The Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet Papers consist of correspondence, biographical information, articles, certificates, genealogical information, plays/scripts, poems, receipts, recipe book, diaries, speeches, pamphlets, and sermons. Dr. Gallaudet was the first superintendent of the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb from 1857 to 1864. He was the first president of the National Deaf-Mute College from 1864 to 1910. In 1894, the college name was changed to Gallaudet College in honor of his father, Rev. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet.

The collection, which consists of approximately 3,825 pages, dates from 1851 to 1984. The bulk of the collection consists of articles, letters, publications, and sermons. The bulk dates are mostly between 1856 and 1910, during Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet’s presidency between 1864 and 1910. The strength of the collection is centered mostly on speeches, sermons, and letters. The largest subject in the collection is focused on the education of the deaf and his lectures on various subjects related to the deaf. Dr. Gallaudet wrote many articles related to the deaf and gave his speeches to different organizations. He also gave his lectures to his student body and faculty of Gallaudet College. An index to the Addresses and Lectures is included. The collection includes the sermons he delivered to the student body between 1866 and 1906. Included in the collection is an index to titles of sermons and historical information on this subject.

In Series 3, Dr. Gallaudet corresponded with his associates and friends between 1856 and 1917. Correspondents were Alexander Graham Bell, President Grover Cleveland, Senator Henry L. Dawes, Julian Pauncefote, President James A. Garfield, John Hay, Amos Kendall, and other notable persons. In Series 4, included in the collection, there are copies of letters from other repositories. In the early 1980s, David de Lorenzo wrote to the repositories to find out if their holdings contain Edward Miner Gallaudet’s letters. The repositories sent copies of Gallaudet’s letters for our collection.