George Veditz
Encyclopedia
George William Veditz was a former president of National Association of the Deaf
of the United States
and was one of the first to film American Sign Language
.
immigrants. At age 8 he became sick and was left deaf from Scarlet fever
. After trying without success for some years, after being educated by a private instructor, he entered the School for Deaf People of Maryland in 1875. Following this he attended Gallaudet College, where he studied to be a teacher. During Veditz's time as a student, the college was known as the "National Deaf-Mute College" at the Columbia Institution for the Deaf. In 1894 it was renamed Gallaudet College, then later became Gallaudet University
.
In 1904 he was elected president of the National Association of the Deaf
of the United States (NAD), and was re-elected in 1907. Its greatest then preoccupation was the preservation of sign language
, that he saw as being threatened by the advance of the oralist proposals in the schools. In that time the cinema
began to become popular, and Veditz dedicated the NAD to gather money to finance recordings of speeches in sign language.
The project, that began in 1910, aimed to film to masterful uses of sign language. One of the people recorded was the then director of Gallaudet, Edward Miner Gallaudet
. The shootings of the NAD are the first registry done of sign languages in the world, and are considered a valuable document of Deaf history. In its shooting, Veditz does an enthusiastic defense of the right of the Deaf people to use sign language, talks of its beauty, as well as its value to humanity. The Library of Congress announced on December 28, 2011 that it had named the landmark 1913 film, The Preservation of the Sign Language, for inclusion in the National Film Registry.
In August of 1913, Veditz conveyed the sentiments of US President Woodrow Wilson
to the people attending the Tenth NAD convention in Cleveland, Ohio, translating from a note that President Wilson had handwritten and had delivered to Veditz.
Dec 28th 2011 can not be the date named to the Preservation of Sign Language. This is a typo.
by a Festival that takes the name of Veditz, the George Veditz ASL Festival, and that is dedicated to celebrate the wealth of sign language with literary poetry and stories.
A man of pleasing address, courtly in manners and giving outward evidence of being scholarly in his tastes and inclinations—such is George W. Veditz, the distinguished teacher and writer whose name is well known among the deaf and educators of the deaf. A master of several languages, German and French especially, his contributions to the National Exponent from 1894 to 1896, during which he was foreign editor, were of special value and highly appreciated. He has been more or less identified with literary work since he left school, first as editor of the Maryland Bulletin for four years, and later as editor of the Colorado Index for a like number of years. As a teacher he is painstaking and thorough, and commands the respect and confidence of his pupils to an unusual degree.
Mr. Veditz became deaf when eight years old, previous to which time he had attended a German-English private school three years. For two years after his loss of hearing he had a private tutor, after which he was sent to the Maryland School for the Deaf, in 1875. He was a pupil of that school five years, leaving to enter Gallaudet college in 1880. While attending the Maryland school he was private secretary to the principal for four years. He also acted as foreman of the printing office of the same school two years. When he reached Gallaudet college he was able to at once enter the freshman class, and he pursued his studies there for four years, with great success, and graduated in 1884, being valedictorian of his class. He was immediately appointed a teacher in the Maryland School for the Deaf, where he taught for four years. In 1888 he resigned his position to accept a teachership in the Colorado School for the Deaf, where he is to the present day.
He was at one time chairman of the executive committee of the National Deaf-Mute Association, and is at present first vice-president of that body. He is a lover of chess and played a matrimonial chess game so well in 1894 that he won for his bride Miss Mary Elizabeth Bigler, of Revolutionary ancestry, one of whose great-grandfathers was a colonel on Washington's staff. She is also a grandniece of John Bigler, the first governor of California, and of William Bigler, at one time governor of Pennsylvania and United States senator from that state.
(From the book: "Representative Deaf Persons of the United States of America," ed. by James E. Gallager, 1898.)
National Association of the Deaf (United States)
The National Association of the Deaf was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1880 as a non-profit organization run by deaf people to advocate for deaf rights. The first president of the organization was Robert P. McGregor of Ohio. It includes associations from all 50 states and Washington, DC...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was one of the first to film American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
.
Early life
He was born to two parents who were GermanGermans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
immigrants. At age 8 he became sick and was left deaf from Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
. After trying without success for some years, after being educated by a private instructor, he entered the School for Deaf People of Maryland in 1875. Following this he attended Gallaudet College, where he studied to be a teacher. During Veditz's time as a student, the college was known as the "National Deaf-Mute College" at the Columbia Institution for the Deaf. In 1894 it was renamed Gallaudet College, then later became Gallaudet University
Gallaudet University
Gallaudet University is a federally-chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, located in the District of Columbia, U.S...
.
