What exactly does disability mean? If someone has a disability and they’re successful, are they really disabled? If you need some inspiration, take a look at these 10 majorly successful people with disabilities. These are the men and women who have managed to overcome obstacles most of us can’t even comprehend and achieve major success in life that would be amazing even if a non-disabled person accomplished it.
In today’s modern society that prides itself on accessibility, acceptance and diversity, disabled persons have troubles achieving even a modicum of success. Whether it is due to the social stigma that accompanies disability of any sort or physical impairments imposed by people who design the world that surrounds us solely for the benefit of non-disabled people
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com
Although disabled people living in the modern world have their work cut out for them on the road to success, it was far worse in the old days. The further back we go through human history, the harder it was for people with disabilities to have a life worthy of a human being. The culmination of that would be Sparta. Every baby was inspected on birth any if even a hint of disability was discovered, the elders would leave it in the woods to die either from exposure or by wild animals. Even though the Spartans are best known for this practice, plenty other ancient civilizations used it, in order to keep the numbers of what they saw as “unproductive” members of society down to a minimum. We will never find out in what measure has this savage practice hurt the human kind and how many genius minds have we lost to it. Perhaps the list of the greatest mathematicians of all time would look completely different, if the practice of killing babies with disabilities hasn’t been so successful.
Not everyone on our list of 10 majorly successful people with disabilities were born that way. Some suffered an injury or an illness that left them with a disability. What all 10 have in common is that they didn’t let their disability stop them from achieving success. Due to various fields they have been active in, it is hard to compare their success or contribution to humanity, so we listed them in no particular order.
10. Sudha Chandran
1964
In 1981, then 17-year-old Sudha Chandran was in a car accident. Due to complications, the doctors were forced to amputate her right leg. Despite being forced to use a prosthetic leg, she became one of the most successful dancers in India and the world.
9. Admiral Nelson
1758 – 1805
Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was a bitter event for then Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson. Not only had he lost the battle, but an arm as well. He was wounded and his right arm had to be amputated. Next year, during the famous Battle of the Nile, he lost an eye when a French musket ball hit him. This time however, Nelson won the battle and ended Napoleon’s Egypt adventure. The lack of an arm and an eye didn’t stop him from battling the navies of France and her allies for the next 7 years, until that faithful morning of October 21st, 1805 and Battle of Trafalgar. A French sharpshooter ended the life of Britain’s most successful admiral. Before he died, he was told the news of his victory, the one that allowed Britain to rule the waves for the next 140 years.
8. Ludwig van Beethoven
1770 – 1827
Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the most successful composers in history. He was also deaf, which makes his success even more astonishing. His loss of hearing started at the age of 26 and by the time he was 44, he was completely deaf. Somehow, he managed to write some of the most beautiful music ever created although he never heard it, except in his head.
7. Lord Byron
1788 – 1824
Some historians suggest that Lord Byron’s disability was the reason behind his rebellious nature. As a child, ne was constantly teased because of his club foot (a congenital deformity). His disability is one of the reasons behind his success, as it formed a foundation of his personality that, years later, led the Romantic Movement.
6. Helen Keller
1880 – 1968
Helen Keller was born a healthy baby. At 19 months, she contracted a disease that left her both blind and deaf. That didn’t stop her from becoming the first blind and deaf person to earn a bachelor’s degree. She gained fame by touring the world and giving speeches about women’s rights and pacifism. Helen Keller was one the most famous disability-rights activist.
5. Franklin D. Roosevelt
1882 – 1945
Number 5 on our list of majorly successful people with disabilities is President Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR was one of the most popular US presidents and the only one who won 4 presidential elections. Even more astonishing is the fact that he won them while being paralyzed from the waist down. The paralysis was brought by polio, which Roosevelt contracted in 1921. Roosevelt was able to stand (and even walk for a few steps) by using the cumbersome metal braces that locked his knees. He still went on to win WW2 and a place in world history.
4. Stephen Hawking
1942
Stephen Hawking is one of the most accomplished theoretical physicists in history. His book A Brief History of Time has been sold in more than 20 million copies and translated into 35 languages. He is currently the Director of research of Cambridge’s Centre for Theoretical Cosmology. He achieved his success despite being plagued with ALS (or Lou Gehrig’s disease) that left him in a wheelchair. He communicates by using a single muscle in his cheek, tied to the computer that interprets for him. Professor Hawking is wildly recognized as one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.
3. Stevie Wonder
1950
Born 6 weeks premature, Stevie Wonder suffered from retinopathy of prematurity, which caused his eyes to abort growth, which left him blind. He went on to become one of the most successful musicians in the world, starting his career at the age of 11. Stevie playing the piano with his glasses on is one of the most iconic images of the 20th century.
2. John Milton
1608 – 1674
As the author of one of the most famous literary work written on English language, John Milton is a well-known figure throughout the world. He was also very successful politician during the reign of Oliver Cromwell. A little less known is the fact that he created Paradise Lost while being completely blind. He lost his eyesight in 1654 and was forced to dictate more than 10,000 lines of verse of his most successful work. Unfortunately, he never saw or read his masterpiece with his own eyes.
1. Nick Vujicic
1982
The youngest person on our list of majorly successful people with disabilities, Nick was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, an extremely rare condition resulting in missing all 4 limbs. Despite that, he managed to obtain a double major from Griffith University. He later became a motivational speaker. Nick lectures and success have inspired people worldwide.
yakub88 / Shutterstock.com
