Historedia
Episode 2 of 4

Congressional Chartering of the Columbia Institution

When
1857
Where
Washington, D.C. (chartered institution and beneficiaries)
Part of
National Deaf Mute College (later Gallaudet University) established

In 1857, the 34th Congress passed H.R. 806, chartering the grammar school as the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind.

In 1857, the 34th Congress passed H.R. 806, which chartered the grammar school as the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind and funded tuition costs for indigent deaf, dumb (mute), or blind children belonging to the District of Columbia. One account dates the legislation to February 16, 1857, passed at Kendall's urging, giving the Kendall School a charter as the Columbia Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind. Congress incorporated the Columbia Institution in 1857.

Sources

  1. Gallaudet University Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-06
  2. Amos Kendall Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-08

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.