Career as a teacher
Following his graduation from Gallaudet (Columbia) in 1884, he began to work as teacher at the Maryland School for the Deaf. He also continued to study at Gallaudet (Columbia) and obtained a master of arts degree in 1887. The next year, in 1888, he accepted a new position at the Colorado School for the Deaf, where he worked as a teacher for another seventeen years. Before the move to Colorado, he founded the Association of Deaf people of Maryland.President of National Association of the Deaf
National Association of the Deaf (United States)
The National Association of the Deaf was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1880 as a non-profit organization run by deaf people to advocate for deaf rights. The first president of the organization was Robert P. McGregor of Ohio. It includes associations from all 50 states and Washington, DC...
of the United States (NAD), and was re-elected in 1907. Its greatest then preoccupation was the preservation of sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
, that he saw as being threatened by the advance of the oralist proposals in the schools. In that time the cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
began to become popular, and Veditz dedicated the NAD to gather money to finance recordings of speeches in sign language.
The project, that began in 1910, aimed to film to masterful uses of sign language. One of the people recorded was the then director of Gallaudet, Edward Miner Gallaudet
Edward Miner Gallaudet
Edward Miner Gallaudet , son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Sophia Fowler Gallaudet, was a famous early educator of the deaf in Washington, DC...
. The shootings of the NAD are the first registry done of sign languages in the world, and are considered a valuable document of Deaf history. In its shooting, Veditz does an enthusiastic defense of the right of the Deaf people to use sign language, talks of its beauty, as well as its value to humanity. The Library of Congress announced on December 28, 2011 that it had named the landmark 1913 film, The Preservation of the Sign Language, for inclusion in the National Film Registry.
In August of 1913, Veditz conveyed the sentiments of US President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
to the people attending the Tenth NAD convention in Cleveland, Ohio, translating from a note that President Wilson had handwritten and had delivered to Veditz.
Death
Veditz died in 1937, when he was 75 years old.Dec 28th 2011 can not be the date named to the Preservation of Sign Language. This is a typo.
ASL festival
From 1997 he is remembered in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by a Festival that takes the name of Veditz, the George Veditz ASL Festival, and that is dedicated to celebrate the wealth of sign language with literary poetry and stories.
Biographical information from the public domain
GEORGE W. VEDITZ.A man of pleasing address, courtly in manners and giving outward evidence of being scholarly in his tastes and inclinations—such is George W. Veditz, the distinguished teacher and writer whose name is well known among the deaf and educators of the deaf. A master of several languages, German and French especially, his contributions to the National Exponent from 1894 to 1896, during which he was foreign editor, were of special value and highly appreciated. He has been more or less identified with literary work since he left school, first as editor of the Maryland Bulletin for four years, and later as editor of the Colorado Index for a like number of years. As a teacher he is painstaking and thorough, and commands the respect and confidence of his pupils to an unusual degree.
Mr. Veditz became deaf when eight years old, previous to which time he had attended a German-English private school three years. For two years after his loss of hearing he had a private tutor, after which he was sent to the Maryland School for the Deaf, in 1875. He was a pupil of that school five years, leaving to enter Gallaudet college in 1880. While attending the Maryland school he was private secretary to the principal for four years. He also acted as foreman of the printing office of the same school two years. When he reached Gallaudet college he was able to at once enter the freshman class, and he pursued his studies there for four years, with great success, and graduated in 1884, being valedictorian of his class. He was immediately appointed a teacher in the Maryland School for the Deaf, where he taught for four years. In 1888 he resigned his position to accept a teachership in the Colorado School for the Deaf, where he is to the present day.
He was at one time chairman of the executive committee of the National Deaf-Mute Association, and is at present first vice-president of that body. He is a lover of chess and played a matrimonial chess game so well in 1894 that he won for his bride Miss Mary Elizabeth Bigler, of Revolutionary ancestry, one of whose great-grandfathers was a colonel on Washington's staff. She is also a grandniece of John Bigler, the first governor of California, and of William Bigler, at one time governor of Pennsylvania and United States senator from that state.
(From the book: "Representative Deaf Persons of the United States of America," ed. by James E. Gallager, 1898.)
Quotations
- "As long as we have deaf people on earth, we will have signs. And as long as we have our films, we can preserve signs in their old purity. It is my hope that we will all love and guard our beautiful sign language as the noblest gift God has given to deaf people."--George Veditz, 1913.
See also
- Gallaudet UniversityGallaudet UniversityGallaudet University is a federally-chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, located in the District of Columbia, U.S...
- Colorado Association for the Deaf's history of George Veditz
- Translating Veditz
- Translation of Veditz's speech--The Preservation of the Sign Language"