Laurent Clerc, called the Apostle to the Deaf Mutes of the New World, was born in La Balme, France, on December 26, 1785, landed at New York on August 9, 1816, and died at Hartford on July 18, 1869. A.M., he was the pupil of Sicard and the associate of Gallaudet, and he left his native land to elevate deaf mutes by his teaching and encourage them by his example.