SILVER SPRING, Maryland -- The National Association of the Deaf is excited to release the new video series, Deaf History That! In this brief episode, Linsay Darnall, Jr. introduces Melville Ballard and shares some interesting facts about him.
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Video description and transcript:
A man sits on an antique sofa, in front of a window. A small transparent NAD logo appears on bottom right.
LINSAY: There are many interesting Deaf people and among them, I’d like to tell you about one person in particular -- Melville Ballard. He was born in Maine and since he was Deaf, there were no known educational institution for Deaf children nearby. When he was eleven years old, he was informed that there was a Deaf school in Hartford. He enrolled and after nine years, Ballard completed his education. The school asked him to become a teacher there. The Columbia Institute for the Deaf and Dumb in Washington, D.C. asked him to teach there, Ballard accepted the offer and soon afterwards, the college for the Deaf was established. He decided to enroll there and after two years, he graduated. Afterwards, he went back to teaching and did so for over fifty years! While he was teaching, Ballard along with a few others, founded a newspaper for Deaf people. The paper was called The Silent World. Ballard was actually one of the participants at that conference in Milan, Italy in 1880. Oh, here's another interesting fact about Ballard -- Congressman James Garfield, who later became the President of the U.S., corresponded with the French Emperor Louis Napoleon Bonaparte III, who communicated in French. The Congressman needed somebody to help him with the translation so he used Ballard, who was fluent in English, French, and Latin, to help with the translations. With Ballard's help, Garfield was able maintain his communications with the French Emperor. So, that is what I wanted to share with you today.
Video cuts to same grey background with white text "This video series is made possible by the Emanuel "Manny" Golden Visual History Fund." In smaller text on the bottom, "National Association of the Deaf © 2016 All Rights Reserved"
NAD Series:
Deaf History THAT - "Little Paper Family"
Deaf History THAT - "Before The NAD"
Deaf History THAT - "Who Was Melville Ballard"
NAD History | National Association of the Deaf
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Related Deaf Heritage Documentary:
Through Deaf Eyes - Documentary Film
Ted Evans - In Search Of The DEAF WORLD
Life and Deaf - BBC4 Documentary
