This Day in Disability History
November 8th, 1895 -- Wilhelm
Conrad Röentgen, a German physicist, produces and detects electromagnetic
radiation in a wavelength range now known as X-rays or Röentgen rays.
X-rays are an important diagnostic tool that can detect broken bones, spinal
cord injuries and the like. Roentgen's achievement earned him the first Nobel
Prize in physics in 1901.
November 19th, 1939 - Senator Tom
Harkin is born. Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, began his stint in public service
in 1974, when he was elected to the House of Representatives. In 1984, he was
elected to the Senate. Harkin, whose brother, Frank, was profoundly deaf, is
perhaps best known as an advocate for people with disabilities. In 1990, he
wrote and was the chief sponsor of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA), the nation's first comprehensive civil rights law for people with
disabilities. The sweeping legislation prohibits discrimination against people
with disabilities in employment, in use of public services and in public
accommodations. After the Supreme Court had nullified some of the protections
of the ADA, he introduced the ADA Restoration Act, introduced in the House in
2008.
November 24th, 1864 - French
painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is born. Toulouse-Lautrec, who immersed
himself in the Parisian culture of the late 1800s, was known for his
provocative images of modern life. His short stature -- he stood 4-foot,
6-inches tall -- was attributed to an unknown genetic disorder, possibly
pycnodysostosis or a variant disorder along the lines of osteopetrosis,
achondroplasia or osteogenesis imperfecta.
November 27th, 1978 -- Josh Blue is
born. Blue, who has cerebral palsy, was voted the "Last Comic Standing" on the
NBC TV reality show in 2006. The comedian was born in Cameroon, West Africa,
where his father, a university romance languages professor, was teaching in a
mission. Many of his jokes center on living with his disability, how he deals
with it and how other people view him. He coined the term "palsy punch" during
his final set of the final round of the show, when he said that the palsy punch
is effective in a fight because "first of all, they don't know where the punch
is coming from, and second of all, neither do I." Blue was also a member of the
2004 U.S. Paralympic soccer team. He got his start in comedy doing open-mic
sets while attending The Evergreen State College and has appeared several times
on Comedy Central's "Mind of Mencia." He grew up in Saint Paul, Minn., and
currently resides in Denver, Colo.
December 4th, 1957 -- Eric S.
Raymond, open-source computer programmer and author, is born. Raymond became
known within the hacker culture when he became the maintainer of the "Jargon
File." After the 1997 publication of "The Cathedral and the Bazaar," Raymond
became an informal representative of the open-source movement. He co-founded
the Open Source Initiative in 1998 and later became a self-appointed ambassador
of open source to the press, business world and the public. The release of the
Mozilla (then Netscape) source code in 1998 was an early accomplishment. He
accepted stock options from VA Software to provide credibility to the company
and act as a hired "corporate conscience." He has spoken in more than 15
countries on six continents and appears in the documentary "Revolution OS," a
film on the development of the Linux operating system.
December 16th, 1770 -- Ludwig van
Beethoven, German composer and virtuoso pianist, is born. He was a crucial
figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in
Western classical music and remains one of the most respected and influential
composers of all time. Born in Bonn in modern-day Germany, he moved to Vienna,
Austria, in his early twenties, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gaining
a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. Around 1796, Beethoven suffered a severe
form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to perceive
and appreciate music. Beethoven's hearing loss did not prevent his composing
music, but it made concerts increasingly difficult. Despite his obvious
distress, Beethoven could still hear speech and music until 1812. By 1814,
however, he was almost totally deaf.
December 18th, 1947 - Disability
rights pioneer Judy Heumann is born. Heumann contracted polio at 18 months and
has spent most of her life in a wheelchair. In 1970, she co-founded Disabled in
Action in New York City. In 1977, she was one of the leaders of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services sit-in, the longest occupation of a
federal building in U.S. history, to pass Section 504, a precursor to the ADA.
She co-founded the World Institute on Disability in 1983 with Ed Roberts and
Joan Leon, serving as co-director until 1993. She served in the Clinton
administration as assistant secretary of the Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitation Services at the U.S. Department of Education from 1993 to 2001.
She is now the World Bank Group's advisor on disability and development.
-- Compiled from various sources by
Mike Reynolds |
