There are many deaf people throughout history, as well as present day, all who over came their disability and made a pathway for others, showing us that nothing is impossible. My mother in law is deaf, and each day I can say, I learn more amazing things just watching her talk. This inspired me to write a small article about famous deaf people. Basically to share with others, that these people, are, simply put in one word, awesome.  There are way too many to list, so I chose a few, with a brief description of their amazing drive for life.

Helen Keller: June 27,1880-June 1,1968. Helen Keller, is probably most known by the popular book, The Miracle Worker. She went on the graduate from Radcliff in 1904, Magna Cum Laude, also the first deaf person to earn a Bachelors of Arts Degree. She is also known for speaking out for peoples rights with disabilities, as well as being an author.

Thomas Edison: February 11, 1987-October 18, 1931. Thomas Edison lost his hearing due to scarlet fever and untreated inner ear infections. He is also the inventor of the light bulb and phonograph. Also assisting in the experiments of the telephone, iron ore and electric lighting. His U.S. patents, 1,093.

William Ellsworth Hoy: May 23, 1862-December 15, 1961. A graduate from Ohio School of the Deaf, also class valedictorian, he owned his own business in shoe repair, and played for the Cincinnati Reds. He is known also to be third deaf professional baseball player, after pitcher Ed Dundon, and catcher Tom Lynch.

Juliette Gordon Low: October 31, 1860-January 17, 1927. Lost hearing in her twenties from an ear infection treated with silver nitrate. She went on to be the Founder of Girls Scouts of America.

Ludwig Van Beethoven:December 16, 1770-March 26, 1827. Although he was not born deaf, he lost hearing in his twenties and continued to compose music even after total hearing loss.

Pierre Desloges: 1742-1799. Thought to be the first deaf person to write and publish a book in 1792.

Lauren Clerc:December 26, 1785-July 18, 1869. Along with Thomas Gallaudet, co founded the first school for the deaf in America.

Marlee Matlin- August 24, 1965. Academy award winner, Best actress award for the film children of a lesser god. Not only is she a wife, but a  mother, writer, actress, and is active with many charities.

Heather Whitestone McCallum:February 23,1973. She is the First Deaf woman to hold the title of Miss America, following several other pageant titles.

Matt Hamill:October 5,1976. He is an American wrestle, Mixed marital arts fighter. Also a 3 time NCAA division 3 national champion in  wrestling.

Looking at all the accomplishments of these people, and their determination not to let their hearing disability hold them back, should be inspiration enough for anyone. They prove that with hard work, determination, and drive, can get you to where you want to be in life. That the possibilities are endless, and that you too, can be anything you so choose to be. All these people past and present, whether they were inventors, music composers, actresses, or athletes, are all perfect role models for anyone. More can be read on these outstanding people past and present at the following website. Take a look into the many more deaf people of our time, and the past. There is much more to learn then the little information I included above.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deaf_people

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 8:15 am.