• 1971:  Preview of captioning at the First National Conference on Television for the Hearing Impaired in Nashville, Tennessee
• 1972:  During a test at Gallaudet University, ABC and the National Bureau of Standards debuted closed captions embedded within the normal broadcast of Mod Squad.
• 1972:  Open captioning began on PBS’s “The French Chef”
  • Open captioning appeared soon after on:
    • ABC World News Tonight
    • Zoom
    • Once Upon a Classic
  • These programs were captioned by the WGBH Caption Center
• 1976:  The FCC adopted rules that provide that line 21 of the vertical blanking interval (VBI) be used primarily for the transmission of closed captioning
• 1976:  The FCC adopted a rule requiring television licensees to transmit emergency messages in a visual format
• 1979:  National Captioning Institute created
• March 16, 1980:  The first closed captioned television series were broadcast for those who had bought caption decoders
  • The ABC Sunday Night Movie
  • The Wonderful World of Disney
  • Masterpiece Theater
• 1982:  Real-time captioning debuted
• 1990:  Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 was passed, requiring all television receivers with screens of 13” or larger be able to receive and display captions by 1993
• 1990:  Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 enacted, requiring all federally funded public service announcements to be closed captioned. 
• 1992:  FCC adopted technical standards for closed captioning on cable systems
• 1993:  Requirements from Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 take effect
• 1996:  Telecommunications Act of 1996 adds Section 713 to the Communications Act — requiring the FCC to prescribe rules and implementation schedules for closed captioning of television video programs
• 1997:  The FCC adopts rules that gradually increase the amount of programming requiring closed captioning
• 1998:  FCC’s closed captioning rules go into effect
• 2000:  The FCC adopts an Order requiring an increasing amount of digital television programming to be captioned and establishes a phase-in schedule for closed captioning of digital programming
• 2006:  100% of all new video programming, with exceptions, must be closed captioned on both digital and analog televisions (new analog programming is programming first aired on/after January 1, 1998; new digital programming is programming first aired on/after July 1, 2002)
• 2008:  75% of all pre-rule video programming (pre-rule analog programming is programming first aired before January 1, 1998; pre-rule digital programming is programming first aired before July 1, 2002) must be captioned
• 2010:  100% of all new analog and digital Spanish language programs, with exceptions, must be closed captioned
• 2012:  75% of all pre-rule Spanish-language video programming must be captioned

From FCC website: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/cctimeline.html

Luther Haden ‘Dummy’ Taylor (September 21, 1875 – August 22, 1958) was a deaf American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1900 to 1908. overcame the disability of being a deaf-mute to become part of one of the greatest pitching rotations of its time in Major League Baseball and one of the most popular players in the early 20th century. After graduating from the Kansas School for the Deaf in 1895, Taylor played semi-pro baseball in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois before breaking into organized baseball with Albany in the New York State League. The New York Giants purchased his contract on July 16, 1900, and Taylor spent nine seasons with the Giants, pitching for legendary manager John McGraw and joining the rotation of Christy Mathewson and Frank McGinnity. The Giants won the World Series in 1905, but Taylor did not pitch because his scheduled start was rained out and Mathewson became the World Series hero. Taylor pitched for the Giants until the end of the 1908 season and finished with a record of 117-103, including a 72-45 mark in his last five seasons. Taylor pitched in 274 games during his career, had 21 shutouts and finished with an earned run average of 2.75. After leaving the Giants in 1908, Taylor pitched four seasons in the International League before retiring as a player in 1914.

During an interview that appeared in The Sporting News on December 24, 1942, Taylor explained simply why he did not start that game on the next day: “Two answers to that one. Matty and Joe McGinnity.”

Why did a start mean so much to Taylor? It was very simple: If he had gotten the ball the next day, he would have been the first deaf player to play in a World Series. [Read the story]

Taylor died on August 22, 1958, at the age of 82, just 11 days after suffering a presumably mild heart attack. He was clear-minded and in excellent spirits to the end. He is buried in Baldwin City, Kansas, with his first wife Della.

Taylor accomplished a great deal in his life, building a bridge between those who could hear and those that didn’t. In 1936 he was awarded a lifetime pass to the major leagues. In 1952 he became the second player inducted into the American Athletic Association for the Deaf. After he died, the Kansas School for the Deaf named its gymnasium for him in 1961. In 2006 Luther Taylor was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.

