Deaf people are typically defined as those who have profound

hearing impairment Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken l ...

in both ears as a result of either acquired or

congenital hearing loss Congenital hearing loss is a hearing loss present at birth. It can include hereditary hearing loss or hearing loss due to other factors present either in-utero (prenatal) or at the time of birth. Genetic factors Genetic factors are thought to ...

. Such people may be associated with deaf culture. Deafness (little to no hearing) is distinguished from partial hearing loss or damage (such as

tinnitus Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no corresponding external sound is present. Nearly everyone experiences a faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely quiet room; but it is of concern only if it is bothersome, interferes with normal hearin ...

), which is less severe impairment in one or both sides. The definition of deafness varies across countries, cultures, and time, though the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

classes profound hearing loss as the failure to hear a sound of 90

decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...

s or louder in a

hearing test A hearing test provides an evaluation of the sensitivity of a person's sense of hearing (sense), hearing and is most often performed by an audiologist using an audiometer. An audiometer is used to determine a person's hearing sensitivity at diffe ...

. In addition to those with profound hearing loss, people without profound hearing loss may also identify as deaf, often where the person was raised within a deaf community and for whom

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...

is their

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

. Those who have mostly lived as a hearing person and acquire deafness briefly, due to a temporary illness or shortly before death, for example, are not typically classed as deaf people.

Deaf educators and organizers

Ferdinand Berthier Ferdinand Berthier (September 30, 1803 in Louhans, Saône-et-Loire, France - July 12, 1886 in Paris) was a deaf educator, intellectual and political organiser in nineteenth-century France, and is one of the earliest champions of deaf identity and c ...

, French intellectual, published several articles, first deaf person to receive the French Legion of Honour, founder of world's first deaf organization *

Julia Brace Julia Brace (June 13, 1807 – August 12, 1884) was a deafblind woman who enrolled at the American School for the Deaf, in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1825 and remained there as an employee after her graduation. Biography Julia Brace was born to a ...

(1807–1884), early American

deaf-blind Deafblindness is the condition of little or no useful hearing and little or no useful sight. Different degrees of vision loss and auditory loss occur within each individual. Because of this inherent diversity, each deafblind individual's needs re ...

student at the Hartford School for the Deaf *

Laura Bridgman Laura Dewey Lynn Bridgman (December 21, 1829 – May 24, 1889) was the first deaf-blind American child to gain a significant education in the English language, twenty years before the more famous Helen Keller; Laura's friend Anne Sullivan becam ...

, (1829–1889),

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, first deaf-blind student of Dr. Samuel Howe at the

Perkins School for the Blind Perkins School for the Blind, in Watertown, Massachusetts, was founded in 1829 and is the oldest school for the blind in the United States. It has also been known as the Perkins Institution for the Blind. Perkins manufactures its own Perkins Br ...

Teresa de Cartagena Teresa de Cartagena (Burgos, c.1425–?) was a Spanish writer, mystic and nun who is considered to be the first Spanish female writer and mystic. She became deaf between 1453 and 1459. Her experience of deafness influenced her two known works ''Ar ...

, Spanish conversa nun and mystic author of the 15th century who became deaf in later life. The first mystic author in Spanish. *

Laurent Clerc Louis Laurent Marie Clerc (; 26 December 1785 – 18 July 1869) was a French teacher called "The Apostle of the Deaf in America" and was regarded as the most renowned deaf person in American Deaf History. He was taught by Abbé Sicard and dea ...

(1785–1869), student and teacher (1798–1816) at the Paris deaf school of the

Abbé de l'Épée ''Abbé'' (from Latin ''abbas'', in turn from Greek , ''abbas'', from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is the title for lowe ...

; accompanied

Thomas Gallaudet Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (December 10, 1787 – September 10, 1851) was an American educator. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first permanent institution for the education of the deaf in North America, and he becam ...

to America to teach deaf children. Co-founded the first deaf school in North America in 1817 in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. *

Alice Cogswell Alice Cogswell (August 31, 1805 – December 30, 1830) was the inspiration to Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet for the creation of the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. Cogswell and Gallaudet At the age of two, Cogswell became il ...

, the first deaf student at American School for the Deaf *

Robert R. Davila Dr. Robert Davila (born July 19, 1932) served as the ninth president of Gallaudet University,Pr ...

, the ninth president of

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first sc ...

Pierre Desloges Born in 1747 in the Touraine region of France, Pierre Desloges moved to Paris as a young man, where he became a bookbinder and upholsterer. He was deafened at age seven from smallpox, but did not learn to sign until he was 27, when he was taught by ...

(1742–?), French deaf writer and bookbinder, first known deaf person to publish a book *

Gilbert Eastman Gilbert Eastman (September 12, 1934 – December 3, 2016) was an American educator, actor, playwright, author, and television host. He acted in American Sign Language (ASL) plays and wrote many of them. Eastman taught and performed at the Nationa ...

(1934–2016), American educator, actor, playwright, author, and television host *

Jane Fernandes Jane Fernandes (born ''Jane Frances Kelleher''; August 21, 1956, in Worcester, Massachusetts) is a Deaf American educator and social justice advocate. As of August 2021, Fernandes is the President of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. In ...

, the first Deaf woman to serve as president of an American college or university at

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of ...

(2014-2021) in Greensboro, NC and the first Deaf woman to head a school for the Deaf

Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind (HSDB) is a public school for deaf and blind children in Honolulu, Hawaii. Operated by the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE), it has grades K–12. All of the teachers are certified in American sign ...

(1990-1995) Currently president of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio * Andrew Foster, (1925–1987), American educator, the first Black deaf person to earn a bachelor's degree from

Gallaudet College Gallaudet University ( ) is a private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the Hearing loss, deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a gramma ...

