Getting to Know the First Teacher of the Deaf

A 16th century Spanish monk is recognized by most historians as the first teacher of deaf children.

Pedro Ponce de Leon lived from 1520 to 1584.

However, there are some who point to Spanish painter Juan Fernandez Navarrete as the first. He lived in the earlier part of the century.

Ponce de Leon was a Benedictine monk who took a vow of silence and developed a form of sign language to communicate. He apparently taught finger-spelling to deaf children who probably arrived at his monastery already knowing some home signs. Read more about Ponce de Leon here.