Fletcher, Robert Capers

Born at Arab, AL; deafened when struck by lightning at age 4; attended the Alabama School for the Deaf. B.A. and honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (1952) from Gallaudet College; attended Philadelphia Divinity School; ordained an Episcopal priest in 1929; ministered in the South, particularly in Alabama; on March 26, 1952, was the first clergyperson to open the U.S. Senate in prayer using sign language; died at Alexandria, VA. His hearing actress daughter, Louise Fletcher, won an Oscar in 1976, and thanked her deaf parents in sign language on national television.