, Christian missionary to Africa * T. Alan Hurwitz, the tenth president of

and former Vice President of

National Technical Institute for the Deaf The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) is the first and largest technological college in the world for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. As one of nine colleges within the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester ...

* Casar Jacobson, Norwegian-Canadian first-ever deaf winner of Miss Canada (2013), a

disability rights activist A disability-rights activist or disability-rights advocate is someone who works towards the equality of people with disabilities. Such a person is generally considered a member of the disability-rights movement and/or the independent-living mo ...

and the UN Woman Youth Champion. *

I. King Jordan Irving King Jordan (born June 16, 1943) is an American educator who became the first hearing loss, deaf president of Gallaudet University in 1988 after the ''Deaf President Now'' protest. Gallaudet is the world's only university with all program ...

, the first deaf president (eighth overall) of

Liisa Kauppinen Liisa Kauppinen née Salokorpi (born 12 May 1939, Nurmo, Finland) is a Finnish human rights activist who lost her hearing as a child. After serving as executive director of the Finnish Association of the Deaf, in 1995 she became the first woman to b ...

(born 1939), Finnish human rights activist, former president of the

World Federation of the Deaf The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) is an international non-governmental organization that acts as a peak body for national associations of Deaf people, with a focus on Deaf people who use sign language and their family and friends. WFD aims ...

* Helen Keller, American deaf-blind writer, lecturer, and actress *

Dorothy Miles Dorothy "Dot" Miles (19 August 1931 – 30 January 1993, née Squire) was a Welsh poet and activist in the deaf community. Throughout her life, she composed her poems in English, British Sign Language, and American Sign Language. Her work laid ...

, deaf poet and activist * Lawrence R. Newman, deaf educator and activist, and served two terms as President of the National Association of the Deaf * Michael Ndurumo, a deaf educator from

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, the third deaf person from Africa to obtain a PhD *

Marie Jean Philip Marie Jean Philip (April 20, 1953 – September 24, 1997) was a leader in both the American and international Deaf community. She advocated for the right to a natural sign language for Deaf people. Marie was one of the original researchers studyin ...

, a teacher and leading international advocate for the right to sign language *

George Veditz George William Veditz (August 13, 1861 – March 12, 1937) was a former president of National Association of the Deaf of the United States and one of the first people to film American Sign Language. Life Early life Veditz was born to Ger ...

, the former president of the National Association of the Deaf, and one of the first people to film sign language

Actors

Sean Berdy Sean Lance Berdy (born June 3, 1993) is an American actor, filmmaker and entrepreneur. He began his career as a child in the film sequel ''The Sandlot 2'' and starred in '' Switched at Birth'' for five seasons. Berdy starred in Netflix's '' The ...

, actor and comedian *

Linda Bove Linda Bove Waterstreet (born November 30, 1945) is an American actress who performed as (a fictionalized version of) herself in the PBS children's series ''Sesame Street'' from 1971 to 2002. Bove was the first deaf actress to be part of the prog ...

, actress, known particularly for the role of Linda the Librarian on the children's television program

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

, American actor, producer, and singer, 70% deaf in his left ear *

Shelley Beattie Shelley Ann Beattie (August 24, 1967 – February 16, 2008) was a professional female bodybuilding, female bodybuilder and actress. Beattie's highest placement was the top three at the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia contests, the two most pres ...

, American actress and bodybuilder *

Deanne Bray Deanne Bray (born May 14, 1971) is an American actress. Bray was born deaf and is bilingual in American Sign Language and English. Early Life and Education Bray was born in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California and has spent most of her life in ...

, actress who played the lead role on '' Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye'' *

Millie Bobby Brown Millie Bobby Brown (born 19 February 2004) is a British actress and producer. She gained recognition for playing Eleven in the Netflix science fiction series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present), for which she received nominations for two Prime ...

, an actress from

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

, totally deaf in her right ear *

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

, actor, comedian, and talk show host, totally deaf in his right ear. *

Aryana Engineer Aryana Engineer (born March 6, 2001) is a Canadian actress who made her debut in the 2009 horror film ''Orphan'', as a little girl named Max, alongside Vera Farmiga. In 2012 she starred, alongside Milla Jovovich, as Becky in '' Resident Evil: R ...

, actress *

Lauren Ridloff Lauren Ridloff (; born April 6, 1978) is a deaf American actress known for her roles as Connie in the TV series '' The Walking Dead'' and Makkari in the film '' Eternals''. Her breakthrough role was in 2018 with her lead performance in the Broa ...

, an American actress, played the role of

Connie Connie is a given name. It is often a pet form (hypocorism) of Concetta, Constance, Cornelia, or Cornelius. Given name or nickname Women * Connie Achurra, Chilean chef * Connie Binsfeld (1924–2014), American politician * Connie Booth ...

(a deaf character) in the ninth season of The Walking Dead. In Eternals, released in 2021, she played the deaf superhero Makkari. *

Lou Ferrigno Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. (; born November 9, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles; and appeared in the documentar ...

, American actor and bodybuilder *

Phyllis Frelich Phyllis Annetta Frelich (February 29, 1944 – April 10, 2014) was a Tony Award-winning deaf American actress. She was the first deaf actor or actress to win a Tony Award. Early life Frelich was born to deaf parents Esther (née Dockter) and Ph ...

, American actress, Best Actress in a Broadway play: Children of a Lesser God 1980 *

Russell Harvard Russell Wayne Harvard (born April 16, 1981) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in Paul Thomas Anderson's ''There Will Be Blood'' (2007), playing opposite Daniel Day-Lewis as his adopted son, H.W. Plainview. In the 2010 biopic '' ...

