Since 1992, the United Nations has marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3.
Throughout history, people with disabilities have continued to thrive and achieve.
Here are eight of the most famous.
Senator . U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth was recently elected to the Senate from Illinois. She lost both legs when she was a helicopter pilot in the Iraq War.
President. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt lost the use of his legs when he contracted polio as an adult. He rarely allowed himself to be seen using a wheelchair in public.
Scientist. Stephen Hawking is a British theoretical physicist who contracted ALS shortly after he turned 21.
Actor . “Superman” actor Christopher Reeve became paralyzed in 1995 after a fall from a horse. He died in 2004.
Activist. Helen Keller, an activist and feminist born in 1880, became blind and deaf as a baby.
Poet. The 17th century poet John Milton, who wrote “Paradise Lost,” went blind at 43.
Composer. Composer Ludwig van Beethoven began going deaf at age 28. He never heard his famous Ninth Symphony.
War hero. The British Admiral Horatio Nelson lost an arm and the sight in one eye in battle. He won the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
