List of deaf people
Notable Deaf people are typically defined as those who have profound hearing loss in both ears as a result of either acquired or congenital hearing loss . Such people may be associated with Deaf culture . Deafness (little to no hearing) is distinguished from partial hearing loss or damage (such as tinnitus ), which is less severe impairment in one or both sides. The definition of deafness varies across countries, cultures, and time, though the World Health Organization classes profound hearing loss as the failure to hear a sound of 90 decibels or louder in a hearing test .[ 1]
In addition to those with profound hearing loss, people without profound hearing loss may also identify as Deaf, often where the person is active within a Deaf community and for whom sign language is their primary language .[ 2]
Deaf educators and organizers
Ferdinand Berthier , French intellectual, published several articles, first Deaf person to receive the French Legion of Honour , founder of world's first deaf organizationJulia Brace (1807–1884), early American DeafBlind student at the Hartford School for the Deaf Laura Bridgman , (1829–1889), American , first DeafBlind student of Dr. Samuel Howe at the Perkins School for the Blind Teresa de Cartagena , Spanish conversa nun and mystic author of the 15th century who became deaf in later life. The first mystic author in Spanish.Laurent Clerc (1785–1869), student and teacher (1798–1816) at the Paris Deaf school of the Abbé de l'Épée ; accompanied Thomas Gallaudet to America to teach deaf children. Co-founded the first Deaf school in North America in 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut .Alice Cogswell , the first deaf student at American School for the Deaf.Robert R. Davila , the ninth president of Gallaudet University Pierre Desloges (1742–?), French deaf writer and bookbinder, first known deaf person to publish a bookGilbert Eastman (1934–2016), American educator, actor, playwright, author, and television hostJane Fernandes , the first Deaf woman to serve as president of an American college or university at Guilford College (2014-2021) in Greensboro, NC and the first Deaf woman to head a school for the Deaf Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind (1990-1995)[ 3] Andrew Foster , (1925–1987), American educator, the first Black deaf person to earn a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet College , Christian missionary to AfricaT. Alan Hurwitz , the tenth president of Gallaudet University and former Vice President of National Technical Institute for the Deaf Casar Jacobson , Norwegian-Canadian first-ever deaf winner of Miss Canada (2013), a disability rights activist and the UN Woman Youth Champion.I. King Jordan , the first deaf president (eighth overall) of Gallaudet University Liisa Kauppinen (born 1939), Finnish human rights activist, former president of the World Federation of the Deaf Helen Keller , American deaf-blind writer, lecturer, and actressDorothy Miles , deaf poet and activistLawrence R. Newman , deaf educator and activist, and served two terms as President of the National Association of the Deaf Michael Ndurumo , a deaf educator from Kenya , the third deaf person from Africa to be awarded a PhDMarie Jean Philip , a teacher and leading international advocate for the right to sign languageGeorge Veditz , the former president of the National Association of the Deaf , and one of the first people to film sign language
Actors
Shelley Beattie , American actress and bodybuilderSean Berdy , actor and comedian[ 4] Linda Bove , actress, known particularly for the role of Linda the Librarian on the children's television program Sesame Street [ 5] Deanne Bray , actress who played the lead role on Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye Millie Bobby Brown , an actress from Stranger Things , totally deaf in her right earJames Cavalry , American actorStephen Colbert , actor, comedian, and talk show host, totally deaf in his right ear.