The history behind RI School for the Deaf

The Rhode Island School for the Deaf was founded by Mary Ann Lippitt who was born on this date (Oct. 7) in the year 1823.

Her daughter became deaf after contracting Scarlet Fever in 1856. "Lippitt created her own program and founded the Providence Day School for the Deaf in 1876. Her husband Henry Lippitt, who had become governor in 1875, used his own influence to inspire the State to take over the administration of the school the following year." Read more here.