, actor whose first language is American Sign Language *

Bob Hiltermann Bob Hiltermann is a German-born deaf actor and drummer for Beethoven's Nightmare. He appeared in the film '' Children of a Lesser God'' and portrays Walter Novak on the television drama ''All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened ...

, actor, writer, director, and musician *

Emilio Insolera Emilio Insolera (born 29 January 1979) is an actor and producer, known for '' Sign Gene: The First Deaf Superheroes'' (2017).Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine In 2022, Insolera had a role in Simon Kinberg's ''The 355''. Early life an ...

, Italian actor and director of

Sign Gene A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...

Troy Kotsur Troy Michael Kotsur (; born July 24, 1968) is an American actor in theater, film, and television. His supporting role in the film ''CODA'' (2021) earned him a number of accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Scr ...

( Best Supporting Actor) for his role in "

CODA Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

" *

Ryan Lane Ryan Thomas Lane (born November 23, 1987) is an American actor. Beginning his professional career at the age of nineteen, Lane is best known for his portrayal of Cincinnati Reds center-fielder Dummy Hoy, William Ellsworth Hoy in the DOC: The Do ...

, actor and model *

Gabriella Leon Gabriella Leon (born 29 March 1996) is an English actress, known for her role as Jade Lovall in the BBC One, BBC medical drama series ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty''. Leon is deaf and portrayed the first regular deaf character on ''Casualty'' ...

, English actress *

Marlee Matlin Marlee Beth Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is an American actress, author, and activist. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a ...

, first deaf person to win an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

(

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...

) for her role in '' Children of a Lesser God'' *

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 192628 November 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. Nielsen was bo ...

, Canadian-American comedic actor who was legally deaf * Terrylene Sacchetti, actress *

Howie Seago Howie Seago (born December 15, 1953) is an American actor and director. Early life, family and education Seago, who is deaf, was born in Tacoma, Washington. His father was hard of hearing, and that side of the family had a history of hearing loss ...

, actor and director * Millicent Simmonds, deaf actress *

Shoshannah Stern Shoshannah Stern (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress and writer. Life and career She was born in Walnut Creek, California, into an observant Jewish and fourth-generation Deaf family, the daughter of Ron Stern and Hedy Marilyn Stern (née U ...

, actress in ''

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

'' and '' Weeds'' whose first language is American Sign Language *

Alexandria Wailes Alexandria Jane Krystel Wailes (born December 26, 1975) is an American deaf actress, dancer, director, and educator. She utilizes the languages of English and American Sign Language and is known for her work with Deaf West Theatre. She is both an ...

, deaf actress, dancer, and educator

Artists

* Chuck Baird, (1947–2012), American

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and performer, one of the founding members of the De'Via Deaf art movement * Bernard Bragg, performer, writer, director, poet, and artist *

John Brewster Jr John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. (1766–1854) portraitist and miniaturist in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine in the Federalist period in America * Thomas Davidson, RA an English painter specializing in historical naval scenes (1842–1919) *

Walter Geikie Walter Geikie RSA (10 November 17951 August 1837) was a Scottish painter. Life He was born in Edinburgh on 10 November 1795. At the age of two, he had a "nervous fever" which left him deaf. Through the careful attention of his father he obt ...

, Scottish painter *

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...

(1746-1828) Spanish painter, became deaf at age 47. *

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

(b. 1937), British painter * Regina Olson Hughes, American Illustrator *

Jan Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

(born 1939) Spanish comic artist. Deaf since age 6. *

Betty G. Miller Betty Gloria Miller (July 27, 1934 – December 3, 2012), also known as Bettigee (which was her signature on her artworks) was an American artist who became known as the "Mother of De'VIA" (Deaf View/Image Art). Family and early life She was bo ...

, American artist * Maurycy Minkowski, deaf Polish Jewish artist (1881/2–1930) *

Juan Fernández Navarrete Juan Fernández Navarrete (1526 – 28 March 1579), or "de Navarrete", called ''El Mudo'' (The Mute), was a Spanish Mannerist painter, born at Logroño. Biography An illness in infancy deprived Navarrete of his hearing, which affected his ...

, Spanish Mannerist painter (1526–79) *

Albert Newsam Albert Newsam (May 20, 1809 – November 20, 1864) was an American artist. Born deaf and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he created paintings and drawings, including portraits. Early life Albert Newsam was born in Steubenville, Ohio Unit ...

(1809–1864) lithographer, and student of Catlin * Will J. Quinlan, American artist, etcher, painter *

Slava Raškaj Slava Raškaj (; 2 January 1877 – 29 March 1906) was a Croatian painter, considered to be the greatest Croatian watercolorist of the late 19th and early 20th century. Deaf since birth, Raškaj was schooled in Vienna and Zagreb, where her mentor ...

(1877–1906), Croatian painter *

Granville Redmond Granville Richard Seymour Redmond (March 9, 1871 – May 24, 1935) was an American landscape painter and exponent of Tonalism and California Impressionism. He was also an occasional actor for his friend Charlie Chaplin. Early years Re ...

, American painter, actor * Alfred Thomson, an English artist and Olympic Gold Medalist (1894–1979) *

Douglas Tilden Douglas Tilden (May 1, 1860 to August 5, 1935) was an American sculptor. He was deaf from a bout of scarlet fever at the age of four and attended the California School for the Deaf in Berkeley, California (now in Fremont, California). He ...

, American sculptor * Frederick LaMonto, American sculptor, artist. (1921-1981)

Musicians

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, German composer and pianist, who acquired almost complete deafness by age 44. *

Mabel Hubbard Bell Mabel Gardiner Hubbard (November 25, 1857 – January 3, 1923) was an American businesswoman, and the daughter of Boston lawyer Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Gardiner Green Hubbard. As the wife of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the first practica ...