A monument was erected on Taylor’s gravesite on May 24, 2008.

By Fookem

Summary: I found the article from Signews that fascinated me to read. It talked about ISD (Illinois School for the Deaf) football team. I decided to contact one of the football player name is Jerry Tuchman. I interviewed him to share his experience about oldest surviving football team. In 1948, eleven starter on the first team played both offense and defense with injury-free all year are still alive today. Eight out of eleven players showed up at ISD Football Homecoming with pride last year. Three players can’t make to show up. Their current ages are between 78-80 today, 17-19 years old in 1948. Their record was 6 wins, one loss and a tie. He said, that game should be won, not a tie because the player did not follow the play that cost their team a tie. He played good. He played as center position and was in honorable mention selection. The referee talked to William Yates, his quarterback who was the captain of the team that Jerry was a great center player. William Yates was our best quarterback as William loved to throw the ball to James Villiani because James was very good at catching the ball.

The another article about Guinness Book of World Records that made me curious to ask him why he talked about it. He said that it was Marilyn Harbison’s idea, she wrote the letter to Guinness Book of World Records Headquarter in England. They wrote back and told her that it need to be recognized by newspapers to find any hearing or deaf high school’s record similar to this achievement that the 1948 ISD Football Team had successful. He believed that no school can equal his oldest surviving football team in nation. To recognize from Guinness Book of World Records will cost him 500 dollars for the entry fee.

By the way, I asked him if he knew Richard ‘Dick’ Sipek (you can find more information about him, click Dick Sipek) and Luther ‘Dummy’ Taylor. He knew Dick very well for a long time and was really a good baseball player. He even watched the game in Chicago that Dick played for Cincinnati against Chicago Cubs in 1948. Dick played football real good but was not sure about either track or basketball. He can’t compare Dick to other deaf football players, for example, Bill Van Spankeren was the best football player. Luther Taylor was his dorm parent in Cullom Hall building. Luther was deaf and fluent in sign language. Luther’s room was on the first floor, Luther read the book, dictionary every night. The deaf students gave the words to see if Luther can answer the single meaning of the word. Luther was strict but a good man. He saw Luther sometimes for a few year before Luther died.

Editor’s note: Please spread the words to your friends, schools, newspapers, media, blogs, vlogs, whatever you can to find out if there is any school (deaf or hearing) high school can equal Jerry’s oldest surviving football team.

1948 Illinois School for the Deaf football team
(Click the image to enlarge)

Front row: James Villani, Irvin Carlstedt, Victor Marsala, Jerry Tuchman, Robert Liedberg, Oliver Hoffman, Ted Zuziak.

Rear row: Alta Hood, William Yates, Stan Kwaitt, David Early

September 27, 2008

Front row: James Villani (Right End), Jerry Tuchman (Center), Robert Liedberg (Left Guard), Oliver Hoffman (Left Tackle), Ted Zuziak (Left End).

Rear row: William Yates (Quarterback), Stan Kwaitt (Fullback), David Early (Left Halfback). Victor Marsala (Honorary Captain, Right Guard).

Not Pictured: Irvin Carlstedt (Right Tackle), Alta Hood (Right Halfback)

(Photos credits from Signews and Jerry Tuchman)

]]> http://fookembug.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/isds-oldest-surviving-football-team/feed/ 7 fookembug http://fookembug.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/deaf-richard-dick-sipek-played-for-cincinnati-reds/ http://fookembug.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/deaf-richard-dick-sipek-played-for-cincinnati-reds/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:03:51 +0000 fookembug http://fookembug.wordpress.com/?p=2062 ]]>

Richard “Dick” Sipek (Jan. 16, 1923 – Jul. 17, 2005) was a Major League baseball outfielder. He was the first not to have the nickname ‘Dummy.’ The 5-foot-9, 170-pound outfielder was only the third deaf player to see extensive playing time in the big leagues when he appeared in 82 games for the Cincinnati Reds in 1945. The previous ones were William “Dummy” Hoy, an outfielder who hit .292 for 15 big-league seasons from 1888 to 1902, and Luther “Dummy” Taylor, who won 115 games during a nine-year career from 1900 to 1908. Sipek lost his hearing in an accident around the time he was 5 years old. He was sent to the Illinois School for the Deaf in Jacksonville, where his home-father was none other than Taylor, who was a 21-game winner for the New York Giants in 1904. The older man took him under his wing and encouraged the youngster to develop his athletic abilities. Sipek was an all-state back in football, then the Reds had him at Birmingham of the Southern Association, where he hit .336 in 74 games in 1943 and .319 in 134 games in 1944. The left-handed batter hit .244 for Cincinnati with six doubles, two triples and 13 runs batted in. He was 10 for 45 as a pinch hitter (.222). Click this link to view his official stats from Baseball Almanac website.

