Despite their disabilities, these notable Americans overcame adversity and went on to achieve great success in government, art, entertainment, education, civil rights and activism.
Read more about these individuals (PDF, 1.3Mb)
 Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) Learning Disability |
 Harry Belafonte (b. 1927) Dyslexia |
 Ray Charles (1930-2004) Blind from Glaucoma |
 Thomas Edison (1847-1931) Almost Deaf, Possibly from Scarlet Fever |
 José Feliciano (b.1945) Blind since Birth |
 Daniel Inouye (b. 1924) Lost Arm in World War II |
 William Ellsworth Hoy (1862-1961) Deaf from Meningitis |
 Barbara Jordan (1936-1996) Multiple Sclerosis |
 Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) Childhood Polio, Street Car Accident |
 Helen Keller (1880-1968) Deaf and Blind |
 Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) Polio |
 Audre Lorde (1934-1992) Low Vision, Cancer |
 Anne Sullivan Macy (1866-1936), depicted with Alexander Graham Bell and Helen Keller Low Vision |
 Wilma P. Mankiller (b.1945) Myasthenia Gravis |
 Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) Adult Onset Polio |
 Harriet Tubman (1820-1913) Symptoms Consistent with Epilepsy and Narcolepsy |
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