If Susan B. Anthony had a deaf sister, everyone would know that deaf suffragists fought tirelessly for expanding women’s right to vote, right alongside Anthony herself. Everyone would know deaf suffragists contributed to women’s emancipation in the United States and Britain and that they lived bold lives.

As a researcher of deaf history, including deaf women’s history, I work to illuminate the often hidden history of deaf people and their unique contributions to the world. I have unearthed historical information about deaf women suffragists and assembled it into an online collection chronicling what is known – so far – about these women and their lives.

Despite harsh, discriminatory conditions, low pay and lack of recognition, countless deaf women have fought with brilliance and dedication for personal and professional recognition, including for the right to vote. [Read more]

Americans Annie Jump Cannon, astronomer and suffragist, Laura Redden Searing, journalist, poet and women's rights advocate, and British suffragists Helen Kirkpatrick Watts and Kate Harvey are profiled.
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Author Joan Marie Naturale is a Reference Librarian at NTID.