Louis Laurent Clerc Biography

Louis Laurent Marie Clerc was born in Paris, France on December 26th, 1785. Clerc was born able to hear but he lost it when he was an infant. When he was just one years old he was sitting on a chair when suddenly he fell into a fire pit which left scarring across his face. Thus, losing his hearing as well as his sense of smell. Growing up he always thought that he was born deaf, not knowing that there was a time that he could hear.
At age 12 Clerc’s Uncle decided to send him to school for the deaf. He attended a school in Paris called the Royal Institute for the Deaf. For the first time, he met other deaf people. He learned how to communicate with others clearly for the first time in his life. Unfortunately while attending the school, Clerc was being domestically abused by his speech teacher for not pronouncing his letters right. Thus, he vowed to never speak again. Although, he went through this tuff time Clerc excelled very well. He excelled so well that in 1806 he became a teacher at that very institute.
In 1815 Laurent Clerc went England to promote sign language. There he met a man named Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. Gallaudet came from Hartford, Connecticut trying to find a way to communicate with the deaf. Gallaudet went back to Paris with Clerc to the Royal …show more content…
He retired at the age of 73 in 1858, after serving 50 years at the American School for the Deaf. He later died at age of 84 on July 18th, 1869 and was buried alongside his wife at the Spring Grove Cemetery.
Citations:
"Laurent Clerc: America's First Deaf Teacher." Clerc, Laurent: America's First Deaf Teacher. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
University, Gallaudet. "Laurent Clerc." Laurent Clerc - Gallaudet University. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
Sprenger, Ben M. "Laurent Clerc / American Sign Language (ASL)." Laurent Clerc / American Sign Language (ASL). N.p., 27 Feb. 2005. Web. 02 Dec.