The first excellent deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman name Laurent

Clerk who belonged with Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet founded America’s first
school for the deaf. Clerc was originally not deaf when he was born but a fire
ruined his hearing and smell when he was a baby. He excelled in his studies at
Royal Institution for the deaf in Paris and then became a teacher teaching the
highest class of the Institution. Then he met Gallaudet who was studying in his
class teaching sign language. Gallaudet was an American always concerned that
there were no schools for the deaf in America at that time. He was invited to
come to Royal Institution for the deaf to study for 3 months and here he met
Clerk. In June 1816, the two men took a 52-day trip to America. During that time,
Clerk studied English and Gallaudet studied sign language, and they discussed
more about education and deafness. They founded school for the deaf in Harford,
Connecticut after arrived a year. Clerc led a busy life at school. He and Gallaudet
also assisted in founding other schools for the deaf. Once Clerc was asked to
appear before Congress of the United States. President became interested in Sign
Language when he saw Clerc signing. In 1819, he married Crocker Boardman. He
retired from teaching in 1858. He wanted to return to France, but he never did.
He died in America in 1869.
William E. Hoy was an outstanding baseball player in about 1990 and well-
known in the deaf community. He was born in 1862 in Ohio. He began deaf at
two. He studied at Columbus Ohio School for the Deaf and then played semi-pro
while working as a shoemaker after graduating. In 1886 he began playing
professional baseball and became a good player because of his small stature and
speed. Hoy was ambidextrous. The arm signals used by referees today originated
from him. Hoy’s last ball game in 1903 made people talk for many years after
that. He was instrumental in helping the Los Angeles League win the pennant that
season. He had many friends and was married to Anna Marie Lowery. Because of
his deafness, he couldn’t know when someone came to his house, but he
improvised in a special way. He stayed busy after he retired. He did some work
including running a dairy farm, traveling giving speeches, and exercising hard.
William Hoy died in 1961.