April 15, 1813

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Joel Byers

On This Date in TWISTED-HISTORY.com! in 1817 the first ‘official’ American school for the deaf was opened in Hartford, CT. An earlier attempt was made at educating deaf children in Boston, MA in 1813, but the headmaster Jonathan Oglesvy shut the school down after only three days. He claimed that the students were idiots and untrainable and that it was a waste of his time and education trying to teach young men and boys who wouldn’t even respond when you called their names during morning roll call. He said it was like they were all deaf. When it was explained to him that the students were in fact deaf and that it was supposed to be his job to teach them and that the boys’ angry parents were currently on their way to his house with hot tar and feathers, Mr. Oglesvy quickly pulled a pistol and stole the interviewers horse and left town. The school in Hartford, CT learned from this mishap and hired teachers who understood that the students were in fact deaf and not just stubborn.

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About Joel Byers

Born in North Georgia and educated at some very fine public institutions. Real education started after graduating from college and then getting married and raising two boys. Has the ability to see the funny and absurd in most things and will always remark on it, even if it means getting the stink-eye from his victims.
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