Minor Baseball League, Dick Sipek in middle
(Click the image to enlarge)

Newspaper articles about Dick Sipek
(Click the image to enlarge)

1945 Cincinnati Reds
(Click the image to enlarge)

Ripley’s Believe it or not
(Click the image to enlarge)

Dick talked about his baseball life.

I found the article in Silent Worker, vol. 26 no. 9, June 1914, p.172. The story about former deaf slave saved the white family (were they white?) from the burning house and also saved some of their valuable things, he died. It is kind of hard for me to read the story so I try my best to type what the article said.

James Good, 52 years old a deaf and dumb negro servant, who had been in the service of the Goodfellow family of St. Louis all his life, sacrificed his life in an effort to save heirloom from the flames in a fire which destroyed the Goodfellow mansion and stables at Wentzville, Mo., last Sunday.

Jim, as he was known, discovered the fire which started from a (defective line?) at S A M and unable to cry out an alarm, ran to the rooms occupied by Mrs. George Wise, her son, Frank Foster, and Mrs. Mamie Walker, and aroused them by pounding on the doors. They escaped in their night clothing, having no time to try to save anything.

Jim started back into the house to save some valuable treasures, and returning, was buried under the burning stairway, which collapsed. He was taken to the St. Louis City hospital on a special train and died at 2 0′clock Monday morning. He was buried last Tuesday in the Goodfellow vault in Bellfontaine. He formerly was a slave belonging to the Goodfellow family. -Lexingtonian (sp?)

LeRoy Colombo (December 23, 1905—July 12, 1974) of Galveston, Texas, was a champion long-distance and endurance swimmer and lifeguard. He is credited with saving 907 lives, a feat formerly listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. Stories about his incredible feats in rescuing victims of disasters, both on sea and land, became part of local lore. Was Colombo treated like a hero? Hardly. A grateful dog owner gave him $25 for rescuing her poodle from drowning; an elderly woman gave him $30 for retrieving her false teeth from the surf. What about gratitude for rescuing humans? Well, a father gave him two cans of beer for rescuing his two daughters from drowning. After seeing Colombo rescue a newsboy, bystanders took up a collection, totaling $1.00. Nothing stopped him, though. After being forced to retire at age 62 because of a heart condition, he continued to swim every day, practically until the day of his death, always on the alert for anyone who needed rescuing—grateful or not.

There’s also the tale of a 10-mile race along the Mississippi River. Colombo was reported to have dislocated a shoulder at the 8-mile mark, and he had to finish the race with one arm. He didn’t win, but then again, neither did another competitor, Johnny Weismuller, a five-time Olympic medalist who went on to fame in the “Tarzan” movies. [Read the article about Museum to honor Galveston lifeguard]

Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, who surfed with Colombo as a child living in Galveston during the 1930s, also will be honored at the museum as one of the state’s first surfers. Paskowitz went on to surf all over the world. He took second place in the 1941 Pacific Coast Surf Riding Championships. He also earned a medical degree, established surf schools and wrote a book, among other accomplishments.

The spot is appropriate because Colombo patrolled beaches in the area while he was working as a lifeguard for the city of Galveston, said Donald Mize, who requested the street naming. [Read the article about Street renamed after legendary lifeguard]

The Rosenberg Library exhibited a championship trophy won by LeRoy Colombo in 1927.

The Noon Optimist Club and the city of Galveston erected a plaque
in Colombo’s honor not long after his death in 1974.

A timeline history of LeRoy Colombo:

-1912 At the age of seven, LeRoy Columbo suffered an attack of spinal meningitis which cost him his hearing and the use of both legs. He tried swimming (and his three brothers worked with him) and within a year he was able to walk again.

-He eventually became the first deaf lifeguard as well as earning the title “the World’s Greatest Lifeguard.” He saved 907 lives in a 40 year career, a record noted in the Guinness Book of World Records.

