National Deaf Mute College (later Gallaudet University) established

Background. In 1856, philanthropist and former United States postmaster general Amos Kendall became aware of several deaf and blind children in Washington, D.C., who were not receiving proper care. In 1857, Kendall donated two acres of land for the establishment of a school for the deaf and blind in Washington, D.C., and asked Edward Miner Gallaudet to come to Washington to help lead this school. Gallaudet had worked as a teacher at the school his father founded from 1855 to 1857, and he became the first superintendent of the new school.

Legislative Establishment. 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.

Early Operations. The school operated as a grammar school initially, with 14 deaf and 7 blind students attending during its second full year (1858–1859). Annual reports were submitted to the Secretary of the Interior in 1858 and 1859. By 1859–1860, existing buildings were at capacity, prompting Kendall to seek federal funds for relocation and new construction.