Dr. Frederick Harry Hughes
1892-1957
Dr. Fredrick Hughes, 64,
Professor and Chairman of the Department of Economics at Gallaudet College, the
world’s only college for the deaf, and for over forty years one of its
most beloved, died suddenly of a heart attack Sunday evening, May 6, on the
College campus. Minutes before,
The Tower Clock, senior class yearbook, had been dedicated to him, before a
packed Chapel Hall audience of students, alumni, and faculty. He was having refreshments on the
Chapel terrace outside when he suddenly succumbed.
Frederick Henry Hughes was
born in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, July 15, 1892. At the age of six, he lost his hearing from spinal
meningitis, and after six years at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Mt.
Airy, he entered Gallaudet, in 1908.
He was graduated in 1913 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He returned for a Master of Arts
degree, after which he taught for a year in the Alabama School for the Deaf in
Talladega.
In 1915 he joined the faculty of Gallaudet College, remaining
from that time on as a member of its staff. Commemorating his forty years of distinguished service, the
Board of Directors of the College voted to confer the honorary degree of Doctor
of Letters upon him, at the commencement exercise last June.
The death of Dr. Hughes
removes from the campus of Gallaudet College a personality which for more than
two score years exerted a profound influence on the students, alumni, and
faculty. His achievements were many. In his early years as an instructor, he
taught chemistry, English, and dramatics, but the major part of his career was
devoted to the teaching of economics, in which field he rose to the rank of
full professor.
But, “Teddy”, as
he was affectively known, was much more than an ordinary schoolroom
instructor. He gained nation-wide
renown among the deaf as a platform speaker, and he was in great demand for
that service, for he was skilled in keenness of wit, and a remarkable power of
expression in the use of the language of signs.
Dr. Hughes gained national
fame in two other fields. Under
his tutelage Gallaudet College produced some of the finest athletic teams in
its history. His football teams
made enviable records on the playing fields, against schools with far greater
player and supporting resources.
His basketball and track squads gave an equally fine account of
themselves; so much so, that the Hughes touch became the envy of coaches
everywhere. Last year he was
elected to the American Athletic Association of the Deaf Hall of Fame.
In the field of dramatics,
Gallaudet College students, under his direction, presented plays of high
quality. His skill brought out and
developed talent in acting and pantomime of the finest degree. His productions of Gilbert and Sullivan
were astonishingly graphic, succeeding in translating via the language of signs
the little rhythms of those masters of the theatre. His “Arsenic and Old Lace” troupe was taken by
Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse, the original producers, for a special show on
Broadway which drew rave notices from the New York press.
Professor Hughes is survived
by his widow, the former Regina Olson, and two sisters, Mrs. Marion A. Cressler
of Pittsburgh, and Mrs. Carl T. Pfaefflin of Washington, D. C.
Gallaudet Press Release
A letter was written to
Gallaudet College President E. M. Gallaudet by a Congressman of
Pennsylvania. The Congressman made
a request to Gallaudet to admit Frederick Hughes into the college even though
he was only 16 years old. The
Congressman helped by paying for Hughes’ tuition, room and board.
Harrisburg, Pa., August 12,
1908
Hon. E. M. Gallaudet,
President, Gallaudet College
My Dear Sir:
Mr. Frederick H. Hughes, a
deaf lad, sixteen years of age, whose mother, Mrs. Hannah M. Hughes, lives at
Middletown, Pa., in this district, is desirous of entering Gallaudet College
upon a Government scholarship. His
father, Henry Hughes, was a soldier in Civil War and died about five years ago,
leaving Mrs. Hughes with six children --- five besides Frederick --- one of
whom is married and one other self-supporting. Mrs. Hughes has not the means to further educate
Frederick. He recently graduated
with honors at the Pennsylvania Institution at Mount Airy, Philadelphia, where
he was sent by friends of the family.
The young man is highly recommended by the Superintendent of the Mount
Airy Institution, is intelligent, industrious, studious and honest, and I shall
be very glad indeed if he may be admitted to Gallaudet College.
Very Respectfully,
Signed (not clear to read)
Gallaudet University
ArchivesGallaudet University Archives
Contributing:
Reginald L. Boyd
July
2002