-In 1923 he became the first deaf person to join Galveston’s elite “Surf Toboggan Club.” He qualified by swimming continuously for three hours with no stops or floating. And in 1923 he became a lifeguard for the city of Galveston.

-He was among the first to ride surfboards at Galveston beaches.

-In 1927, Colombo completed a 15-mile swim in the Gulf of Mexico in just 11-and-a-half hours.

-In 1928 he rescued two crewmen after a tugboat exploded in flames (this required swimming beneath burning oil).

-LeRoy made his first rescue (of a drowning boy) at the age of 12.

-LeRoy almost drowned 16 times during rescues.

-He became a competitive swimmer at Texas School for the Deaf, setting multiple records for speed and distance.

-He retired at 62 and continued to swim in the ocean daily until he died on July 12, 1974. Flags in Texas were flown at half staff upon his death and a plaque erected on the Galveston beach he patrolled for forty years.

-The Noon Optimist Club and the city of Galveston erected a plaque in Colombo’s honor not long after his death in 1974.

- In 2005, the legendary Galveston lifeguard will be the subject of a display in a surf museum to open in Corpus Christi.

-The beach patrol’s annual fund-raiser, a 5K run, bears Colombo’s name.

-In 2006, the Texas School for the Deaf unveiled a new swimming center, which was named for Colombo.

-In May 2008, the Rosenberg Library will exhibit a championship trophy won by LeRoy Colombo in 1927.

-The street will be referred to as Leroy Colombo’s View and 57th Street on signs.

TIMELINE OF NEW ZEALAND SIGN LANGUAGE

340 BC Socrates is reported to have said to his students, “If we could not speak, we would talk with our hands, head and other parts of the body, like deaf people”.

Early AD Early Christian church in the UK allows sign language to be used in weddings.

c. 700 The Venerable Bede, an English cleric, wrote about curing the deaf and making them speak. There were also examples of hand alphabets and counting systems.

C 5th-15th Various works of medieval writers and artists portrayed deaf people and gestural communication in their works.

C 13th-14th Artists had incorporated one-handed fingerspelling into portraits of historical figures, e.g. portraits of Chaucer.

1500-1700 Deaf people working in the Turkish Ottoman court used sign language that was regularly used by hearing people including the Sultans to express their ideas at whatever complexity.

1550s King Philip II of Spain had a deaf court painter, named Juan Fernandez Lavarrete , who was known as ‘El Mudo’. He could sign, read and write. Also he used an interpreter.

1660s-1800s Sign language was evolved in European nations, especially in the schools for the deaf. Some schools used a “combined method” of speech and signs/fingerspelling.

There were many Deaf schools in Europe, America and Australia that used sign language, and had Deaf teachers and principals.

1868-1879 Miss Dorcas Mitchell, a teacher of the deaf who taught in London, was employed to teach the children of Rev. R. R. Bradley who had nine children. Eight of the nine were deaf. By 1878 she had 42 pupils and no government assistance

Miss Dorcas worked hard lobbying the government to set up a school for deaf children in New Zealand. When a deaf school was eventually approved she applied for the job as director. She was, however, turned down in favour of Gerrit van Asch and soon after this, she left for Australia and nothing is known about her after this time.

1880 Attitudes towards sign language were negative – many thought it was an inferior form of communication and that all intelligent Deaf children would master the oral system.

The Sumner School for the Deaf near Christchurch, opens. Gerrit van Asch a German expert in oral education, is chosen as director and he used the oralist method. Interestingly, some deaf children brought home signs, and then school signs develop that progress into NZSL in the hostels and playground.

At the 2nd International Congress of Educators of the Deaf in Milan, Italy, attended by hearing teachers from all over the world, a most critical decision for deaf education was made. Almost the entire congress was devoted to oral methods of teaching – 9 people voted in favour of oralism and against signs, and three voted in favour of signs.

From that point, many Deaf teachers disappeared from the classrooms and sign language was banned in many schools for the deaf.

1890 The 4th International Congress on the Education and Welfare of the Deaf was held in Paris, which wase attended by 200+ Deaf people and at least 200 hearing people. The hearing organisers refused to allow Deaf delegates to join their congress. Both groups met separately after the joint opening ceremony. A request from the Deaf for a joint final meeting was also denied. The result ended was that a resolution in support of the combined system received only 7 votes in the hearing section despite unanimous support by the Deaf section.

