BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

Walter Goreth Durian was born on May 23, 1889 in New Market, New Jersey. He attended the Pennsylvania School for  the Deaf in 1895, but he left the school probably in 1907, when he was a junior, to accept a printing job in Erie and later Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was dissatisfied with his lack of education, and he entered the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf two years later to prepare for Gallaudet College. 
  
Mr. Durian was admitted to Gallaudet College in 1909 and received a B.A. Degree in 1914. After his graduation, he went to the American School for the Deaf and worked as a printing instructor. Under his direction, a small print shop was equipped in 1914. The school newspaper American Era was begun by Walter Durian in 1914. 
  
In 1955, Mr. Durian retired after 41 years of service to the American School for the Deaf. In 1957, the school named a new vocational building after him in recognition of his services as teacher, editor, and unofficial archivist. He died on February 13, 1959 in West Hartford, Connecticut, at the age of 69. 

SCOPE AND CONTENT 

The Walter Goreth Durian Collection consists of partly personal memento dating from 1885-1954. The majority of the papers date from the 1930's to the 1950's. The bulk of the collection consists of clippings, correspondence, diaries, and rough drafts. 
  
In the folder of newspaper clippings, one can find some articles dating from the the late 1880's and there is one page from the Silent World issued on June 23, 1892. Mr. Durian's diaries contain notes from baseball scores and some notes about his retirement from the American School for the Deaf. 
  
The collection is arranged alphabetically by subject.

FOLDER LIST  

Box	Folder	Title of Folder	Date
1	1	Clippings	1885-1954
1	2	Correspondence	1934-1954
1	3	Diary	n.d.
1	4	Miscellaneous	1892-1940
1	5	Rough drafts	n.d.