[ 6] Aryana Engineer , actressLou Ferrigno , American actor and bodybuilderPhyllis Frelich , American actress, Best Actress in a Broadway play: Children of a Lesser God 1980Russell Harvard , actor whose first language is American Sign Language[ 7] Bob Hiltermann , actor, writer, director, and musicianEmilio Insolera , Italian actor and director of Sign Gene Troy Kotsur (Best Supporting Actor ) for his role in "CODA "Ryan Lane , actor and modelGabriella Leon , English actressMarlee Matlin , first deaf person to win an Academy Award (Best Actress ) for her role in Children of a Lesser God Leslie Nielsen , Canadian-American comedic actor who was legally deaf[ 8] Audree Norton , American actress and educator, one of the founding members of the National Theatre of the Deaf Lauren Ridloff , an American actress, played the role of Connie (a deaf character) in the ninth season of The Walking Dead . In Eternals , released in 2021, she played the deaf superhero Makkari .Sandra Mae Frank , American actress, played the role of Dr. Elizabeth Wilder in the forth & fifth season of New Amsterdam Emerson Romero , Cuban-American silent film actor, developed the first technique to caption sound filmsTerrylene Sacchetti , actressHowie Seago , actor and directorMillicent Simmonds , deaf actressShoshannah Stern , actress in Jericho Weeds [ 9] Alexandria Wailes , deaf actress, dancer, and educatorBruce Willis , American actor, producer, and singer, 70% deaf in his left ear
Artists
Chuck Baird , (1947–2012), American painter and performer, one of the founding members of the De'Via Deaf art movementBernard Bragg , performer, writer, director, poet, and artistJohn Brewster Jr . (1766–1854) portraitist and miniaturist in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine in the Federalist period in America[ 10] Edward Caledon Bruce (1825-1900), American painter, author, and publisherJohn Carlin (1813-1891), American painterThomas Davidson , RA an English painter specializing in historical naval scenes (1842–1919)Walter Geikie , Scottish painterFrancisco Goya (1746-1828) Spanish painter, became deaf at age 47.[ 11] David Hockney (b. 1937), British painter[ 12] Regina Olson Hughes , American IllustratorJan (born 1939) Spanish comic artist. Deaf since age 6.[ 13] Betty G. Miller , American artistMaurycy Minkowski , deaf Polish Jewish artist (1881/2–1930)Juan Fernández Navarrete , Spanish Mannerist painter (1526–79)Albert Newsam (1809–1864) lithographer, and student of Catlin[ 14] Will J. Quinlan , American artist, etcher, painterSlava Raškaj (1877–1906), Croatian painterGranville Redmond , American painter, actorAlfred Thomson , an English artist and Olympic Gold Medalist (1894–1979)Douglas Tilden , American sculptorFrederick LaMonto, American sculptor, artist. (1921-1981)[ 15]
Musicians
Ludwig van Beethoven , German composer and pianist, who acquired almost complete deafness by age 44.[ 16] Beethoven's Nightmare , The first and the only deaf rock band in the world cofounded by Bob Hiltermann, drummer from California, Ed Chevy, and Steve Longo from California. Founded in 1971 and still active.William Boyce , a British composer who acquired deafness in his late 40s[ 17] Sean Forbes , American musician, songwriter, and rapperTL Forsberg , American avant-garde rock singer who identifies as deaf[ 18] Evelyn Glennie , Scottish percussionist, won Grammy for Best Musician in a Recording 1989: Bartok 's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion [ 19] Mandy Harvey , American jazz singer and a finalist of America's Got Talent (season 12) Geraldine Lawhorn , musician, actress, instructor and first deaf-blind African-American person to earn a college degree Signmark , Finnish rap artistBedřich Smetana , Czech composer who became completely deaf at age 50[ 20] Mariko Takamura , deaf Japanese musician
Scientists
Sports
Cecilia Hanhikoski , Finnish snowboarder and futsal playerAshley Fiolek , American motocross racer and stunt actressYehuda Gruenfeld , Israeli chess grandmasterMatt Hammill , American mixed martial arts fighterGerry Hughes , British sports sailorJim Kyte , Canadian hockey playerRebecca Macree , British squash playerRobert Marchand , American masters cyclistCaleb McDuff , British Racing DriverMike Murphy , American athletic trainerKitty O'Neil , American race driver and stunt actressAimee Walker Pond , American gymnastJock Porter , British motorcycle racerMarie Roethlisberger , American gymnastLana Skeledžija , Croatian sport shooterMelanie Stabel , German sport shooterJoe Swail , Northern Irish snooker playerLaurentia Tan , Singaporean Paralympic equestrianTone Tangen Myrvoll , Norwegian runner, skier, and orienteerMargareta Trnková-Hanne , Czech sprinter and tennis playerIldikó Újlaky-Rejtő , Hungarian fencer and Olympic championBoris Verlinsky , Ukrainian-Russian chess masterMelinda Vernon , Australian distance runner, triathlete and swimmerHeidi Zimmer , American mountaineer
Albert Berg , American football player, coach, and writerDerrick Coleman , American fullback and Super Bowl championGilbert O. Erickson , American college football player and photographerBonnie Sloan , American defensive tackle and first deaf person drafted to the National Football LeagueKenny Walker , American gridiron player and first deaf player in the Canadian Football LeagueBlaise Winter , American coach and former defensive end in the NFL
Eunate Arraiza , Spanish defender/midfielderCliff Bastin , English forward for ArsenalJozo Bogdanović , Croatian forwardStan Burton , English wingerMemnos Costi , English footballer and television presenterDamir Desnica , Croatian forwardMatthew Eby , American defender/midfielderThomas Elliott , British forwardAlbert Gardner , English midfielderDanielle Gibbons , English goalkeeperAndy Greig , Scottish goalkeeperStefan Markolf , German defenderAthiel Mbaha , Namibian goalkeeper and international at the Africa Cup of NationsSimon Ollert , German forwardJohn Tosswill , English forward
Athletics
Nele Alder-Baerens , German distance runnerNatasha Bacchus , Canadian sprinterDean Barton-Smith , Australian decathleteEdie Boyer , American discus throwerSuslaidy Girat , Cuban sprinter and jumperEmilija Manninen , Estonian hurdlerMarie-Paule Miller , French heptathleteAmy-Lea Mills , Australian javelin throwerDawn Moncrieffe , Canadian middle-distance runnerTrude Raad , Norwegian throwerRuth Taubert Seeger , American sprinter and jumperEvgenii Shvetcov , Russian Paralympic runnerVyacheslav Skomorokhov , Ukrainian-Soviet hurdlerGerhard Sperling , East German racewalkerBeryl Wamira , Kenyan sprinterRita Windbrake , German runner
Baseball
Michael Cuddyer , American outfielder in MLB during 2001–2015; two-time MLB All-StarDummy Deegan , American pitcher for the New York Giants in 1901Ed Dundon , American pitcher and first deaf player in MLB, in 1883–1884Tyson Gillies , Canadian outfielder and Pan American Games gold medalistDummy Hoy , American center fielder and most accomplished deaf player in MLB, during 1888–1902Yuya Ishii , Japanese pitcher in Nippon Professional BaseballDummy Leitner , American pitcher in MLB during 1901–1902Thomas Lynch ,[citation needed American pitcher for the Chicago White Stockings (NL) in 1884Curtis Pride , American outfielder in MLB during 1993–2006; college baseball coachDick Sipek , American outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds in 1945Dummy Stephenson , American outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1892Dummy Taylor , American pitcher in MLB during 1901–1908
Basketball
Cricket
Anjan Bhattacharjee , Indian first-class bowler for BiharLance Cairns , New Zealand all-rounder and international test playerJohn Hodgkins , English first-class all-rounder for NottinghamshireCharlie McLeod , Australian all-rounder and international test playerImran Sheikh , former captain of the deaf India national teamBaba Sidhaye , Indian first-class all-rounder and first national-level deaf-mute playerUmesh Valjee , former captain of the deaf England national team
Swimming
Carli Cronk , American swimmer, Deaflympic Champion winning 12 gold in a single Games, and deaf world record holderCindy-Lu Bailey , Australian swimmer and 29-time Deaflympic medalistPeggy de Villiers , South African swimmer and DeaflympianNatalia Deeva , Belarusian swimmer and four-time Deaflympic championGertrude Ederle , American Olympic medalist and the first woman to swim the English channelJeff Float , American swimmer and Olympic and world championReed Gershwind , American swimmer and 30-time Deaflympic medalistDanielle Joyce , British swimmer and two-time Deaflympic championMatthew Klotz , American swimmer and deaf world record holderCornell Loubser , South African swimmer and Deaflympic medalistJill Diana Lovett , British swimmer and DeaflympianRebecca Meyers , American swimmer and visually-impaired Paralympic championLinda Neumann , German swimmer and Deaflympic medalistTerence Parkin , South African swimmer and Olympic and world medalistAlexandra Polivanchuk , Swedish swimmer and deaf world record holderAnna Polivanchuk , Swedish swimmer and deaf world record holder, sister of AlexandraTaranath Narayan Shenoy , Indian deaf-blind open water swimmer and swimmer of the English channel
Tennis
Winter sports
Writers
