John Carlin was a "jack of all trades." He was an artist. He was a writer. He taught himself five foreign languages without help. He was a leader among the deaf. John Carlin was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on June 15, 1813. He was the son of a poor shoemaker. His younger brother, Andrew, was also deaf. Their parents let them do their own thing. John and Andrew did not do tasks that other children of their ages had to do so they had a lot of free ___1___. Since Philadelphia was not very big back then, their parents allowed them to roam about the ___2___. Although he was poor, John acquired many rich experiences when he was young. John showed his talent for drawing early in life. He would draw pictures upon the ____3____ of his home with chalk. Of course, when his mother saw what he had done, she would quickly ___4___ his work with a mop. When John was only 12 years old he went to work as a sign and house painter. His days were busy with work. However, he ___5___ at night. That is how he taught himself five languages. When he was 20 years old, he went to New York to learn drawing and portrait painting. When his ___6___ ran out, he went to work again. But he would return to drawing and painting whenever he could afford to. In 1841 he tried painting miniature portraits. He opened a studio in New York and became a popular painter of miniatures for the wealthy New York families. Later, when photography became popular, he turned to landscape and subject painting. John was a leader among the deaf. He talked to Edward Miner Gallaudet about founding a college for the deaf. Later he was the first person to receive an honorary degree from Gallaudet. John Carlin was one who didn't let deafness and ___7___ stop him from doing what he wanted to. He overcame all obstacles to become a successful American.