, wife of telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell *

William Boyce William Boyce may refer to: *William Boyce (composer) (1711–1779), English-born composer and Master of the King's Musick * William Binnington Boyce (1804–1889), English-born philologist and clergyman, active in Australia *William Waters Boyce ( ...

, a British composer who acquired deafness in his late 40s *

Sean Forbes Sean Forbes (born February 5, 1982) is a deaf American hip-hop artist."S ...

, American musician, songwriter, and rapper *

TL Forsberg TL Forsberg (born 8 September in Nova Scotia, Canada) is a Canadian hard of hearing singer, songwriter and actress who proudly embraces the word "deaf" She is a graduate of George Brown Theatre School, Forsberg performed as the singer/front ...

, American avant-garde rock singer who identifies as deaf *

Evelyn Glennie Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish people, Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015. Early life Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Sco ...

, Scottish percussionist, won Grammy for Best Musician in a Recording 1989: Bartok's

Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion The Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, Sz. 110, BB 115, is a musical piece written by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók in 1937. The sonata was premiered by Bartók and his second wife, Ditta Pásztory-Bartók, with the percussionists Fritz Schi ...

* Mandy Harvey, American jazz singer and a finalist of America's Got Talent (season 12) *

Geraldine Lawhorn Geraldine Jerrie Lawhorn (December 31, 1916 – July 3, 2016) was a figure of the American Deafblindness, deafblind community, a performer, actress, pianist, then instructor at the Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired. At 67 year ...

, musician, actress, instructor and first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

person to earn a

college degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including unde ...

Signmark Marko Vilhelm Vuoriheimo (born 26 June 1978 in Helsinki), professionally known as Signmark, is a deaf Finnish rap artist. He describes his music as being party hip hop that takes a stand. Born into a signing family, Vuoriheimo feels that societ ...

, Finnish rap artist *

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...

, Czech composer who became completely deaf at age 50 * Mariko Takamura, deaf Japanese musician

Scientists

Guillaume Amontons Guillaume Amontons (31 August 1663 – 11 October 1705) was a French scientific instrument inventor and physicist. He was one of the pioneers in studying the problem of friction, which is the resistance to motion when bodies make contact. He is ...

, French inventor and physicist *

Annie Jump Cannon Annie Jump Cannon (; December 11, 1863 – April 13, 1941) was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C. Pickering, she is credited with the creation of ...

, Harvard astronomer recognized for her work in stellar classification *

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

, American businessperson and inventor *

John Goodricke John Goodricke FRS (17 September 1764 – 20 April 1786) was an English amateur astronomer. He is best known for his observations of the variable star Algol (Beta Persei) in 1782. Life and work John Goodricke, named after his great-grandfath ...

, (1764–1786), English astronomer * Nansie S. Sharpless, American biochemist *

Henrietta Swan Leavitt Henrietta Swan Leavitt (; July 4, 1868 – December 12, 1921) was an American astronomer. A graduate of Radcliffe College, she worked at the Harvard College Observatory as a "computer", tasked with examining photographic plates in order to measu ...

, American astronomer *

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (russian: Константи́н Эдуа́рдович Циолко́вский , , p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ɪdʊˈardəvʲɪtɕ tsɨɐlˈkofskʲɪj , a=Ru-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.oga; – 19 September 1935) ...

, Russian astronomer

Sports

* Cecilia Hanhikoski, Finnish snowboarder and futsal player *

Ashley Fiolek Ashley Fiolek (born October 22, 1990) is an American former professional motocross racer and current stunt actor. She competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 2008 to 2012. Fiolek, who is culturally deaf and who communicates via America ...

, American motocross racer and stunt actress *

Yehuda Gruenfeld Yehuda Gruenfeld ( he, יהודה גרינפלד; born 28 February 1956) is an Israeli chess player, who holds the title of grandmaster. Career He was born in Dzierżoniów, Poland. In 1974, Gruenfeld won the Israeli championship for youth play ...

, Israeli chess grandmaster * Gerry Hughes, British sports sailor * Jim Kyte, Canadian hockey player * Rebecca Macree, British squash player * Robert Marchand, American masters cyclist *

Caleb McDuff Caleb McDuff is a British go-kart racer. McDuff is profoundly deaf and uses cochlear implants to hear, but can not be use them while racing in a crash helmet. McDuff currently races in the Super 1 National Kart Championships, driving for AllS ...

, British go-kart racer *

Mike Murphy Michael James Murphy (born 20 October 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, actor and property developer. He is best known for his long broadcasting career with RTÉ, presenting many TV shows such as ''The Live Mike'', '' Winning Streak'' and '' The Bi ...

, American athletic trainer *

Kitty O'Neil Kitty Linn O'Neil (March 24, 1946 – November 2, 2018) was an American stuntwoman and racer, known as "the fastest woman in the world". An illness in early childhood left her deaf, and more illnesses in early adulthood cut short a career in dr ...

, American race driver and stunt actress *

Aimee Walker Pond Aimee Patricia Walker Pond (born March 10, 1983) is an American gymnast. A graduate of Brigham Young University, Pond has been involved in gymnastics since the age of eight. She is completely deaf and is blind in her right eye, making her one ...

, American gymnast *

Marie Roethlisberger Marie Roethlisberger (born May 12, 1966), is a former gymnast who was a 1984 United States Olympic gymnastics alternate. She is almost completely deaf. She is the daughter of United States 1968 Olympic Gymnast Fred Roethlisberger and the siste ...

, American gymnast *

Lana Skeledžija Lana Skeledžija (born 5 April 1982) is a Croatian female sport shooter. She competed at the 2013 Summer Deaflympics and in the 2017 Summer Deaflympics representing Croatia. She claimed her first Deaflympic medal which was a silver medal in th ...

, Croatian sport shooter *

Melanie Stabel Melanie Stabel (born 30 September 1999) is a German deaf sport shooter. She represented Germany at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics and claimed 3 medals including a gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle with a record score of 412.6 in the finals. ...

, German sport shooter *

Joe Swail Joe Swail (born 29 August 1969) is a Northern Irish former professional snooker player from Belfast. He retired in May 2019 after being relegated from the tour. He has reached ten major ranking semi-finals, including the 2000 and 2001 World Cha ...

, Northern Irish snooker player * Laurentia Tan, Singaporean Paralympic equestrian * Tone Tangen Myrvoll, Norwegian runner, skier, and orienteer *

Margareta Trnková-Hanne Margareta Trnková-Hanne also known as Margareta Hanne (born 17 November 1976) is a former Czech deaf female track and field athlete and tennis player. She has represented Czech Republic at the Deaflympics in tennis and athletics sporting events ...

, Czech sprinter and tennis player *

Ildikó Újlaky-Rejtő Ildikó is a Hungarian feminine given name of Germanic origin; its original Germanic version is Ilda or Hilda. Its meaning is "battle" or "warrior" in ancient Germanic languages. Its medieval Latin version was Ildico, which the Hungarians adopt ...

, Hungarian fencer and Olympic champion *

Boris Verlinsky Boris Markovich Verlinsky (8 January 1888 – 30 October 1950) was a Soviet chess player, who was awarded the title International Master by FIDE, the world chess federation, in 1950. He was one of the top Soviet players in the 1920s, and was Sovi ...

, Ukrainian-Russian chess master *

Melinda Vernon Melinda Louise Vernon (born 27 September 1985) is an Australian female deaf track and field athlete, triathlon, triathlete as well as a swimming (sport), swimmer. She competed at the 2009 Summer Deaflympics and in the 2013 Summer Deaflympics re ...

, Australian distance runner, triathlete and swimmer * Heidi Zimmer, American mountaineer

American football

Albert Berg Albert Berg (April 16, 1864 – March 5, 1945) was an American football player, coach, teacher, and an advocate, writer and editor on issues of concern to the deaf. Berg was rendered deaf as the result of a childhood bout of spinal meningitis. ...

, American footballer player, coach, and writer *

Derrick Coleman Derrick Demetrius Coleman (born June 21, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Coleman was born in Mobile, Alabama, but grew up and attended high school in Detroit, Michigan, Detroit, and attended college at Syracuse Univer ...

, American fullback and Super Bowl champion * Gilbert O. Erickson, American college footballer player and photographer *

Bonnie Sloan Bonnie Ryan Sloan (born June 1, 1948) is an American former National Football League (NFL) player who was the first of three deaf football players in NFL history. Sloan played four games at defensive tackle for the St. Louis Cardinals in the ...

, American defensive tackle and first deaf person drafted to the National Football League * Kenny Walker, American gridiron player and first deaf player in the Canadian Football League *

Blaise Winter Blaise Winter (born January 31, 1962) is a motivational speaker as well as a former American football player and coach. Winter played defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers and Green Bay Packers in the National Football Le ...

, American coach and former defensive end in the NFL

Association football

* Eunate Arraiza, Spanish defender/midfielder *

Cliff Bastin Clifford Sydney Bastin (14 March 1912 – 4 December 1991) was an English footballer who played as a winger for Exeter City and Arsenal. He also played for the England national team. Bastin is Arsenal's third-highest goalscorer of all time. C ...

, English forward for Arsenal * Jozo Bogdanović, Croatian forward * Stan Burton, English winger *

Memnos Costi Memnos Costi (born 14 August 1976) is a deaf English television presenter and football player. He is a presenter on the deaf magazine programme ''See Hear''. Biography Personal life Costi was born in England to Greek Cypriot parents, and grew u ...

, English footballer and television presenter *

Damir Desnica Damir Desnica (born 20 December 1956) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a forward. Club career Born in Obrovac, Croatia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Desnica spent much of his career with HNK Rijeka, appearing in near ...

, Croatian forward * Matthew Eby, American defender/midfielder * Thomas Elliott, British forward * Albert Gardner, English midfielder * Danielle Gibbons, English goalkeeper * Andy Greig, Scottish goalkeeper * Stefan Markolf, German defender * Athiel Mbaha, Namibian goalkeeper and international at the Africa Cup of Nations * Simon Ollert, German forward * John Tosswill, English forward

Athletics

* Nele Alder-Baerens, German distance runner *

Natasha Bacchus Natasha "Courage" Bacchus (born 1977) is a Canadian female Deaf track and field athlete. She has represented Canada at the Deaflympics in 1993, 1997, and in 2001. Bacchus was born in Toronto on 10 December 1977, to a Guyanese mother. She also h ...

, Canadian sprinter * Dean Barton-Smith, Australian decathlete *

Edie Boyer Edie Boyer (born February 21, 1966) is a retired female discus thrower from the United States. She set her personal best (62.92 metres) in the women's discus throw event on May 16, 1998, at a meet in Minnesota. The result is world record for deaf ...

, American discus thrower * Suslaidy Girat, Cuban sprinter and jumper * Emilija Manninen, Estonian hurdler * Marie-Paule Miller, French heptathlete * Amy-Lea Mills, Australian javelin thrower * Dawn Moncrieffe, Canadian middle-distance runner * Trude Raad, Norwegian thrower * Ruth Taubert Seeger, American sprinter and jumper *

Evgenii Shvetcov Evgeny Shvetsov (''born 28 February 1988'') is a Paralympian track and field athlete from Russia competing mainly in category T36 sprint and middle-distance events. A triple gold medal winner at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Shvetcov set three ...