Rashida Abedi , Pakistani-British autobiographical writerKashaf Alvi , Pakistani writerKathleen L. Brockway , author, historian, and deaf rights' activistJohn Lee Clark , American deafblind poetWilly Conley , playwright, actor, photographerAgatha Tiegel Hanson , American writerEugen Relgis , Romanian humanist writer and political activistMichael Chorost , writer and technologist who wrote on his experience of cochlear implants[ 29] Angeline Fuller Fischer , American writerHarold MacGrath , American authorPierre de Ronsard , French poetLaura C. Redden Searing ,(1893–1923), Civil war journalist, biographer, and poetLouise Stern , writer and artistTed Supalla , researcher and professorClayton Valli , deaf linguist and ASL poetDavid Wright , South African-born British poetJudith Wright , Australian poet
Other occupations
Dimitra Arapoglou , a deaf member of the Greek parliament, from 2007 to 2009Alice of Battenberg , a German Princess in the 19th and 20th centuryMarla Berkowitz , ASL interpreter; as of 2020, the only Deaf ASL interpreter in the US state of OhioEarnest Elmo Calkins , a deaf American advertising executive who pioneered the use of art in advertisingNyle DiMarco , season 22 Dancing with the Stars champion and 2015 winner of America's Next Top Model Haben Girma , first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School [ 30] Claudia L. Gordon , lawyerOlof Hanson , architectHelen Heckman , dancerHenrietta Howard , Countess of SuffolkJuliette Gordon Low , founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA who became completely deaf age 17.[ 31] Charlotte Lamberton , dancerMojo Mathers (b. 1966), New Zealand politicianFlorence Lewis May , American textile curatorRoger Demosthenes O'Kelly (b. 1880), deaf-blind black lawyer, Yale alumnusDame Kathleen Ollerenshaw (b. 1912), British mathematician and politician
François d'Orléans, Prince of Joinville , French prince and naval commanderOpu Daeng Risaju , Indonesian independence activist.Andrew Phillips , lawyerRikki Poynter , deaf YouTuber and activist .Punk Chef , celebrity deaf chef from the UKElizabeth Steel , the earliest record of a deaf person in AustraliaSue Thomas , first deaf person to work as an undercover investigator doing lip-reading of suspects for the Federal Bureau of InvestigationHeather Whitestone , first deaf woman to win the title of Miss America Nellie Zabel Willhite , pilotMabel Hubbard Bell , wife of telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell
Fictional characters
Connie , a deaf character that fights zombies in AMC's The Walking Dead Echo , a deaf Native American martial artist from Marvel Comics.Drury Lane , a deaf detective written by Ellery Queen .Jade Lovall , a partially deaf nurse in the BBC medical drama Casualty .Gabriella, a deaf mermaid and one of Ariel's friends in The Little Mermaid
Hawkeye (Clint Barton) , a deaf archer from marvel comics.Maxine "Max" Coleman, a deaf girl and Esther's adoptive younger sister in 2009 horror film Orphan
Hearthstone, a deaf elf and one of Magnus's friends from Rick Riordan 's Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
Regan Abbott, a deaf daughter of Evelyn & Lee Abbott in 2018 horror film A Quiet Place
Jia Andrews, a deaf girl in 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong
Makkari , an Eternal with superhuman speed in the 2021 film Eternals
See also
References
^ "Deafness and hearing loss Fact sheet N°300" . March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015 .^ Madeleine Chapman, Jesper Dammeyer, The Significance of Deaf Identity for Psychological Well-Being, The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, Volume 22, Issue 2, April 2017, Pages 187–194, https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enw073
^ hsdb.k12.hi.us./about-hsdb/hsdb-history
^ Chow, Andrew R. (2019-05-11). "The Society's Sean Berdy on A.S.L. Representation, Teen Activism and His Buzzy New Netflix Drama" . Time . Retrieved 24 May 2019 . ^ Moore, Matthew S.; Panara, Robert (1996). "Chapter 54: Linda Bove" . Great Deaf Americans : The Second Edition . Rochester, N.Y. : Deaf Life Press. pp. 352–357. ISBN 9780963401663 ^ Remnick, David (July 25, 2005). "Reporter Guy" . The New Yorker Archived from the original on August 16, 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2006 . ^ Hetrick, Adam (2012-05-06). Tribes Actor Russell Harvard Finds His Pack . Playbill . Retrieved 2020-07-10.
