Origins of Formal Sign Language?

Sign language as we know it today formally began in the mid-18th century when two deaf teachers developed a system for spelling out French words with a manual alphabet which became French Sign Language (FSL). Thomas Gallaudet brought FSL to the US in 1816. He founded the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. The new sign language was combined with what was already being used to make American Sign Language (ASL). It’s the 4th most common language in the US today.