James Logan

James Logan was born on February 27, 1843 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. When he was four years old he got sick. He had scarlet fever (MP4). He became deaf because he was sick. Logan went to school at the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf. When he graduated he kept studying. He did not want to stop learning. He even had a tutor (MP4).

Logan started working for the U.S. Coast Survey. He went to college at Gallaudet College. He saved microbes he found at his job. He would look at them under a microscope (MP3) at school.

While he was in college he asked the Smithsonian Institution to help him get a better microscope. He wanted to have it brought across the ocean from Europe (MP4). He wanted to improve the microscope. First he changed the microscope so it would not vibrate (MP4). He was given a patent for the changes he made.

After this he became a teacher at the Illinois School for the Deaf. He did not think deaf students learned enough about science. He wrote about this in the American Annals of the Deaf. While he was a teacher there he became interested in foraminiferous materials (MP4).

After this he helped found the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. He was the first Superintendent (MP4). While he worked there he started writing books for children. You can still find his book in some libraries.

For a short time Logan had his own business. He sold metal (MP4) and sold glasses, and made scientific tools. Later he worked for the Department of Agriculture (MP4) in Pennsylvania as a microscopist (MP4). His job was to make sure there were not bacteria (MP4) in the city's food.

After this Logan started working as an instructor at the Western Pennsylvania Medical College. Then he moved to work in the Biological Laboratory (MP4) of the Western University of Pennsylvania.

He communicated by writing most of his life. He wrote articles about fingerspelling and sign language.  He died on December 9, 1917. He had pneumonia (MP4).