17 Notable alumni of Gallaudet University
Updated: June 16, 2026 EliteDegrees
Gallaudet University is ranked #1,868 in the world and #461 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 17 notable alumni from Gallaudet University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Gallaudet University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Samuel Thomas Greene
1843-1890 (aged 47)
educator
Samuel Thomas Greene was a Deaf American educator and Ontario's first Deaf teacher in 1870 at the Ontario Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, which later changed to Sir James Whitney School of the Deaf in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. He was born in 1843 in Portland, Maine and attended America's first Deaf school in Hartford, Connecticut.
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2. Harvey Prindle Peet
1794-1873 (aged 79)
teacher
Harvey Prindle Peet was an American educator.
3. Andrew Phillips
lawyer
Andrew Phillips is a deaf lawyer, and an advocate for equal access.
4. Cadwallader Lincoln Washburn
1866-1965 (aged 99)
painter
etcher
Cadwallader Lincoln Washburn was an American artist and adventurer. Deaf from the age of five, Washburn had a varied career, including creating paintings and etchings and serving as a war correspondent in the Russo-Japanese War, Mexican Revolution, and World War I. He was also an accomplished naturalist, writing on the intelligence of insects and spiders as well as serving on...
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5. Audree Norton
1927-2015 (aged 88)
actor
Audree Lauraine Norton was a deaf actress and educator.
6. Robert Panara
1920-2014 (aged 94)
educator
Robert F. Panara was a poet, a professor and a co-founder of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) and the National Theater of the Deaf. Panara is considered to be a pioneer in deaf culture studies in the United States.
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7. Carl G. Croneberg
1930-2022 (aged 92)
linguist
researcher
professor
Carl Gustav Arvid Olof Croneberg was a Swedish-American Deaf linguist known for his work on American Sign Language (ASL).
8. George Veditz
1861-1937 (aged 76)
educator
film director
George William Veditz was an American educator, filmmaker, and activist who served as the seventh President of the National Association of the Deaf from 1904 to 1910. He is remembered as one of the most ardent and visible advocates of American Sign Language (ASL) and was one of the first people to film ASL. His 1913 film "Preservation of the...
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9. Arika Okrent
Esperantist
linguist
talk show guest
Arika Okrent /ˈɛrɪkə ˈoʊkrɛnt/ is an American linguist and writer of popular works on linguistic topics.
10. Emilio Insolera
1979-. (aged 47)
manufacturer
film director
film producer
actor
film actor
Emilio Insolera is an Italian deaf actor and producer, known for Sign Gene: The First Deaf Superheroes (2017). In 2022, Insolera had a role in Simon Kinberg's The 355. Between 2022 and 2025, Insolera collaborated on feature films for Universal Pictures, Disney, Paramount Pictures and, most recently, Netflix and 20th Century Studios alongside director Ridley Scott.
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11. Roberto Wirth
1950-2022 (aged 72)
entrepreneur
Roberto Enrico Wirth was the owner and managing director of the Hotel Hassler, a five-star hotel located at the top of the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. Roberto E. Wirth represented the fifth generation of Swiss hoteliers. His parents Oscar Wirth and Carmen Bucher Wirth were both descendants of two families of hoteliers: the Bucher family from the Luzern area...
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12. Daniel Durant
1989-. (aged 37)
actor
Daniel N. Durant is an American stage and screen actor. Deaf since birth, his breakthrough starring role was as Moritz Stiefel in the 2015 Broadway revival of Spring Awakening. Durant had a major supporting role in the Academy Award-winning film CODA (2021). He and the cast won the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at...
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13. Russell Harvard
1981-. (aged 45)
television actor
stage actor
actor
film actor
Russell Wayne Harvard is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood (2007), playing opposite Daniel Day-Lewis as his adopted son, H.W. Plainview. In the 2010 biopic The Hammer, he portrayed deaf NCAA championship wrestler and UFC mixed martial arts fighter Matt Hamill. Harvard also won acclaim Off Broadway in 2012...
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14. Shoshannah Stern
1980-. (aged 46)
film producer
film actor
stage actor
film director
television actor
Shoshannah Stern is an American actress and writer.
15. Troy Kotsur
1968-. (aged 58)
actor
film director
Troy Michael Kotsur is an American actor. Born deaf, Kotsur made his acting debut in the late 1980s working with the National Theatre of the Deaf. His television debut was in a 2001 episode of Strong Medicine. His film debut was in the 2007 thriller The Number 23. His accolades include a BAFTA Award, an Academy Award, and a nomination...
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16. Nyle DiMarco
1989-. (aged 37)
film producer
militant
film actor
model
film director
Nyle DiMarco is an American model, actor, and Deaf activist. In 2015, DiMarco was the winner of The CW's reality television series America's Next Top Model in season 22, becoming the second male winner and the first Deaf winner. In the following year, he and professional dance partner Peta Murgatroyd were the winners of the ABC televised dance competition Dancing...
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17. Lauren Ridloff
1978-. (aged 48)
television actor
stage actor
actor
film actor
Lauren Ridloff is a deaf American actress known for her roles in the TV series The Walking Dead and the film Eternals. She gained prominence in 2018 with a lead role in the Broadway revival of Children of a Lesser God, earning her a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play. Ridloff was born in Chicago, Illinois. She...
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