Ferdinand Berthier, a remarkable person who made significant contributions to the deaf community and culture.

Ferdinand Berthier was a remarkable person who made significant contributions to the deaf community and culture. Here are some more facts about him:

- He was born deaf and learned sign language at the National Institute for the Deaf in Paris, where he later became a teacher and a mentor for many deaf students. 

- He was a prolific writer and published many books and articles on deaf history, education, literature, and politics. He also founded the first deaf journal in France, called the Gazette des Sourds-muets. 

- He was a leader and an activist who advocated for the rights and dignity of deaf people. He organized the first silent banquet in 1834, which was a social and political event where deaf people communicated only in sign language. He also established the first deaf organization in France, called the Société Centrale des Sourds-muets, which aimed to unite and empower deaf people across the world. 

- He was a pioneer and a visionary who recognized the importance of sign language as a natural and expressive language of deaf people. He defended sign language against the oralist movement, which tried to suppress it and force deaf people to speak and lip-read. He also celebrated sign language as a source of artistic and cultural expression. 

- He was honored by the French government with the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1849, making him the first deaf person to receive this prestigious award. He was also commemorated by Google with a doodle on his 220th birthday in 2023.