Alice Cogswell

The hero I read about is Alice Cogswell. Alice was born on August 31, 1805, Hartford, CT. Alice father's name is Mason Cogswell.

A chronological account of her life is when she was 2 years old. Alice became ill with, "spotted fever" The illness took her hearing then later she lost her voice as well. She grew up mostly deaf. Alice struggled to learn sign and to communicate with others, until she met Thomas Gallaudet. Thomas taught her sign by writing words in dirt. For example, "HAT" and signing it.

Statue of Thomas Gallaudet and Alice Cogswell (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Thomas_and_Alice,_Gallaudet_University.jp)

Major accomplishments of Alice was one of the most important symbols in the deaf history. Alice demonstrated heroism when:
-Achieved the same success as hearing people
-She traveled to tell the world that she learned through sign language
-She changed the world for deaf people

Alice's behavior reflected these characteristics of a hero. *BRAVE: for not giving up on learning sign language *ACTIVE: she liked to read, sew, and dance. *LOVE: because she loved her father and others *INSPIRING: She inspired the Deaf community by keeping up with her hard work to learn sign language

Statue of Alice in Hartford, Connecticut (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alice_Cogsw)

Alice died December 30, 1830 (aged 25) Hartford, Connecticut. She died exactly 13 days after the death of her father, Mason Cogswell.