Pedro Ponce de León (jan 1, 1520 – mar 12, 1584)

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1520 - Pedro Ponce de León was born in Santervás de Campos, Spain. The birth year of 1520 has been argued, with scholars suggesting he was born before 1520. There are no records of the exact month and date that he was born and died, and the dates listed are only place holders.

Pedro Ponce de Leon was a Benedictine Monk who lived in San Salvaldor. He became a teacher of the deaf when he came across two aristocratic deaf boys. He taught the boys to read and speak fairly well. After his success with the first two boys, he became known for being able to teach the dead and he gained more students. He developed a type of sign language they called a “Hand Alphabet”. Because of the “Hand Alphabet” they would use their hands to make the shape of letters to communicate. Pedro Ponce de Leon is known for developing the first method for teaching the deaf. He died in 1584. There is no information on his death.

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