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Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (December 10, 1787 – September 10, 1851 [1]) was an American educator. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell , he co-founded the first permanent institution for the education of the deaf in North America , and he became its first principal.
[13] [15] Gallaudet College (now Gallaudet University) was founded in Washington, D.C in 1864 with Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet's son, Edward Miner Gallaudet, as the school's superintendent. [16] [17] Edward Miner Gallaudet strongly believed in the use of sign language and had a number of arguments with Alexander Graham Bell, an oralist. [18]
Gallaudet was principal until 1830. His son followed in his legacy, establishing Gallaudet University, which followed the ASD's lead and taught students primarily in American Sign Language (derived from the methodical signs and Parisian sign language of the French Institute for the Deaf).
Laurent Clerc is portrayed in the fictional film Sign Gene, the superhero film about deaf mutants who have superhuman powers through the use of sign language, as the fourth great-grandfather of the leading character Tom Clerc (played by Emilio Insolera). The film was released in September 2017. [5] [6] [7] [8]
Though there did exist signed languages within the United States, such as Martha's Vineyard Sign Language, none were standardized across the country. Cogswell eventually had his neighbor Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet travel to Europe to learn and bring back methods in instruction for the deaf.
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and the school that would become his namesake, abandoned the original pursuit to bring oralism back to America at the time. As a result, the sign language used by the French Deaf community, as well as the system of manual French, were introduced into the United States.
American Sign Language (ASL) is most closely related to the older form of French Sign Language, as Laurent Clerc, who was deaf and a teacher, was brought to the America's by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. Though Clerc brought French Sign Language, there was already sign language being used.
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language [5] that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is expressed by employing both manual and nonmanual features . [ 6 ]