David Hirsch
David Hirsch with two students in 1853
Born	(1813-05-23)May 23, 1813 Müntz [de], Rhenish Prussia
Died	February 2, 1895(1895-02-02) (aged 81) Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Academic work
Notable students	William van Praagh

David Hirsch (May 23, 1813 – February 2, 1895) was a German educator of the deaf.

David Hirsch was born into a Jewish family in Müntz [de], Rhenish Prussia, in 1813. At a young age, he began teaching children in the local Jewish community. His success in teaching two deaf boys to speak and write attracted the attention of the Prussian government.^[1][2] He went on to study at the Heinicke Institute for Deaf-Mutes in Crefeld, and afterwards at a similar institute in Cologne.

At the age of 25, Hirsch was appointed director of a school for the deaf in Aachen. In 1847, he relocated to Rotterdam to work as a private tutor for the two deaf children of Machiel Polano [Wikidata].^[1] Over time, additional deaf children were placed under his instruction. On May 23, 1853, Hirsch founded the Rotterdamsche Inrichting voor Doofstommen-onderwijs,^[2] the first school in Holland dedicated to the oralist method for the education of the deaf. He managed this institution until 1887, when health issues forced him to step down from active leadership.^[3]

In recognition of his contributions to education, the Dutch government awarded Hirsch the Order of the Netherlands Lion, and France named him an Officier de l'Académie.

• L'enseignement des sourds-muets d'après la méthode Allemande (Méthode-Amman) introduit en Belgique. Souvenirs d'une visite faite aux écoles des sourds-muets à Anvers, Brux., Gand et Bruges. Rotterdam. 1868.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Lees- en taaloefeningen ten dienste van doofstomme kinderen, in de laagste klasse der lagere school. Bewerkt naar M. Hill's Elementar Lese- und Sprachbuch für Taubstumme. Rotterdam. 1864–1869.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Wenken bij de opvoeding van doofstommen. Rotterdam. 1875.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Le troisième congrès international pour l'amélioration du sort des sourds-muets, tenu à Bruxelles, considéré en rapport avec l'Institution des sourds-muets à Rotterdam. Rotterdam. 1884.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; Wilson, Franklin S. (1904). "Hirsch, David". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 410.