Deaf History Month appears to have started on March 13th, 1996 when two deaf employees working at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. started teaching their colleagues sign language. This occurrence progressed into a week of deaf awareness created by the library.

Who was the first person to become deaf?

c. 44 B.C.: Quintus Pedius is the earliest deaf person in recorded history known by name.

What is another term for deaf Awareness Week?

The International Week of Deaf People (IWDP) is an initiative of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and was first launched in 1958 in Rome, Italy.