^ Bergan, Ronald (2010-11-29). Leslie Nielsen obituary . The Guardian . Retrieved 2020-07-10.
^ Stern, Shoshannah (2020-05-08). Mothering While Deaf in a Newly Quiet World . New York Times . Retrieved 2020-07-10.
^ Falk, Peter Hastings, ed. (1999). Who Was Who in American Art, 1564–1975: 400 Years of Artists in America . Madison, Conn.: Sound View Press. p. 437. ISBN 0932087558 ^ The Deafness of Goya – Part I in hearinghealthmatters.org^ Swerling, Gabriella (2017-09-28). David Hockney: Hearing loss has helped me paint better . The Times . Retrieved 2020-07-10.
^ Martínez, Antonio.Interview with Jan
^ Pyatt, Joseph O. (1868). Memoir of Albert Newsam, Deaf Mute Artist . Philadelphia. CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link ) ^ Sonnenstrahl, Deborah M. (2003). Deaf Artists in America: Colonial to Contemporary ISBN 9781581210507 . Retrieved 2022-08-17 . ^ Bento RF. Beethoven's Deafness, the Defiance of a Genius . Int. Arch. Otorhinolaryngol. 2009;13(3):317-321.^ Beechey, Gwilym, William Boyce, and J. H. "Memoirs of Dr. William Boyce." The Musical Quarterly 57, no. 1 (1971): 87-106. Accessed July 10, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/740872.
^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (2010-04-08). Deaf, and Trying to Make It in Showbiz . New York Times . Retrieved 2020-07-10.
^ I’m a Grammy Award Winning Musician and I’m Deaf . Evelyn Glennie (2019-05-28). Retrieved 2020-07-10.^ H Dominic & W Stiles (2012-01-06). Deafness and tinnitus in a musician – Bedřich Smetana. UCL. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
^ Lang, Harry G. (1995). Deaf persons in the arts and sciences : a biographical dictionary ISBN 0-313-29170-5 OCLC 31374052 . ^ "Annie Cannon" . www.sheisanastronomer.org . Retrieved 2022-10-24 .^ "The medical mystery that helped make Thomas Edison an inventor" . PBS NewsHour . 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2022-10-24 .^ "Disability history month: John Goodricke the deaf astronomer" . BBC News . 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2022-10-24 .^ "Olaf Hassel" , Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian), 2023-03-08, retrieved 2023-04-30 ^ "Sharpless, Nansie | Gallaudet University Library Guide to Deaf Biographies and Index to Deaf Periodicals" . liblists.wrlc.org . Retrieved 2022-10-25 .^ Sobel, Dava (2016). The glass universe : how the ladies of the Harvard Observatory took the measure of the stars ISBN 978-0-670-01695-2 OCLC 952469237 . {{cite book }}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link )^ "Deaf astronomers John Goodricke and Konstantin Tsiolkowski" . www.rmg.co.uk . Retrieved 2022-10-25 .^ Alex Soojung-Kim Pang (2005-07-14). Michael Chorost and the cyborg memoir .Institute for the Future. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
^ "Deaf-Blind Harvard Law Grad Slays Every Expectation, But Don't Call Her An "Inspiration" . Oxygen Official Site . 2016-10-13. Retrieved 2023-02-19 .^ Kehe, Marjorie (2012-03-12). That 'Crazy Daisy' who started the Girl Scouts . Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved 2020-07-10.
Further reading
Lang, Harry G. Fighting in the Shadows: Untold Stories of Deaf People in the Civil War (Washington: Gallaudet University Press, 2017), xv, 255 pp.
Sonnenstrahl, Deborah M. Deaf Artists in America, Colonial to Contemporary . San Diego: Dawnsign Press, 2002.