1880s-1920s Some Deaf children from NZ were sent to signing schools in Melbourne and later returned to NZ and passed the signs on to other Deaf children in NZ. The signs used in Melbourne were British Sign Language (BSL) that later became Australian Sign Language (AUSLAN).

In Deaf schools where oralism was used, Deaf staff were employed as cleaners, cooks and gardeners, etc. They passed signs on to the Deaf children who learnt from them. Thus signs were passed from one generation to another.

1942 Titirangi School for Deaf opens. The children who boarded at Titirangi developed different signs to those at Sumner School. This was the beginning of regional variations in NZ Sign Language.

1944 St Dominic’s School for the Deaf opens, signing was strictly forbidden but it was known that some Deaf nuns who worked in the school as domestic helpers passed on some Irish signs. The signs used at St Dominic’s are also different from other schools for Deaf in NZ.

1960s The biggest milestone for sign language was William Stokoe, a hearing professor at Galluadet College (now Gallaudet University, the world’s only university for the Deaf) who did linguistic research on American Sign Language (ASL), was the first academic hearing person to say that sign language is a human language.

1970s The Total Communication (Signed English) philosophy starts in the USA, when teachers found that Deaf children of Deaf parents learnt faster that those who used the oral method.

Total Communication (TC) is an approach to deaf education that aims to make use of a number of modes of communication such as signs, oral, auditory, written and visual aids.

Total Communication (TC) method was adopted quickly in UK and Australia.

Jim Moody, an American psychologist in NZ, challenges the oral education system and supports parents to start using TC in Deaf Education in NZ.

A committee was set up by New Zealand and Australian Teachers of the Deaf and Deaf representatives to develop Australasian Signed English system, based on Australian (Victorian School for Deaf) signs.

1972 Peter Ballingall, a teacher of the Deaf at Kelston, researched the signs used by Deaf children, which is now known as NZ Sign Language. He found 600 signs and said that it is a natural language. Unfortunately, many of the teachers of the Deaf did not accept his research because they expressed a negative attitude towards natural sign language used by the Deaf.

1979 Total Communication (TC) and Australasian Signed English were officially used for teaching Deaf children in NZ especially for those who are failing through oral methods.

1980s TC classes were taught in schools and Hearing Associations where Deaf and hearing people attended to learn the Australasian Signed English signs. There was some confusion about ‘new signs’ (TC) and ‘old signs’ (NZSL) within the Deaf Community.

TC was supposed to be a middle ground in age-old disputes between oralism and natural sign language. But it failed dismally because it was a signed system constructed by hearing people with signs for each word in the English language. It did not follow the natural grammar rules of NZSL

Marianne Collins-Ahlgren of Victoria University of Wellington begins research on NZSL to prove that it is a true language of the Deaf people in NZ.

Bilingual education starts overseas in Sweden and USA. Research on bilingual education has shown that Deaf children acquire language and learning better through using natural sign language.

Bilingual-bicultural or BiBi educational programs focus on making the classroom bilingual via a means of natural native sign language which is used to support learning a written spoken language.

1983: NZ Association of the Deaf (NZAD) was persuaded by the President at the time (who happened to be hearing) to accept Signed English as the official sign language – in the belief that anything else would prevent Deaf children from having any kind of access to manual communication.

1985 First Sign Language Interpreters course sets up in Auckland with the support of Deaf Association, Sir Roy McKenzie and what was then the Social Welfare Dept. NZSL is taught on this course where many Deaf people were involved. Importantly, it is the beginning of Deaf awareness and pride in using NZSL.

1986 Dan Levitt’s book on Introduction to New Zealand Sign Language is published. This led to many Deaf people to name language used as “NZSL” instead of “old sign”.

1988: NZAD puts this right – NZSL is the language of Deaf

1989 Marianne Collins-Ahlgren’s thesis on NZSL is completed and her work showed the full details of the linguistics of NZSL.

World Games for the Deaf were held in Christchurch where many Deaf people from around the world were communicating in sign languages that led the Deaf Community in NZ to open up and show their pride in using NZSL.

1990s More NZSL classes are being taught by Deaf people into their communities all over the country.

The project on developing a dictionary of NZSL began at Victoria University of Wellington.

1992 Diploma in Sign Language Interpreting course starts at AIT (now Auckland University of Technology). It is taught by a team of Deaf and hearing lecturers. This leads to more interest from the public in learning NZSL for a career.

