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Louis Laurent Marie Clerc (French: [lɔʁɑ̃ klɛʁ]; 26 December 1788 – 18 July 1869) was a French teacher called "The Apostle of the Deaf in America" and was regarded as the most renowned deaf person in American Deaf History. He was taught by Abbé Sicard and deaf educator Jean Massieu, at the Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets in Paris.
Born deaf in 1785 in La Balme-les-Grottes, France, Clerc’s journey from a silent world to becoming a pivotal figure in the establishment of the first permanent school for the deaf in America is a story of resilience, innovation, and profound influence.
- A Life-Changing Experience
- How Gallaudet Met Clerc
- Clerc Heads to America
- The First School For The Deaf in America
- Clerc’s Influence
- Clerc and The American Sign Language
Clerc excelled in his academic studies. However, an assistant teacher, the Abbe Margaron tried teaching him to pronounce words. Clerc’s difficulties in pronouncing certain syllables so infuriated this teacher that one time, he gave Clerc a violent blow under his chin. This caused Clerc to accidentally bite his tongue so badly that he swore never ag...
Gallaudet was a neighbor of Mason Fitch Cogswell. Cogswell had taken interest in deaf education due to the deafness of his daughter, Alice, and the fact that there were no schools for the deaf in the United States at that time. As his neighbor and friend, Gallaudet became equally concerned for this cause. The two men gathered support from their fri...
Clerc and Gallaudet left for America on board the ship Mary Augusta on June 18, 1816. The voyage lasted fifty-two days. Clerc used that time to teach Gallaudet “the method of the signs for abstract ideas.” In return, he received tutoring in the English language from Gallaudet (Clerc already had a “considerable skill” in writing in English, as evide...
On April 15, 1817, rented rooms made up their school which opened with seven students – Alice Cogswell being the first to enroll. It was originally called the Connecticut Asylum at Hartford for the Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons (now the American School for the Deaf). Gallaudet was the principal, and Clerc was the head teacher. A year later, ...
While Clerc primarily taught grade-school students, he also trained future teachers and administrators – hearing or deaf. Many of their students went on to become productive deaf citizens and educated deaf leaders, spreading Clerc’s teachings and making him the greatest influence in the establishment of new deaf schools in the States at that time. ...
Clerc’s mode of instruction was French signs. His students learned those signs for their studies. However, for their own use, they also borrowed or altered some of those signs and blended them with their own native sign language. As the Hartford students and teachers widely spread Clerc’s teachings in his original and in their modified signs, deaf ...
Back in America, they established the Connecticut Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, which was later named the American School for the Deaf, in 1817. Gallaudet was the director, and Clerc was the first deaf teacher in America.
Apr 27, 2008 · In 1797, when Laurent was twelve years old, his uncle after whom he was named, Laurent Clerc, enrolled him in the Instit National de Jeune Sourds-Mirets in Paris. This was the first public school for the deaf in the world. The school was started by a priest named Abbe De L'Epee.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc (26 December 1785 – 18 July 1869) was a French teacher called "The Apostle of the Deaf in America" and was regarded as the most renowned deaf person in American Deaf History.
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Laurent Clerc was born on the day after Christmas in 1785, third of five children. He became deaf at one year old; family legend said it happened after Laurent fell into a fire. When he was twelve he entered the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris, directed by Abbé Roch Ambroise Sicard.
