Agatha Tiegel Hanson

Agatha Tiegel Hanson (September 14, 1873 – October 17, 1959) was the second woman to graduate from the National Deaf-Mute College (Gallaudet College's official name until 1894) in 1893 and the first woman to receive a Bachelor of Arts from the school. She worked as an educator for deaf students and advocated for the deaf community throughout her life. Hanson also wrote poetry and edited a newspaper for the deaf.

Early life Agatha Mary Agnes Tiegel was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 14, 1873. At age seven she contracted spinal meningitis, which left her deaf and blind in one eye. Tiegel enrolled in preparatory classes at the college in 1888 at the age of fifteen. The group discussed literature and debated with each other, since they were not permitted to debate with male students. Over time O.W.L.S. would become a national alumnae organization, and in 1954 the National O.W.L.S. changed their name to Phi Kappa Zeta.

Career After graduating Tiegel accepted an appointment to teach at the Minnesota School for the Deaf, where she worked for six years. She contributed articles to a national newspaper for the deaf, The Silent Worker, and later served as an editor for the Seattle newspaper for the deaf community, The Seattle Observer.

Legacy Gallaudet's Hanson Plaza and Dining Hall is named in her honor. In 2014 Gallaudet celebrated its 150th anniversary by selecting fifteen notable alumni to highlight as "visionary leaders"; both Hanson and her husband, Olof, were among the fifteen selected.

In 2020 a biography of Hanson was written by Kathy Jankowski, Agatha Tiegel Hanson: Our Places in the Sun.