1993 NZ Sign Language Tutors Association is established.

1995 Bilingual and bicultural (NZSL and English) class starts at Kelston Deaf Education Centre with a Deaf teacher and a Deaf Language Assistant that paved the way for Bi-Bi philosophy within the school. This was an historical moment – after more than 100 years NZSL is now recognised in a school for the Deaf in NZ.

Deaf Festival at Kelston Deaf Education Centre celebrates NZ Sign Language and Deaf culture.

1997 Bilingual classes start at Van Asch Deaf Education Centre. Deaf Studies curriculum was being developed there.

Victoria University of Wellington has set up a course for Deaf NZSL teachers, in which graduates can get a Certificate in Deaf Studies: Teaching NZSL. This is the first university course that recognises NZSL.

The Dictionary of New Zealand Sign Language is published, containing 4000 signs and this leads to significant increase in public awareness of NZSL.

Late 1990s NZSL Storytelling competitions, debates, Deaf Culture panels and Deaf drama are developed.

2004 NZSL Bill goes to parliament and passes the first reading.

2006 On April 6 the Third Reading of the NZSL BIll was passed 119-2 in Parliament. This was a most historical moment for the Deaf Community. After being oppressed in education and wider society for over a hundred years, and competing with other inferior systems such as oralism and Signed English (TC), NZSL is now finally recognised as a part of NZ’s Culture.

References:

Timeline compiled with the assistance of Janine Mac Pherson

Moving Hands: Celebrating Years of Deaf Education, Van Asch Deaf Education Centre (2005)

Breda Carty (2005), Renwick College, Sydney. Deaf History Workshop 18 – 22 April 2005.

Miles, M. (2000). Signing in the Seraglio: mutes, dwarfs, and jestures at the Ottoman Court 1500-1700. Disability & Society, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 115-134.

(from http://www.nzsign.co.nz/Timeline.aspx )

By Bug

About 100 million Americans will watch Super Bowl XLIII today. How many of them know the history of American football huddle? Who invented the huddle? About 85 percent of people don’t know that Deaf player at Gallaudet University invented the American football huddle in 1894.

Who invented it? How did the football huddle start? Paul Hubbard the quarterback player at Gallaudet University realized that his sign language (hand signal) could be read by opposing players so he had to pull his players into a circle so that his sign language could be shown without anyone on the sidelines or on the opposing team seeing.

Many years before the first huddle, many Deaf football players used sign language to signal to each other as they played until Paul Huddbard got fed up of the other team watching and guessing their plays so he invented the huddle. Then they exchanged the secrets through sign language inside the huddle.

Today every footbal team uses this type of huddle as it is still in common use today, typically between plays in American football as the quarterback assigns the next play to the offense.

Here’s an interesting story about the football at Gallaudet Unviersity:

http://www.fredbowen.com/c100600.htm

Also, see old Gallaudet photos of Deaf football team:

http://archives.gallaudet.edu/Football.htm

Deaf people can do anything but hear. But an all deaf rock band? An international deaf comic famous around the world but unknown to hearing people? A modern day Buster Keaton who teaches at Juilliard but is currently homeless? A hard of hearing singer who is considered “not deaf enough?” 

SEE WHAT I’M SAYING follows the journeys of four extraordinary deaf entertainers over the course of a single year as their stories intertwine and culminate in some of the most important events of their lives……(read more, click: http://www.seewhatimsayingmovie.com/ )

King James I and Queen Joan Beaufort of Scotland’s daughter Princess Jean a.k.a Joan (1428 – 1486) was also known as “the dumb lady of Dalkeith” was born deaf and in public used sign talk even though in that era it was seemed to be improper. She was married to the 4th Lord Dalkeith and Earl of Morton, James Douglas in 1457. Betrothed at age 13 to her cousin, James Douglas, third Earl of Angus, in an arranged marriage, but he died before the wedding. Sent to France in 1445 for education at a nunnery. In 1457, she married to James Douglas, 4th Lord Dalkeith and 1st Earl of Morton, she became the Countess of Morton. She had four children; Janet, Elizabeth, James and John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton. Buried with her husband in the Morton Monument tomb at St. Nicolas Buccleauch Parish Church, Dalkeith, near Edinburgh. Her simulacrum on the Morton Monument tomb2 is presumed the world’s oldest representation of a deaf person as sculpture. [Sources from RoyaList Online and wikipedia.org]