Biography

Donaldson's Hospital, Edinburgh, was founded by James Donaldson, of Broughton Hall, an Edinburgh publisher (1751-1830). In his will he left his "property, heritable and personal, to build and found a hospital for boys and girls, to be called Donaldson's Hospital", the purpose being to clothe, maintain and educate children. Priority was to be given to children named Donaldson or Marshall. The Hospital opened its doors in 1850, and from the start, deaf-mute as well as hearing children were admitted. The education of deaf and hearing children was kept separate and each school had their own classrooms and staff, the hearing children under the House Governor and the deaf children under the Headmaster.

The Edinburgh Royal Institution, founded in 1810, was amalgamated with Donaldson's Hospital in 1938 to form Donaldson’s School for the Deaf.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records: