logo blue Deaf History -

Europe

1000 BC - 1700

1579 - 1652: Manuel Ramírez de Carrión

Manuel Ramírez de Carrión, was the teacher and pedagogue of a few and select deaf (“mudos ”, in the saying of the time) belonging to noble families of 17th century Spain.

1585-1634, Hendrick Avercamp, Painter (NL)

1585-1634, Hendrick Avercamp, Painter (NL)

Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634) was one of the first Dutch landscape painters of the 17th century. He was deaf and mute and known as de Stomme van Kampen (“the mute of Kampen”).

He is especially noted for his winter landscapes of his homeland. His landscapes are characterized by high horizons, bright clear colors, and tree branches darkly drawn against the snow or the sky. His paintings are lively and descriptive, with evidence of solid drawing skills that made him an ideal recorder of his contemporary life.

1606 - 1656: John Bulwer (UK)

John Bulwer is known as the first person in England to propose educating deaf people.

1615 – 1678: Wolfgang Heimbach, Painter (DE)

Wolfgang Heimbach (1615–1678) was a North German Baroque painter, mostly active in Denmark. He was deaf-mute but compensated by being able to read and write several languages. 

(Wolfgang Heimbach, self-portrait, 1666)

 

1620: Juan Pablo Bonet, the first book on the subject of manual alphabetic signs (ES)

1620: Juan Pablo Bonet, the first book on the subject of manual alphabetic signs (ES)

In 1620, Juan Pablo Bonet published the first book on the subject of manual alphabetic signs for the deaf.

Bonet was of the first teachers to devise and record in print a sign alphabet, and his system has had some influence on modern sign languages. However, he was also typical of his age in believing that signing was only a step towards an ideal of oralism rather than a valid form of communication in itself.

1625 - 1688/95: Johannes Thopas, Painter (NL)

Johannes Thopas (ca. 1626 – 1688/95), born deaf, was one of the few artists in the Golden Age who specialized in drawn portraiture. He was especially a virtuoso in lead marker on parchment.

1663 - 1705: Guillaume Amontons, Deaf Scientist (FR)

1663 - 1705: Guillaume Amontons, Deaf Scientist (FR)

Guillaume was born in Paris, France. While still young, Guillaume lost his hearing, which may have motivated him to focus entirely on science.

He never attended a university, but was able to study mathematics, the physical sciences, and celestial mechanics. He also spent time studying the skills of drawing, surveying, and architecture. He died in Paris, France.

1669 – 1724: Amman, Johann Konrad (NL)

1669 – 1724: Amman, Johann Konrad (NL)

Johan Konra Amman became a teacher of the deaf around 1690 when a deaf girl, Esther Collader, was brought to him; he succeeded in teaching her to speak. 

Amman strongly believed in oral techniques using lipreading and articulation teaching. His process consisted principally in exciting the attention of his pupils to the motions of his lips and larynx while he spoke, and then inducing them to imitate these movements, until he brought them to repeat distinctly letters, syllables and words.

1670 – 1750: Étienne de Fay: First deaf teacher of the deaf in France (FR)

1670 – 1750: Étienne de Fay: First deaf teacher of the deaf in France (FR)

Étienne de Fay was born deaf into a noble family, then placed with the monks at the Abbey of St Jean in Amiens. From 1720 to 1725, he was the first deaf teacher known in France who taught deaf children, before the Abbé de l'Epée.