This book is the result of research about the education of the deaf and the dumb from the beginning in the former Russian provinces of Courland, Livonia and the territory of Latgale which since the declaration of Independence in 1918 together form the territory of nowadays Latvia. It shows the development of the education of the deaf, the activities of the schools and the teachers under the social and political conditions in their respective times. It documents the difficulties and the successes in this sector of the education of pupils with special needs, the influence of German, Swiss, French and Russian pedagogues and scientists