While he is best known for his efforts to preserve and nurture sign language by capturing it on film, Veditz's many contributions to the deaf community changed the course of deaf history during a time when deaf people were struggling to preserve their own culture and language.

Veditz graduated from Gallaudet in 1884 with a degree in education.

Born in 1861 to German immigrants in Baltimore, Md., Veditz became deaf at age 8 due to scarlet fever. He was fluent in spoken English and German, among several ...

George Veditz lived from 1861-1937, and was a great defender of the rights of the Deaf and was instrumental in the preservation of American Sign Language during a time when its legitimacy was not only questioned, but was almost destroyed by the oralist movement. Many times he fought alone against the popular opinion of his day, but his efforts are now highly regarded in the Deaf community and cherished by those who practice the language.

Born in 1861 to German immigrants in Baltimore, Md., Veditz became deaf at age 8 due to scarlet fever. He was fluent in spoken English and German, among several other languages. After he became deaf, he was privately tutored until he was 14, when he enrolled at the Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD) in Frederick. Although MSD at the time primarily trained its students in shoemaking, the school's principal hired Veditz as his private secretary and bookkeeper. Veditz wanted to enroll at Gallaudet in 1878 but could not afford to finance his education. (...) In 1880, Veditz finally enrolled at Gallaudet, where he studied education. He graduated in 1884 as valedictorian of his class, and returned to MSD to teach for four years. He earned a master's degree from Gallaudet in 1887.

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