The foundation for Gallaudet first began in 1856 when Amos Kendall donated two acres of land in Washington, D.C. for a school and housing to be built for twelve deaf and six blind students. In 1857, Kendall convinced Congress to incorporate what was then known as the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind. The first superintendent was to be Edward Miner Gallaudet, the son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet who founded the first school for the Deaf in the United States. In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the authorization of the institution to grant college degrees. Gallaudet was made president, and he presided over the first commencement in June 1869 when three graduates received diplomas signed by President
