Elizabeth English Benson (1904–1972) was an American educator for deaf students who taught at Gallaudet College for two decades before being named Dean of Women there.
[1] At two, she was pictured with her sister and parents in the popular deaf newspaper, The Silent Worker (May 1906, vol.
In 1950, she succeeded Dr. Elizabeth Peet as the Dean of Women[3] and remained there until her retirement in 1970 after 44 years of service to the Gallaudet.
[3]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.
"[3] 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.