The chief events and personages in the history of the education of blind and deaf children are delineated, and the significant controversies surrounding them are explored. The history is apportioned into three epochs characterized by the attitudes of society toward the blind, deaf, and handicapped in general: (1) indifference or segregation; (2) pity and humanitarianism; and (3) self-reliance and social integration. Following a series of term definitions, the historical review begins with a focus on the French, Germans, and English in the 1700's and early 1800's. American pioneers are then discussed, focusing on the work of Samuel Gridley Howe and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. Several controversial issues are then examined, including teaching the deaf through oralism versus manualism, residential versus local schools, vocational training versus academic education, and training of teachers. An appendix contains a chronology of important events in the education of the blind and deaf. (JDD)