, Russian Paralympic runner * Vyacheslav Skomorokhov, Ukrainian-Soviet hurdler * Gerhard Sperling, East German racewalker * Beryl Wamira, Kenyan sprinter * Rita Windbrake, German runner

Baseball

Michael Cuddyer Michael Brent Cuddyer (; born March 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, and New York Mets. He batted and threw right-han ...

, American outfielder in MLB during 2001–2015; two-time MLB All-Star * Dummy Deegan, American pitcher for the New York Giants in 1901 *

Ed Dundon Edward Joseph "Dummy" Dundon (July 10, 1859 – August 18, 1893) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Columbus Buckeyes (AA), Columbus Buckeyes for two seasons and was the first deaf player in Major League Baseball hist ...

, American pitcher and first deaf player in MLB, in 1883–1884 *

Tyson Gillies Tyson Gillies (born October 31, 1988) is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder. He was the Seattle Mariners' 25th round selection in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. He graduated from R. E. Mountain Secondary School in Langley ...

, Canadian outfielder and Pan American Games gold medalist *

Dummy Hoy William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy (May 23, 1862 – December 15, 1961) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for several teams from 1888 to 1902, most notably the Cincinnati Reds and two Washington, D.C. franc ...

, American center fielder and most accomplished deaf player in MLB, during 1888–1902 * Yuya Ishii, Japanese pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball *

Dummy Leitner George Michael "Dummy" Leitner (June 19, 1871 – February 20, 1960) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for two seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics (1901), New York Giants (1901), Clevelan ...

, American pitcher in MLB during 1901–1902 * Thomas Lynch, American pitcher for the Chicago White Stockings (NL) in 1884 *

Curtis Pride Curtis John Pride (born December 17, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who is deaf. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. In 2015, Pride was named MLB's Ambassador For Inclusion. Since 2009 Pride has served as the head ba ...

, American outfielder in MLB during 1993–2006; college baseball coach *

Dick Sipek Richard Francis Sipek (January 16, 1923 – July 17, 2005) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder, and the only deaf person to play in the majors between Herbert Murphy in and Curtis Pride in . He played in 82 games for the Cincinnati ...

, American outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds in 1945 *

Dummy Stephenson Reuben Crandol "Dummy" Stephenson (September 22, 1869 – December 1, 1924) was an American professional baseball first baseman and centerfielder of the late 19th century. He played in eight games as an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of ...

, American outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1892 *

Dummy Taylor Luther Haden "Dummy" Taylor (February 21, 1875 – August 22, 1958) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1900 to 1908 who was deaf. He played for the New York Giants and Cleveland Bronchos and was one of the key ...

, American pitcher in MLB during 1901–1908

Basketball

Lance Allred A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike sim ...

, American forward and first legally-deaf NBA player *

Buffalo Silents The Buffalo Silents of Buffalo, New York were a 1920s exhibition basketball team whose members were deaf and/or mute. The team barnstormed across Pennsylvania, New York (state), New York and Ohio, playing teams such as Jim Thorpe and His World-Fam ...

, a 1920s American all-deaf team *

Tamika Catchings Tamika Devonne Catchings (born July 21, 1979) is an American retired professional basketball player who played her entire 15-year career for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Catchings has won a WNBA champio ...

, American small forward, 2012 WNBA champion and four-time Olympic gold medallist * Wissam Constantin, Lebanese forward and first deaf player in the Lebanese Basketball League * Cecilia Ferm, Swedish international player *

Emma Meesseman Emma Meesseman (born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the EuroLeague Women and the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). After playing basketball in Belgium, Meesseman was ...

, Belgian player in the WNBA *

Ronda Jo Miller Ronda Jo Miller (born 21 April 1978) is a retired American professional deaf female basketball and volleyball player. She is one of the few deaf women basketball players to have tried out for WNBA. Miller is the first deaf woman to make an attem ...

, American player and first deaf woman to try out for the WNBA *

Miha Zupan Miha Zupan (born September 13, 1982) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player. He played among hearing players at the highest level in Europe, despite being hearing impairment, deaf since birth. He is a 2.05 m (6 ft in) power fo ...

, Slovenian power forward

Cricket

* Anjan Bhattacharjee, Indian first-class bowler for Bihar *

Lance Cairns Bernard Lance Cairns (born 10 October 1949) is a former all-rounder who played for the New Zealand cricket team, and is the father of New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns. He was also known for the unusual bat he played with throughout much of h ...

, New Zealand all-rounder and international test player *

John Hodgkins John Hodgkins (died 1560) was an English suffragan bishop. Biography Educated at Cambridge, Hodgkins was appointed Bishop of Bedford under the provisions of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 in 1537 and held the post until 1560 (although he was d ...

, English first-class all-rounder for Nottinghamshire *

Charlie McLeod Charles Edward McLeod (24 October 1869 – 26 November 1918) was an Australian cricketer who played in 17 Test matches between 1894 and 1905. McLeod was a patient batsman and accurate bowler who represented Victoria in first-class cricket from ...

, Australian all-rounder and international test player * Imran Sheikh, former captain of the deaf Indian national team * Baba Sidhaye, Indian first-class all-rounder and first national-level deaf-mute player *

Umesh Valjee Umesh Damdor Valjee, (born 30 September 1969 in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal) is a South African-born English deaf cricketer. He is a BSL user. He is a right-handed batsman and very occasional right-arm medium pacer. Valjee came into professional cr ...

