Ferdinand Berthier in Louhans Châteaurenard (Saône-et-Loire (71))

Ferdinand Berthier (1803-86), born in Louhans, was (surely very oddly) nicknamed 'The Napoleon of the deaf-mutes', and became deaf at the age of four. He was the first deaf member of the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, the founder of the Association de sourds et muets, and became teacher at the Institut national des Sourds et muets in Paris. All his life was devoted to promoting the use of sign language and the civil rights of deaf people.