Benson was born September 5, 1904, in
Frederick, Maryland to deaf parents, Harry and Minnie Benson, who worked at the nearby
Maryland School for the Deaf. She was designated a
CODA, a child of deaf adults. Out of necessity, she learned
American Sign Language from an early age to communicate with them. At two, she was pictured with her sister and parents in the popular deaf newspaper,
The Silent Worker (May 1906, vol. 18, no. 8), which regularly featured "typical children of deaf parents."
Education Benson earned her B.A. from
George Washington University; M.A. from
Gallaudet College; honorary doctorate from Gallaudet, 1962; LL.B. from George Washington School of Law.
Teaching She joined the faculty at Gallaudet in 1926 to teach graduate students audiology and lipreading and then became a regular faculty member. In 1950, she succeeded Dr.
Elizabeth Peet as the Dean of Women and remained there until her retirement in 1970 after 44 years of service to the Gallaudet. On her own, she taught in Virginia,
Wartime service With the call to service during
World War II, Benson left the university temporarily to join the
American Women's Voluntary Services and, then the
Women's Army Corps where she could "provide support and resources to newly deafened soldiers." Even after the war and her return to the Gallaudet faculty, Benson sometimes acted as an interpreter for influential figures in Washington, D.C., including Presidents
John F. Kennedy and
Lyndon B. Johnson. Around the same time, she decided to earn a law degree "so that she might better serve deaf people in the courtroom." Benson died in Frederick on December 13, 1972. == Legacy ==