First Deaf Professor at Gallaudet University

John Burton Hotchkiss was born August 22, 1845 in Seymour and grew up on this street. Hotchkiss was hearing until Scarlet Fever deafened him at 11 years old. When he was admitted to the American School for the Deaf they remarked that, “he can read and write, and can still articulate distinctly.”

He embraced sign language and a student recalled, “His gestures were clear, forceful, expressive. Having an alert and logical mind, he knew exactly what he wished to say. Anyone who was so fortunate as to have seen Dr. Hotchkiss deliver a lecture or a sermon, will recall with what care and clearness his topics were thought out and arranged… they were clean-cut, made with freedom, yet with dignity – never slovenly, nor cramped, nor hurried. ”. As a result of his fluid signing abilities, in 1913 the National Association of the Deaf filmed him telling stories about attending ASD.

He graduated from ASD in 1864 with honors and enrolled at the newly formed Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind, in Washington, DC. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet’s son Edward Miner helped found and ran this school to provide advanced education for students with disabilities. Later it was renamed Gallaudet University in honor of Edward Miner’s father, who was a founder and the first teacher at ASD.

Hotchkiss graduated as valedictorian in the first class from this college in 1869. He became the first deaf professor at this university, teaching history and English for over 50 years. He was much beloved by his students and coached the school’s football team. After his death in 1922, Gallaudet University renamed their football field Hotchkiss Field in his honor.

Credits and Sources:

Photos courtesy of:

Gallaudet Archives; Book Gallaudet; Gallaudet; ****.