Laurent Clerc facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laurent Clerc
Teacher, co-founder of the first permanent school for the Deaf in North America.
Born	(1785-12-26)December 26, 1785 La Balme, France
Died	July 18, 1869(1869-07-18) (aged 83) Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Spouse(s)	Eliza Crocker Boardman (1792-1880)

Louis Laurent Marie Clerc (born December 26, 1785 – died July 18, 1869) was a famous French teacher. Many people called him "The Apostle of the Deaf in America." He is known as one of the most important deaf people in American Deaf History.

Laurent Clerc was taught by Abbé Sicard and a deaf teacher named Jean Massieu. They taught him at a special school in Paris, France. Later, with Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, he helped start the very first school for deaf people in North America. This school opened on April 15, 1817, in Hartford, Connecticut. It was first called the Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb. Today, it is known as the American School for the Deaf and is still the oldest school for the deaf in North America.

Laurent Clerc's Early Life

Laurent Clerc was born on December 26, 1785, in a small village in France called La Balme-les-Grottes. His father was the mayor of the village. When Laurent was about one year old, he fell into a fire. This accident left a scar on his right cheek. His family thought this accident caused him to become deaf and lose his sense of smell. However, Laurent Clerc later wrote that he wasn't sure if the accident caused his deafness. He thought he might have been born deaf.

The scar on his cheek became part of his special "name sign" in American Sign Language. A name sign is a unique sign that represents a person. For Laurent Clerc, his name sign was made by stroking the manual alphabet sign for "U" twice downward on his right cheek. This name sign is very famous in American Deaf History.

Becoming a Teacher

When Laurent Clerc was 12 years old, he went to the Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris, a school for deaf students. He was a very good student and soon became a teacher there himself. At this school, he learned from important teachers like Abbe Sicard and Jean Massieu, who was also deaf.

In 1815, Laurent Clerc traveled to England with Sicard and Massieu to give a lecture. There, he met Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. Gallaudet was traveling to learn how to teach deaf children. He was invited to visit the school in Paris where Clerc taught.

Journey to America

In 1816, after spending a few months with Laurent Clerc at the school, Gallaudet asked Clerc to come with him to the United States. They traveled across the ocean together. During this long trip, they taught each other. Laurent Clerc learned English from Gallaudet, and Gallaudet learned French Sign Language from Clerc.

After they arrived in America, they worked together to create the first permanent school for deaf people. This school opened in Hartford, Connecticut. Today, it is known as the American School for the Deaf. Laurent Clerc taught there for more than 50 years. He was known for his skills, dedication, and kind personality. He was respected and loved by many.

Laurent Clerc married one of his first students, Eliza Crocker Boardman. He passed away at his home in Hartford when he was 83 years old, on July 18, 1869.

Laurent Clerc's Impact

Before organized education for deaf people began, many believed that deaf individuals were not intelligent and could not be educated. Laurent Clerc helped change these ideas. He became one of the most recognized people in the history of deaf education in the United States.

He showed everyone that deaf people could learn and achieve great things. Even though he was deaf from a young age, he became a very smart and educated person. Because of his important work in teaching the deaf in America, many awards, buildings, and funds are named after him. One of the most notable places is at Gallaudet University, a famous university for deaf and hard of hearing students.

Laurent Clerc in Film

Laurent Clerc is shown as a character in a movie called Sign Gene. This is a superhero film about deaf people who have special powers through using sign language. In the movie, Laurent Clerc is the great-great-great-great-grandfather of the main character, Tom Clerc. The film was released in September 2017.

See also

In Spanish: Laurent Clerc para niños