Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian
Encyclopedia
Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian (b. August 4, 1789 at Pointe-à-Pitre (also written: Ponte-à-Pitre), Guadeloupe; d. February 24, 1839 Pointe-à-Pitre) was one of the first hearing educators in France to achieve native-level fluency in French Sign Language. He wrote an important book titled "Mimographie," which was published in 1825, which utilized a method of writing signs.
From the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe, his father sent him to live in France to obtain a high-school education under the auspices of his godfather, the Abbé Roch-Ambroise Cucurron Sicard
, who was the successor of the Abbé de l'Épée
as the director of the Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets de Paris
. The Abbé Sicard sent him to live with the Abbé Jauffret. He completed high school at the Lycée Charlemagne
in Paris where he was regarded as a brilliant student, after which he dedicated himself to studying Deaf education.
He followed the advice of Abbé Sicard and began working with three Deaf teachers: Jean Massieu
, Ferdinand Berthier
and Laurent Clerc
, at the Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets de Paris, and wrote a book titled "Essai sur les sourds-muets et sur le langage naturel," which was published in 1817, that dealt with the educational philosophy and methods of the school, as well as the nature of French Sign Language.
He turned down offers to become principals of schools for the Deaf in New York City and also St. Petersburg, and set up at school on Montparnasse Boulevard in Paris. Later he became principal of a school in Rouen and then moved back to Guadeloupe, where he founded a school for black students.
He won an award from the French Academy of Sciences for writing a eulogy for the Abbé de l'Épée titled: "Éloge historique de l'abbé de l'Epée" (1819).
From the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe, his father sent him to live in France to obtain a high-school education under the auspices of his godfather, the Abbé Roch-Ambroise Cucurron Sicard
Roch-Ambroise Cucurron Sicard
Roch-Ambroise Cucurron Sicard was a French abbé and instructor of the deaf.Born at Le Fousseret, Haute-Garonne, and educated as a priest, Sicard was made principal of a school for the deaf at Bordeaux in 1786, and in 1789, on the death of the Abbé de l'Épée, succeeded him at Paris...
, who was the successor of the Abbé de l'Épée
Charles-Michel de l'Épée
Abbé Charles-Michel de l'Épée was a philanthropic educator of 18th-century France who has become known as the "Father of the Deaf".-Overview:...
as the director of the Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets de Paris
Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris
Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris is the current name of the famous school for the Deaf founded by Charles-Michel de l'Épée in 1760 in Paris, France....
. The Abbé Sicard sent him to live with the Abbé Jauffret. He completed high school at the Lycée Charlemagne
Lycée Charlemagne
The Lycée Charlemagne is located in the Marais quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the capital city of France.Constructed many centuries before it became a lycée, the building originally served as the home of the Order of the Jesuits...
in Paris where he was regarded as a brilliant student, after which he dedicated himself to studying Deaf education.
He followed the advice of Abbé Sicard and began working with three Deaf teachers: Jean Massieu
Jean Massieu
Jean Massieu was a pioneering Deaf educator, having been born Deaf, and having five other Deaf siblings. He taught at the famous school for the Deaf in Paris where Laurent Clerc was one of his students...
, Ferdinand Berthier
Ferdinand Berthier
Ferdinand Berthier was a deaf educator, intellectual and political organiser in nineteenth-century France, and is one of the earliest champions of Deaf identity and culture.Berthier first attended the famous school for the Deaf in Paris as a young student in 1811, when the school was under the...
and Laurent Clerc
Laurent Clerc
Laurent Clerc , born Louis Laurent Marie Clerc, was called "The Apostle of the deaf in America" by generations of American deaf people...
, at the Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets de Paris, and wrote a book titled "Essai sur les sourds-muets et sur le langage naturel," which was published in 1817, that dealt with the educational philosophy and methods of the school, as well as the nature of French Sign Language.
He turned down offers to become principals of schools for the Deaf in New York City and also St. Petersburg, and set up at school on Montparnasse Boulevard in Paris. Later he became principal of a school in Rouen and then moved back to Guadeloupe, where he founded a school for black students.
He won an award from the French Academy of Sciences for writing a eulogy for the Abbé de l'Épée titled: "Éloge historique de l'abbé de l'Epée" (1819).