Percival Hall (September 16, 1872 – November 7, 1953)
was the second president of

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...

(then Gallaudet College) from 1910 until 1945. He was a strong advocate of the use of

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...

in the

education of the deaf Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss, hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settin ...

, and also an advocate for deaf rights to vote, work, participate in sports, marry, and drive automobiles.

Early life and education

The son of astronomer

Asaph Hall Asaph Hall III (October 15, 1829 – November 22, 1907) was an American astronomer who is best known for having discovered the two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, in 1877. He determined the orbits of satellites of other planets and of doubl ...

, III (1829–1907) and Angeline Stickney Hall (1830–1892), he was born in Georgetown, Washington, DC, the youngest of four brothers. His eldest brother was

Asaph Hall, Jr. Asaph Hall IV (October 6, 1859 – January 12, 1930), known as Asaph Hall Jr., was an American astronomer. He was the son of Asaph Hall, who discovered the moons of the planet Mars. One of his brothers was Percival Hall. Early life Hall was born ...

Percival Hall took a degree in mathematics at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1892. While still a student, he worked as an architectural surveyor for the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis Potter Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Rich ...

(C&O), making drawings of existing structures with plans for improving bridges, as well as plans for proposed structures in the expansion of the railroad. The work was hard, as much of the time was spent in wild areas that required him to camp; hunting and cooking his own food. He observed that he saw few older people in this employment and that the work took a heavy toll on his colleagues.From a personal collection of letters. S.A. Hall A friend and roommate from Harvard, Allen Bradshaw Fay, whose father, Edward Allen Fay, was the Vice President of Gallaudet College, suggested that he teach the deaf. Initially his family tried to dissuade him, as they felt that, with his adventurous spirit, he would soon be bored with life as a teacher. But, Hall felt that he could make a contribution to the developing field of deaf education.

Gallaudet

Hall entered Gallaudet's Normal School, graduating with an MA in

deaf education Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and other ...

in 1893. Following his graduation, he taught at the New York School for the Deaf for two years before teaching mathematics and Latin at Gallaudet. He became president after the retirement of President

Edward Miner Gallaudet Edward Miner Gallaudet ( ; February 5, 1837 – September 26, 1917), was the first president of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. (then known as the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind from 1864 unti ...

in 1910. In 1935, President Hall was given an Honorary Doctorate (L.H.D.) by the college. He felt that, given the opportunity of higher education, there were many fields in which deaf people could excel. He published many articles on the education of the deaf. He retired from the Gallaudet presidency in 1945.

Family life

Hall married Carolyn L. Clarke in June 1895, but she later died of illness in January 1896. In June 1900, he marrie
Ethel Zoe Taylor
who had been a deaf student at Gallaudet, shortly after she earned her BA. They had three children, Percival Hall, Jr. (1901 – 1968), professor of mathematics and astronomy at Gallaudet; Marion Hall Fisher, a writer (1905 – deceased, April 4, 1983); an
Jonathan Hall
(1912 – 2008), professor of natural science at Gallaudet. Jonathan was born in "House One," on campus, on February 6, 1912."An Engaging Teacher, Whether In the Classroom or With Pets," Matt Schudel, ''The Washington Post,'' March 16, 2008 p. C8

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Percival 1872 births 1953 deaths Presidents of Gallaudet University Harvard University alumni Academics from Washington, D.C. American mathematics educators Gallaudet University alumni