Who was Charles-Michel de l-Epee, whose birthday Google is celebrating?

Charles-Michel de l’Epee, a Frenchman, was known as many things. He was an educator, a philanthropist, and was known as the “Father of the Deaf”. French National Assembly even endowed him with the title of “Benefactor of Humanity”, for the works he did for the poor and deaf.

"It is not to the rich that I have devoted myself; it is to the poor only. Had it not been for these, I should have never attempted the education of deaf and dumb”, he used to say.

It is quite clear from the quote that he had devoted his life for the education of the deaf. He created a systematic system of teaching the hearing-impaired children, taking an inspiration from the educational system of the blind.

Michel is the founder of the first public school for the hearing impaired in France, and he also developed the first sign alphabet for the deaf. According to him, the deaf had to learn through the eye what other people learn through the ear.

Born on this day in Versailles, Epee was the son of a theologian. He decided to devote his life to the service of the poor, and met two deaf sisters in one of the slums of Paris. Seeing their plight made him realize the unfortunate and sorry condition of deaf in the society and he decided to work towards their education and welfare.

Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets à Paris, also known or the School of De l’Epee functioned at his own expense. It is due to him that the French National Assembly asserted the rights of deaf people under France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.