Thomas Gallaudet traveled to Europe in search of a way to teach the deaf and mute. He was specifically attempting to learn the ways of the Braidwoods, who had been teaching the deaf in England through the use of aural-oral methods.
However, the Braidwoods refused to divulge their secrets, so he went to France and there was introduced to a French monk, who had been learning a manual language from poor deaf children, and then adapting and expanding it into a viable translation of the spoken French. Gallaudet brought this idea back to the US and implemented it (along with Laurent Clerc, a deaf French man) in the American School for the Deaf.
American Sign Language (ASL) was not invented by a single person; it evolved naturally over time within Deaf communities in the United States. However, many credit Laurent Clerc, a Deaf teacher from France, and Thomas Gallaudet, a hearing educator, for bringing French Sign Language to the U.S. and laying the foundation for ASL.
Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet did not invent sign language. They were instrumental in establishing the first permanent school for the deaf in the United States, the American School for the Deaf, and in spreading the use of American Sign Language. They recognized the importance of using sign language as a primary means of communication for deaf individuals.
Laurent Clerc used French Sign Language, which he then adapted with Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet to create what is now known as American Sign Language (ASL). They combined elements of French Sign Language with local signs to create a system that could be used in the United States.
American Sign Language (ASL) is related to French Sign Language (LSF), as it was heavily influenced by LSF due to the work of Laurent Clerc and Thomas Gallaudet in the early 19th century. The roots of ASL can also be traced back to Martha's Vineyard Sign Language, used on Martha's Vineyard in the 18th and 19th centuries.
ASL History: In the early 1800's, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, a hearing minister and a graduate of Yale University met and became friends with a young deaf girl named Alice. Gallaudet took an interest in teaching the girl and succeeded at teaching her a few words. The girl's father Dr. Mason Cogswell, encouraged Gallaudet to become involved with the establishment of a school for the Deaf. So, in 1815 Gallaudet headed for Europe in search of methods for teaching the deaf. He approached a number of program directors, (the Braidwood schools, the London Asylum, etc.), but none of them were willing to share their techniques with Gallaudet. Fortunately while in England Gallaudet met up with the director of a Paris school for the deaf, a man by the name of Sicard. Sicard was there with two of his deaf pupils, Jean Massieu and Laurent Clerc who were also teachers at the school in Paris. They were in England giving demonstrations on how to teach the deaf by using sign language. The Paris school, which had been founded by the Abbe Charles Michel de L'Epee in 1771, was using French Sign Language in combination with a set methodically developed signs. Gallaudet persuaded Clerc to return with him to the States and in 1817 the first American school for the deaf was established in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. Over time, the signs used at that school, plus the signs that were already being used by Deaf people in America evolved into what we now know as American Sign Language. It is important to note that sign language was being used here in America before Gallaudet and Clerc set up the school. One example (that you might want to research more) took place in Martha's Vineyard. At one time many deaf people lived there and all or almost all of the townsfolk knew how to sign whether or not they were deaf! http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/history1.htm
Technically he did not "discover" the style ofr teaching students with sign, it was a full blown language by the time it came into the USA. It was Laurent Clerc whom was brought over to teach a few students who were deaf by a wealthy businessman. ASL the sign language used in the USA Canda and some of Mexico, Puertio RIco for obvious reasons. Was based on the French style of sign, and has since evolved into the useful language today.
Thomas Gallaudet's main contribution to education was his work in establishing the first American school for the deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. This school was instrumental in developing techniques for teaching deaf students, including the use of sign language. Gallaudet's efforts helped to revolutionize education for the deaf in the United States.
His father's name was Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. His mother was Sophia Fowlet Gallaudet.
Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, LL.D., (December 10, 1787
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet died September 10, 1851
Thomas Gallaudet was instrumental in promoting education for the deaf in the mid-1800s. He founded the first school for the deaf in the United States, the American School for the Deaf, and developed teaching methods that focused on sign language and visual communication to help deaf students learn and communicate effectively. Gallaudet's work laid the foundation for deaf education in the United States and helped to empower deaf individuals through education.
Sophia Gallaudet was the widow of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, and mother of Edward Miner Gallaudet, who started Gallaudet University for the deaf. Sophia Gallaudet became the University's first school matron. Source: Gallaudet University website
Edward Miner Gallaudet, James Denison, Thomas Gallaudet, Isaac Lewis Peet, and Charles A. Stoddard Edward Miner Gallaudet, James Denison, Thomas Gallaudet, Isaac Lewis Peet, and Charles A. Stoddard
American Sign Language wasn't created in a certain year. It is a natural language that evolved over many centuries. It was enhanced in 1817 with the opening of the American School for the Deaf, founded by Thomas Gallaudet. Gallaudet introduced many aspects of French Sign Language to modernize and expand ASL.
opened a school for the deaf
Thomas Gallaudet's, who developed a method to educate people who were hearing impaired, opened the Hartford School for the Deaf in Connecticut in 1817.
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet