W. R. (William Robert) Roe

Born in Heanor on March 28, 1849, William Robert Roe was an English teacher and writer closely associated with deaf education. He founded the Institution for the Deaf in Derby in 1873 and became its first teacher when it opened the following year.

Roe strongly supported the manual method of teaching, using sign language and finger spelling at a time when educators often argued over whether deaf children should be taught through signing or speech. That practical commitment shaped both his educational work and his writing, which grew out of direct contact with deaf pupils and the wider deaf community.

He is best known as the author of Peeps into the Deaf World (1917), a book remembered for its informed, human view of deaf life and schooling. For listeners interested in social history, education, or disability history, his writing offers a rare perspective from someone who spent decades building and leading an institution for deaf children and adults.