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Tellschaft, Eugen

ID
3269
Nationality
German
Occupation
Holocaust survivor
Summary
Born and grew up in Koningsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). Forced out of his hometown by 1944 wartime bombing, his family managed to take refugee ships and trains to Rostock, Germany. He went to a boarding school in nearby Ludwigslust and soon learned that his parents had fled Rostock without him. Attempting to join them in the west, he was turned back by the Russians and went to Berlin instead. There, he lied to the American occupying army that his grandfather was American and that therefore he, Eugen, claimed American citizenship. This got him through the lines and he eventually rejoined his family in the little town of Gross Offenseth.
Dates
1929-

Montgomery, Ruth

ID
4292
Nationality
British
Occupation
Musician
Teacher
Flute player
Summary
A "top flute player" said to have played with the St. Petersburg Phiharmonic and Moscow Symphony orchestras in Russia. Also taught music to children in Britain, and promoted music education for deaf children.
References
http://www.deafweekly.com, retrieved 12/11/2006.
Dates
1981?-

Marie Fedorovna, empress of Russia

ID
1817
Nationality
Russian
born Danish
Occupation
Royalty
Empress
Patron
Philanthropist
Summary
Hearing. Not to be confused with Maria Fedorovna, 1759-1828 (q.v.) Born Marie Dagmar, princess of Denmark, daughter of Danish king Christian IX; sister of Queen Alexandra of Britain (deaf, q.v.); married Tsar Alexander III of Russia and mothered Nicholas II, last Russian Tsar. Exiled to Britain from the Crimea in 1919; died in Denmark. In Russia, she and the Tsar set up a foundation, the Guardianship for the Deaf and Dumb, in 1898 for the education and support of the deaf.
References
Collage, p.275-276.
Dates
1847-1928

Ulrich, John "Jack", "Silent"

ID
2852
Nationality
Canadian
born Russian
Occupation
Professional ice hockey player
Sports
Summary
Born in Wolznieu, Russia; deafness discovered at 6 months old. Family emigrated to Canada in 1901. Lutheran School for the Deaf in Detroit, MI 1902-1903, Manitoba Institution for the deaf 1903-1909. Amateur hockey playing began while in school, and recruited for the pros in 1911, first deaf professional ice hockey player. Vancouver Millionaires team 1911-1912, Victoria Aristocrats 1912-1914, MontrTal Wanderers 1915-1917 until injuries forced him out, although he also tried out for professional baseball in 1915. In 1916, married Mabel Agnes McKenzie. Died in Detroit of acute appendictitis.
References
Deaf Heritage in Canada, p.363-364.
Dates
18 January 1890-23 October 1927

Burmensky, Aleksandr Andreevich

ID
0506
Nationality
Russian
Occupation
Teacher
Summary
Born deaf; attended the Petersburg Institute for the deaf. Taught deaf persons in many parts of Russia, most notably in Tsaritsyn (present-day Volgograd). His brother, also deaf, was Ivan Andreevich Burmensky (q.v.).
References
Looking Back, p.114-115.
Dates
fl. 1880

Williams, Howard Griffith

ID
3268
Nationality
British
born Australian
Occupation
Educator
Administrator
Historian
Summary
Hearing. Born in Australia but grew up in Wales. Graduated University of London and Reading University. Taught at Rangemore Hall for the Deaf and Mary Hare Grammar School for the Deaf, then headed Ingfield Manor's Department for the Deaf. 1965-1974, served as the national government's Inspector of Schools for Birmingham. 1974-1986, was Inspector of Deaf and Special Schools in the South West of England and in Liverpool until forced to retire by a heart condition. In his spare time and throughout his retirement, he did research and writing in the history of Russian deaf education, culminating in the book Deaf Teachers in Nineteenth Century Russia.
References
Deaf History International Newsletter, Spring/Summer 1997, p.5.
Dates
11 July 1919-19 October 1995

Scheffler, Walter

ID
2445
Nationality
German
Occupation
Poet
Author
Summary
Born at Konigsburg, Prussia, Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia); deafened at age 15 by spinal meningitis; after World War II, settled in Hamburg. Author of several books and many poems published in magazines.
References
Silent Worker, Oct. 1958, p.5; Looking Back, p.92.
Dates
15 September 1880-1964

Abel, Andreas

ID
4264
Nationality
German
born Russian
Occupation
Painter
Artist
Summary
Born at Krasnokamsk in the Ural Republic in Russia; deafened at age 5. Attended regular schools in Krasnokamsk 1973-1983, then an art school in Ekaterinburg 1983-1989. Professional artist 1989-1990 before emigrating to Esslingen, Germany.
References
Gehorlose und Horgeschadigte Kunstmaler in Deutschland 2005, p.8-11.
Dates
19 August 1966-

Jauffret, Jean-Baptiste

ID
1424
Nationality
French
Occupation
Teacher
Summary
Hearing. Prince Alexander I of Russia, acting at his mother's request, sent to Paris to request two teachers to come to Russia to help improve deaf education there. Jauffret was sent to Russia, the contract being cut back to only one teacher to save money; the second teacher was supposed to have been Laurent Clerc (q.v.), who later went to America instead. Jauffret arrived in St. Petersburg in 1810 and expanded the school already there under the special patronage of Empress Maria Fedorovna (q.v.).
References
Collage, p.15-18.
Dates
1771-1828

Meller, Alexander

ID
1931
Nationality
Russian
Occupation
Student
Summary
One of the first pupils in Russia's first school for the deaf, the St. Petersburg School for the Deaf-Mute (1806). A chance meeting between him as a young boy and the Empress Maria Fedorovna piqued her interest and led to her founding the school.
References
Collage, p.12-14.
Dates
fl. 1810