National Deaf History Month is celebrated from March 13^th through April 15^th to commemorate the achievements of people who are deaf and hard of hearing. The time frame is spread across March and April in recognition of several turning points in the history of deaf education and advocacy in the United States, dating back to the early 1800s:

• On April 15^th, 1817, American School for the Deaf, America’s first public school for the deaf, was opened.
• On April 8^th, 1864, Gallaudet University - the world’s first institution dedicated to advanced education for the deaf and hard of hearing - was officially founded. 
• On August 25th, 1880, the National Association for the Deaf was founded.
• More than 100 years later, on March 13^th, 1988, Gallaudet hired its first deaf president in response to its students’ Deaf President Now movement.