born Sophie-Dorothea Augusta Luise von Wuerttemburg and married Grand Prince Paul of Russia (later Czar Paul I). One of her sons, Alexander I, was deaf in one ear; an illegitimate son of Alexander I, Alexander Machwitz (q.v.), was in turn born deaf in both ears. Her interest and work towards the reform and expansion of education in Russia included the founding of Russia's first school for the deaf, the Pavlovsk Experimental School for the Deaf-Mute near St. Petersburg (1806); this was sparked by a chance meeting with a deaf boy, Alexander Meller. She continued to provide patronage and financial support to the school for the rest of her life, including a large bequest in her will.