Abstract
At the Second International Deaf History Conference in Hamburg, Germany, last November there were both formal and informal discussions on the need to reexamine the history of the education of deaf students and the way deaf people have been portrayed through time. Having just completed several historical research projects, I fully support more scholarly discussion not only on the ways we have interpreted history but also on how various issues examined by earlier educators have implications for our work as professionals today. As more and more deaf studies enthusiasts unearth information from archives around the world, we are able to develop a better understanding of various issues important to readers of'the JournalojDeafStudies and Deaf Education. The role sign language has played throughout history is particularly pertinent. While researching histories for my own writing of Silence of the Spheres: The Deaf Experience in the History of Science, I collected a number of anecdotes relevant to the early use of sign language in scientific circles. Little is known about the structure and functions of signs used among deaf people three centuries ago. One anecdote, possibly the first documented report of sibling interpreting, occurred during Dr. William Harvey's Continental journey with the Earl of Arundel in 1636:
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