We know that there are many people in the world of science of recognized prestige who have become deaf. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb and the telegraph, began to be deaf at the age of 12 and, by the way, he considered that his deafness allowed him to avoid distractions and concentrate better on his work. Frenchman Charles Nicolle, who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1928, became completely deaf at the age of 20, making him the first deaf Nobel Prize winner in history (when he was 62). The Australian-British John Cornforth won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 and became deaf at the age of 10, remaining completely deaf at the age of 20.
However, there are many other scientists who were born deaf and their contributions to science were also recognised, although fewer famous. Among these people is Olaf Hassel, deaf from birth and a Norwegian astronomer who discovered a comet and a nova.
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| Olaf Hassel (photo: andata.no) |
Discovery of Hassel's Comet in 1939
Olaf discovered a new, hitherto unknown comet on 15 April 1939. However, he registered his finding at the Astronomical Observatory the next day, as he could not do so by telephone like other astronomers of his time. On the same day, the comet was also sighted by two other Russian astronomers, so the comet was eventually named Comet Jurlov-Achmarov-Hassel.
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| Comet Jurlov-Achmarov-Hassel (photo: Rise Hvezd, nº 6-7, 1.VI.1939) |
Discovery of the Herculis nova 1960
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From Farmer To Prestigious Astronomer
Ola Hassel was born in 1898 on a small farm near Kongsberg in southern Norway and attended a school for the deaf in Oslo between 1907 and 1915. His passion for astronomy has a curious beginning: when he was attending this school, the First World War started at the end of July 1914, which extended his holidays. Just before the holidays, Olaf had bought a small book from another older student at the school, which contained a map of the stars in the sky.
From then on, he dedicated his whole life to astronomy, studying mathematics by correspondence (the rudimentary method of distance learning at the time), as his father decided that his place was on the farm, observing the stars and reading books. In 1926 he bought his first telescope from his own savings and, with the experience of the years, acquired better equipment until he specialised in astronomical photography and in 1941 was hired as an assistant by the Institute of Meteorology. From 1969 he was appointed an honorary member of the Norwegian Astronomical Society.
Olaf was a very active member of the Norwegian deaf community, often giving lectures to deaf people about his work. This is one of the few videos that can be found of Olaf:
Despite the many recognitions and merits that he received throughout his life, Olaf died in sad circumstances: from 1970 onwards, several of his brothers and sisters died, which left him in a deep depression that finally led to his death. But we should certainly remember him for his important scientific contribution to astronomy.
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| Olaf Hassel on the roof of the Meteorological Institute (photo: andata.no / Norsk Døvehistorisk Selskap) |
Sources:
- Anda, R. (1997). The deafborn Norwegian farmeboy with av world reputation among astronomers. In 3rd International Conference on Deaf History in Trondheim, 10 - 14 September 1997. Retrieved from http://www.andata.no/hassel/OlafHassel-engelsk.htm
- Belsky, M. (2016, September, 28). Living Loud: Charles Jules Henry Nicolle - First Deaf Nobel Award Recipient. In Signing Savvy. Retrieved from https://www.signingsavvy.com/article/226/Living+Loud%3A+Charles+Jules+Henry+Nicolle+-+First+Deaf+Nobel+Award+Recipient
- Cristiano, A. (2018, June, 1). Olaf Hassel. Retrieved from https://www.libras.com.br/surdos-famosos-olaf-hassel