, former captain of the deaf English national team

Swimming

* Cindy-Lu Bailey, Australian swimmer and 29-time Deaflympic medalist *

Peggy de Villiers Peggy de Villiers (born 22 September 1993) is a South African deaf swimmer. She represented South Africa at the Deaflympics in 2009 and 2013. She made her Deaflympic debut at the 2009 Summer Deaflympics and claimed 4 medals including a gold me ...

, South African swimmer and Deaflympian * Natalia Deeva, Belarusian swimmer and four-time Deaflympic champion *

Gertrude Ederle Gertrude Caroline Ederle (October 23, 1906 – November 30, 2003) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder in five events. On August 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. ...

, American Olympic medalist and the first woman to swim the English channel *

Jeff Float Jeffrey James Float is a former American competitive swimmer, world record holder, world champion and Olympic gold medalist. He qualified for the 1980 USA Olympic Swimming Team in three individual events, but could not participate when the United ...

, American swimmer and Olympic and world champion * Reed Gershwind, American swimmer and 30-time Deaflympic medalist * Danielle Joyce, British swimmer and two-time Deaflympic champion * Matthew Klotz, American swimmer and deaf world record holder * Cornell Loubser, South African swimmer and Deaflympic medalist * Jill Diana Lovett, British swimmer and Deaflympian * Rebecca Meyers, American swimmer and visually-impaired Paralympic champion * Linda Neumann, German swimmer and Deaflympic medalist *

Terence Parkin Terence Mike Parkin (born 12 April 1980 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) is a swimmer from South Africa, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the 200m Breaststroke. Parkin, who is deaf, also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics, as wel ...

, South African swimmer and Olympic and world medalist * Alexandra Polivanchuk, Swedish swimmer and deaf world record holder * Anna Polivanchuk, Swedish swimmer and deaf world record holder, sister of Alexandra * Taranath Narayan Shenoy, Indian deaf-blind open water swimmer and swimmer of the English channel

Tennis

* Vidisha Baliyan, Indian tennis player and beauty pageant contestant * Emily Hangstefer, American tennis player and Deaflympian * Jafreen Shaik, Indian tennis player and Deaflympian * Mario Kargl, Austrian tennis player and former deaf world champion *

Lee Duck-hee Lee Duck-hee (이덕희; born 29 May 1998) is a South Korean professional tennis player. He has won 10 titles on the ITF Junior Circuit as a teenager, including Grade 2 tournaments in Nanjing and Sarawak. Personal life Lee was born deaf. ...

, South Korean tennis player and twice competitor on the ATP Challenger Tour * Gábor Máthé, Hungarian champion and Deaflympic champion *

Angela Mortimer Florence Angela Margaret Mortimer Barrett, MBE (née Mortimer; born 21 April 1932) is a British former world No. 1 tennis player. Mortimer won three Grand Slam singles titles: the 1955 French Championships, the 1958 Australian Championships, ...

, British tennis player and multiple Grand Slam winner * Barbara Oddone, Italian tennis player and multiple Deaflympic champion * Prithvi Sekhar, Indian tennis player and Deaflympian

Winter sports

* Jenny Berrigan, American snowboarder * Brenda Davidson, Canadian curler *

Emma Logan Emma Logan (born August 11, 1997) is a Canadian curler from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She currently plays lead on Team Jessica Daigle. She is the niece of five time Scotties champion Mary-Anne Arsenault. She is also deaf. Career Logan skipped the ...

, Canadian curler * Jakub Nosek, Czech bobsledder * Margarita Noskova, Russian snowboarder * Anna Surmilina, Russian snowboarder *

Jack Ulrich John Daniel "Jack, Silent" Ulrich (March 18, 1890 – October 23, 1927) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. Ulrich, who was deaf-mute,

, Canadian ice hockey player * Lauren Weibert, American snowboarder

Writers

* Kathleen L. Brockway, author, historian, and deaf rights' activist * John Lee Clark, American deafblind poet *

Willy Conley Willy Conley (born August 5, 1958, in Baltimore, Maryland, USA) is an American deaf photographer, playwright, actor and writer. Education In 1981, Conley received a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Photographic Communications at the Rochester I ...

, playwright, actor, photographer * Eugen Relgis, Romanian humanist writer and political activist *

Michael Chorost Michael Chorost (born December 26, 1964) is an American book author, essayist, and public speaker. Born with severe loss of hearing due to rubella, his hearing was partially restored with a cochlear implant in 2001 and he had his other ear impla ...

, writer and technologist who wrote on his experience of cochlear implants *

Harold MacGrath Harold MacGrath (September 4, 1871 – October 30, 1932) was a bestselling and prolific American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. He sometimes completed more than one novel per year for the mass market, covering romance, spies, my ...

, American author *

Pierre de Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a "prince of poets". Early life Pierre de Ronsard was born at the Manoir de la Possonnière, in the village of C ...

, French poet * Laura C. Redden Searing,(1893–1923), Civil war journalist, biographer, and poet * Louise Stern, writer and artist * Ted Supalla, researcher and professor *

Clayton Valli Clayton Valli (May 25, 1951 – March 7, 2003) was an American prominent deaf linguist and American Sign Language (ASL) poet whose work helped further to legitimize ASL and introduce people to the richness of American Sign Language literatur ...

, deaf linguist and ASL poet

Other occupations

* Dimitra Arapoglou, a deaf member of the Greek parliament, from 2007 to 2009 * Alice of Battenberg, a German Princess in the 19th and 20th century * Marla Berkowitz, ASL interpreter; as of 2020, the only Deaf ASL interpreter in the US state of Ohio *

Earnest Elmo Calkins Earnest Elmo Calkins (March 15, 1868 – October 4, 1964) was a deaf American advertising executive who pioneered the use of art in advertising, of fictional characters, the soft sell, and the idea of " consumer engineering". He co-founded the i ...

, a deaf American advertising executive who pioneered the use of art in advertising *

Nyle DiMarco Nyle DiMarco (born May 8, 1989) is an American model, actor, and deaf activist. In 2015, DiMarco was the winner of The CW's reality television series ''America's Next Top Model'' in season 22, becoming the second male winner and the first deaf wi ...

, season 22 Dancing with the Stars champion and 2015 winner of ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

'' *

Claudia L. Gordon Claudia L. Gordon is the first Hearing loss, deaf African American, Black female attorney in the United States and the first deaf graduate of American University's law school. She currently works as a Senior Accessibility Strategy Partner at T-Mo ...

, lawyer * Helen Heckman, dancer *

Henrietta Howard Henrietta Howard (born Henrietta Hobart; 168926 July 1767) was a mistress of King George II of Great Britain and the sister of John Hobart, 1st Earl of Buckinghamshire. Biography Henrietta was one of three daughters of Sir Henry Hobart, 4th B ...

, Countess of Suffolk *

Juliette Gordon Low Juliette Gordon Low (October 31, 1860 – January 17, 1927) was the American founder of Girl Scouts of the USA. Inspired by the work of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of Boy Scouts, she joined the Girl Guide movement in England, forming her own gro ...

, founder of the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...

who became completely deaf age 17.Kehe, Marjorie (2012-03-12)
That 'Crazy Daisy' who started the Girl Scouts
''Christian Science Monitor''. Retrieved 2020-07-10. *

Mojo Mathers Mojo Celeste Mathers (née Minrod, born 23 November 1966) is a New Zealand politician and a former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Green Party. She became known through her involvement with the Malvern Hills Protection Society and helped pr ...

(b. 1966), New Zealand politician *

Florence Lewis May Florence Lewis May (December 9, 1899 - September 6, 1988) was an American art historian and curator. May was the Curator of Textiles Emeritus at the Hispanic Society of America for the entire length of her career. Career Born in Fairfield to Edw ...

, American textile curator *

Roger Demosthenes O'Kelly Roger Demosthenes O'Kelly (October 25, 1880 – July 11, 1962) was a deaf, mute, partially-blind African-American lawyer. " 'Kellyclaimed the distinction of being the only Negro deaf lawyer in the United States and the second deaf person to gra ...

(b. 1880), deaf-blind black lawyer, Yale alumnus * Dame

Kathleen Ollerenshaw Dame Kathleen Mary Ollerenshaw, (''née'' Timpson; 1 October 1912 – 10 August 2014) was a British mathematician and politician who was Lord Mayor of Manchester from 1975 to 1976 and an advisor on educational matters to Margaret Thatcher's go ...

(b. 1912), British mathematician and politician *

François d'Orléans, Prince of Joinville François d'Orléans, Prince de Joinville (14 August 1818 – 16 June 1900) was the third son of Louis Philippe, King of the French, and his wife Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily. An admiral of the French Navy, François was famous for bri ...

, French prince and naval commander * Opu Daeng Risaju, Indonesian independence activist. * Andrew Phillips, lawyer *

Rikki Poynter Rikki Poynter (born July 16, 1991) is a deaf YouTuber and activist. She began as a beauty vlogger and is now a lifestyle vlogger with a focus on Deaf awareness, accessibility, and the importance of closed captioning. Background Poynter was firs ...

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influent ...

and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. * Punk Chef, celebrity deaf chef from the UK *

Elizabeth Steel Elizabeth Steel ( – 1795), also known as Betty Steel, was an English convict sent to Australia aboard a ship of the Second Fleet (Australia), Second Fleet. Convicted in 1787 for the theft of a silver watch worth thirty shillings, she was sente ...

, the earliest record of a deaf person in Australia * Sue Thomas, first deaf person to work as an undercover investigator doing lip-reading of suspects for the Federal Bureau of Investigation *

, Russian rocket scientist and pioneer of space exploration studies *

Heather Whitestone Heather Leigh Whitestone McCallum (born February 24, 1973) is a former beauty queen and conservative activist who was the first deaf Miss America title holder, having lost most of her hearing at 18 months. Early life Whitestone was born in Doth ...

, first deaf woman to win the title of

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

Nellie Zabel Willhite EloiseSouth Dakota Certificate of Birth #422572 or Eleanor "Nellie" Zabel Willhite (Born 22 November 1892 – 2 September 1991) was the first deaf woman to earn a pilot's license, as well as South Dakota's first female pilot.David Wright David Allen Wright (born December 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the New York Mets. He was drafted by the Mets in 2001 MLB draft and made ...

, South African-born British poet *

Judith Wright Judith Arundell Wright (31 May 191525 June 2000) was an Australian poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award. Biography Judith Wright was born in Armidale, New Sou ...

, Australian poet

Fictional characters

, a deaf character that fights zombies in AMC's '' The Walking Dead'' series. *

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the list ...

, a deaf Native American martial artist. *

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

, a deaf detective written by

Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...

. *

Jade Lovall Jade Lovall is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', portrayed by actress Gabriella Leon. She first appears in the twelfth episode of the thirty-third series, first broadcast on 3 November 2018. Leon was cast in June 2018 ...

, a partially deaf nurse in the BBC medical drama ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' * Gabriella, a deaf mermaid and one of Ariel's friends in ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...

''. *

Hawkeye (Clint Barton) Hawkeye (Clinton Francis "Clint" Barton) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck, the character first appeared as a supervillain in ''Tales of Suspe ...

, a deaf archer from marvel comics