Rosa May Billinghurst - The Fighting Suffragette

Last August 18, 2020 marked the 100-year anniversary of women being granted the right to vote in the United States. The United Kingdom had only been a couple years quicker: they granted the right to vote to certain qualified women over the age of thirty in 1918 (this was adjusted to all women over 21, the same as applied to men, ten years later). The mid-19th and early 20th centuries were marked by the suffragettes' activism: thousands protested, lectured, endured imprisonment, and were tortured in order to grant millions of women the right to vote and serve in governmental offices. 

I have always admired these women, of course, since it is because of them that I can make my voice heard. There are the famous American names (Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, Alice Paul, or Ida B. Wells), but there are hundreds more that are not as well-known. Today we'll learn about an English suffragette who fought for women's rights while also using a modified, self-propelled tricycle or crutches to ambulate.

May at a suffragette demonstration, crutches placed on each side of her tricycle

Eliza Suggs - Shadow and Sunshine

One of the things I love most about history is that there is always more to learn, you just may have to dive a little deeper. Sometimes it takes multiple tries at certain phrasings on Google to find the stories you've never heard. Last night I was up trying to find stories of Black historical figures with disabilities, as I realized the only person I could think of was Harriet Tubman, who endured a traumatic brain injury as a child and suffered the consequences for the rest of her life (don't worry, she will absolutely be a topic in the future). Luckily, I was able to find more figures than only her and have added quite a few people to my list of future posts. Today we will learn the story of a young woman who, despite her race, gender, and physical limitations, became educated and had a career as a traveling lecturer.

Eliza, 1892

Hermann of Reichenau - Monk & Polymath

As you may have noticed, my primary historical interests are in the 19th and 20th centuries. In my desire to expand my knowledge of disability history, I've needed to branch out. This story goes way back to the European Middle Ages. Since this is not an era I know very well, I had to do a lot of extra research. It was a "sacrifice" that I happily made. This story also involves church history, which fascinates my husband and recently became another interest of mine.

 Hermann of Reichenau is known by many different names. His first name is sometimes anglicized as Herman, latinized as Hermannus, or written in the older form as Heriman. He has been known as Hermann of Vöhringen after his birthplace. Traditionally, he was also called "Hermannus Contractus," which appeared in English as "Hermann the Lame," "Hermann the Cripple," or "Hermann the Twisted."

 

 

 

 

 

Alice Cogswell - Beginnings of a Language

My main goal for this blog is to tell stories that many may not know. In their own communities, these individuals are famous, but are not well-known beyond this. I decided to look up important figures in the history of deaf education in America and, lo and behold, I found a great story I hadn't heard before.

A quick note in terminology: capital-d "Deaf" refers to the culture and community of deaf (lower-case-d refers to the physical hearing impairment) people around the world. They use sign language and have a rich heritage, history, and literature. They may not be united by blood or geography, but they are joined together by their shared languages and experiences. Many in the Deaf community do not feel that they are disabled and have protested that the use of cochlear implants are creating a slow genocide of the Deaf culture. They argue that there is nothing about them to "cure." Because of this, most Deaf people prefer the medical terms "deaf" or "hard of hearing" instead of "hearing impaired" or "disabled." The worst of the enmity against cochlear implants has died down since they were first given FDA approval in 1984, however it is still an important issue to many in the Deaf community. Click here for an article that talks more about the cochlear implant debate from the Deaf perspective.

My bias as a speech-language pathologist (and not a member of the Deaf community) is that cochlear implants are an amazing technology that can provide access to sound for tens of thousands every year. I still find this debate interesting and learned about it many times during my schooling, even writing a paper on it in an undergrad history class. Deaf people have accomplished amazing things over the centuries and continue to - this should be celebrated and taught. One mother of a child who uses cochlear implants wrote an excellent article in 2014 articulating her conflict of helping her child medically while still giving him access to his Deaf community.

Back to our story today. The pioneer of Deaf education in America was Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. He, Laurent Clerc, and Dr. Mason Cogswell founded the first permanent institution for the education of the deaf in North America in 1817: "Connecticut Asylum (at Hartford) for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons" (now known as the American School for the Deaf). Gallaudet's inspiration for this school is credited to his neighbor, Alice Cogswell. She is our focus for this post.

Engraving of Alice from 1889