Albert Einstein
The Mathematician & Physicist who had a learning disability and did
not speak until age 3. He had a very
difficult time doing math in school. It was also very hard for him to
express himself through writing.
Christopher Reeve
Never has a person with a disability commanded so much media attention
in recent history. Christopher
Reeve, crippled after a horse-riding injury, wants to be up on his
feet & wants to help others stand
confident too. His life is now dedicated to harnessing the power of
medical research to get up & ride
again.
David Blunkett
The Rt Hon David Blunkett MP is without doubt Britain's most famous
guide dog owner. Often
photographed with his guide dogs - Ted, Offa and Lucy - David Blunkett
also holds the powerful political
post of Home Secretary. Joining the Labour party aged 16, he was
elected to Sheffield City Council aged
22. He was the council leader from 1980 to 1987 until he was elected
MP for Sheffield Brightside. Seen as
the archetypal municipal Socialist, he is in many senses a traditional
Labour man - beard-wearing and
blunt-talking. Arguably, he is a role model for disabled people who
just want to get on with their lives.
Edison
Edison had a learning disability. He couldn't read until he was twelve
years old and had a very difficult time
writing even when he was older.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Roosevelt had Polio, was governor of New York State then elected
President of the United States for 4
terms.
George Washington
Had a learning disability. He could barely write and had very poor
grammar skills.
Goya
Spanish painter (1746-1828): At age 46, an illness left him deaf. He
went on to create the most famous
Spanish art of the 19th century.
Helen Keller
(Devoted Life to Persons with Disabilities) She was Blind, Deaf, and Mute
Alexander Graham Bell
Had a learning disability
John Milton
English Author/poet (1608-1674): He became blind at age 43. He went on
to create his most famous epic,
Paradise Lost.
Lord Byron
"Mad, bad and dangerous to know", Britain's great romantic was also
born with talipes, a club foot. It is
said that he "walked with difficulty but wandered at will". He toured
Europe extensively and captured the
popular imagination through his poetry and his personality. From
gloomy egoism through to satiric realism
he was renowned for his writings, his sexual ambivalences and his
championing of Greek independence
from the Turks. Disability activist Tom Shakespeare summed him up in
the following way: "Most of his
poetry hasn't stood the test of time, but he was a blockbuster in his
day, and like very few other heroes, his
name is still used as an adjective - 'Byronic', meaning
dashing."
Lord Nelson
Viscount Horatio Nelson is certainly Britain's greatest naval hero.
His skill as a naval commander is, of
course, well-documented. He won crucial victories at Trafalgar in 1805
and the Battle of the Nile in 1798,
during the wars with revolutionary and Napoleonic France. What is less
often remarked upon is that a great
part of his naval career and his major victories were won as a
disabled person. Going ashore in Corsica
following the fall of Toulon, a French shot flung debris into his face
leaving him without sight in his right eye.
Later, an assault on Tenerife resulted in a shattered right elbow -
back on his flagship the arm was
amputated. He carried on as a disabled seaman for nearly ten years,
securing his most important naval
victories at the Battle of the Nile and the infamous Battle of
Trafalgar - where he died on October 21, 1805.
Contrary to popular belief, he didn't say "I see no ships". Instead he
said, during the Battle of Copenhagen,
"... I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes" and,
raising his telescope to his blind eye, "I
really do not see the signal".
Marla Runyan
One of the women representing the Unites States in the 1500 metre
track event at hte 2000 Olympics was
Marla Runyan. The American runner finished seventh in her preliminary
heat and rose to sixth in the semi
finals to qualify for the finals. During the final race, Marla lost
track of the major competitors. She finished in
eighth position, 3.20 seconds behind the gold medal winner. In 1996,
Marla set several track and field
records at the Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Following that
success, Marla wanted to compete in the
2000 Olympics in Sydney -- even though she is legally blind. The
31-year-old runner has been diagnosed
with Stargardt disease. This is a condition that leaves her with a
limited ability to see what is in front of her.
In Sydney, Marla became the first legally blind athlete to compete in
an Olympics.
Marlee Matlin
Marlee Matlin is a stand-up comedian and an actress. Some of her films
include A Dead Silence, My
Party,A Hear No Evil, A Bridge to Silence, A Walker, and A Children of
A Lesser God. In 1987, she
captivated the world by winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in
the film A Children of a Lesser
God. Marlee Matlin became deaf in infancy due to Roseola infantum.
However, deafness has not disabled
her or her career.
Michael Bolton
(famous Singer): Deaf in one ear
Sarah Bernhardt
French actress (1844-1923) Disabled by a knee injury, her leg
amputated in 1914, she continued starring
on stage until just before her death. She is regarded as France's
greatest actress -- "The Divine Sarah".
Stephen Hawkings
Physicist/mathematician has Lou Gehrigs Disease and is in a
wheelchair. He needs a computer to speak.
Sudha Chandran
(Indian actress and classical dancer) This brave lady dances with a
Jaipur foot. She has acted in a movie
on classical dance called "Nache Mayuri" & today acts in a variety of
TV serials.
Tanni Grey-Thompson
Tanni Carys Davina Grey-Thompson OBE - to give her full name and title
- is the disabled athlete that most
people instantly recognise. Formerly Tanni Grey - the Thompson was
added following her marriage in
1999 - she has competed in Paralympic Games since 1988, representing
Britain at distances ranging
from 100m to 800m. She has won fourteen paralympic medals including
nine golds, and has broken over
twenty world records. As a wheelchair athlete she was also the winner
of five London marathons - in 1992,
1994, 1996, 1998 and 2001. In recent years, she has established
herself as a TV presenter - including
BBC Two's from the Edge disability magazine programme.
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