Search Biographies

Roper, Peter A. G.

ID
2370
Nationality
Canadian
born British
Occupation
Architect
Summary
Born at Leicester, England; attended Stoneygate School for the Deaf until 1965, then transferred to regular schools and then Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, in 1973, winning a B.A. in architecture. M.A. from Harvard University Graduate School of Design, in the U.S., 1981. Involved with renovations of several Montreal buildings as well as new ones.
References
Deaf Canadians, p.81-83.
Dates
19 October 1954-

Fields, Michael A. "Mickey"

ID
0980
Nationality
American
Occupation
Architect
Summary
Born deaf at Washington, DC; attended the Lexington and Clarke Schools for the Deaf; graduated Walter Johnson High School, Bethesda, MD. First deaf student enrolled in the Montgomery County Public School system; graduated 1968 from North Carolina State University; worked with several Washington-area firms and, from 1979, at Gallaudet University. His younger brother, Thomas E. Fields (q.v.) is also a deaf architect.
References
Gallaudet Today, Summer 1992, p.26-28.
Dates
14 May 1942-

Brown, Philip H.

ID
0433
Nationality
American
Occupation
Teacher
Summary
Deafened by brain fever at age 7; 11 years in the Rochester School for the deaf, graduating 1889. Graduated Gallaudet College in 1893. Tried to find work as an architect, but was stymied by a business depression, and went into teaching, briefly at the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and then in the Louisiana School for the deaf. In 1902, resigned the Louisiana School to teach literature and carpentry at the Montana School for the Deaf.
References
Representative Deaf Persons [first edition], p.86-87; Representative Deaf Persons [second edition], p.148-149.
Dates
12 April 1864-?

Gujral, Satish

ID
1217
Nationality
Indian
Asian
Occupation
Painter
Sculptor
Printmaker
Architect
Artist
Summary
Born at Jhelum, West Punjab (now in Pakistan). Deafened at age 13; studied painting at the Mayo School of Art at Lahore 1939-1944, then at the Sir Jamshetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art, Bombay, 1944-1947. Studied at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City 1952-1954; worked on murals in University City, MI, 1953-1954. His work shows Mexican influence, plus inspiration from other sources including Surrealism. In the 1960s, his work began to return to Indian folk motifs. Produced murals for national and international institutions, including the World Trade Center in New York. His works are in various private and public collections, and his murals are found in American and Indian locations.
References
Silent Worker, Feb. 1955, p.19; The Grove Dictionary of Art Online.
Dates
25 December 1925-

Steidemann, Arthur Otto

ID
2632
Nationality
American
Occupation
Architect
Episcopal priest
Clergy (Episcopal)
Religion
Summary
Deafened at age 10 by scarlet fever; graduated the Gallaudet School (St. Louis). Entered Gallaudet College's preparatory class at age 12 but, after one year, dropped out for 2 years to physically mature more before returning; at that time was the youngest person (and possibly still so) to graduate Gallaudet College/University. George Washington University School of Architecture, 1907. Draftsman for St. Louis architectural firms until ordained an Episcopal minister, 1928; main church was St. Thomas' Mission to the Deaf, St. Louis.
References
Representative Deaf Persons [second edition], p.145-146.
Dates
__ March 1884-28 February 1950

Thorpe, Raymond Banks

ID
3910
Nationality
English
British
Occupation
Architect
Summary
Born at Market Deeping; deaf at 2 1/2 from whooping cough. Privately tutored until age 11, then entered Spring Hill School at Northampton. In 1927, entered Derby Technical College, then in 1929 studied architecture in an architectural firm while also attending Reading University and then the Royal Institute of British Architects. Worked first as an architectural assistant and then as a full architect. Married in the 1940s to May Worsell (hard of hearing). 1950, became architect and surveyor for a footwear company and later did restoration work on historic homes for the Warwickshire County Council. Retired 1975, dying of prostate cancer.
References
Deaf Lives, p.186.
Dates
1910-21 January 1997

Gaudi y Cornet, Antoni (Antoni Gaudi)

ID
1125
Nationality
Spanish
Occupation
Architect
Summary
Famous builder of organically-inspired and flamboyant Spanish churches, cathedrals and other buildings, including his still-unfinished masterpiece, the Church of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Born hearing, but deafened by rheumatic and other illnesses in boyhood; died from injuries from being struck by an unheard streetcar in Barcelona; is buried in the crypt of Sagrada Familia.
References
The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography, vol.4, p.336-338.
Dates
25 June 1852-10 June 1926

Sambell, Philip

ID
3900
Nationality
English
British
Occupation
Architect
Summary
Born deaf at Devonport; early life is obscure. Apparently financially supported by family money, since he had the means to run, unsuccessfully, for a seat in Parliament in 1835 and the leisure time to study architecture. Began designing buildings in the 1830s and continued at least through 1850. Most of his buildings were Baptist chapels, his last known building to be constructed being the Baptist Chapel on River Street, Truro (1849-1850), though he remained listed in a trade directory as late as 1868. He made several lectures on architecture, read aloud by others because Sambell's deafness prevented his speaking clearly enough. Died at Stonehouse in Devon.
References
Deaf Lives, p.160-161.
Dates
1798-1874

Hanson, Olof

ID
1276
Nationality
American
born Swedish
Occupation
Architect
Episcopal priest
Clergy (Episcopal)
Religion
Activist
Summary
Born at Fjelkinge, Sweden; deafened in one ear from frostbite while still in Sweden, and in the other from illness very soon after his family emigrated to America when he was 13 (1875). Graduate of the Minnesota School for the deaf; B.A. (1886), M.A. (1889), and honorary D.Sc. (1914) from Gallaudet College. Architect for buildings at the Pennsylvania (Mt. Airy) and Mississippi Schools for the deaf. President of the National Association of the Deaf 1910-1913. Ordained an Episcopal minister in later life (1929); died at Seattle, WA.
References
Sands of Time, p.107-117; Deaf Persons in the Arts and Sciences, p. 173-175; Gallaudet Encyclopedia, vol.2 p.1-3; Deaf Heritage, p.155; Gallaudet Almanac, p.239; CAID Proceedings, 28th, 1933, p.130; Representative Deaf Persons [first edition], p.109-112; Peeps into the Deaf World, p.136-137.
Dates
10 September 1862-8 September 1933

Marr, Thomas Scott

ID
1824
Nationality
American
Occupation
Architect
Summary
Born at Nashville, TN; deafened by scarlet fever at age 3; went to public schools for a while, then attended the Tennessee School for the deaf, the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and then a private school in Nashville. Graduated from Gallaudet College (1889); worked in architectural offices while taking architecture courses, then branched out on his own as co-founder of Marr & Holman, an architectural firm in Nashville.
References
Deaf Persons in the Arts and Sciences, p.235-239; Great Deaf Americans, The Second Edition, p.93-99; Gallaudet Encyclopedia, vol.2 p.204-205; Deaf Heritage, p.156; Gallaudet Almanac, p.241; The Forgotten People, p.28-33; Digest of the Deaf, Oct. 1939, p.14-22; Representative Deaf Persons [first edition], p.204.
Dates
October 20, 1867-March 2, 1936