DISABILITY HALL OF FAME
Famous People with Disabilities
JIM ABBOTT
•
Major League Pitcher
•
Born without a right hand
RICK ALLEN
•
Musician
•
Retaught himself how to play the
drums after losing his left arm
•
Member of Def Leppard
ALEXANDER GRAHAM
BELL
•
Inventor
•
Learning Disability
SARAH BERNHARDT
•
French Actress
•
Leg amputated due to knee injury
•
“The Divine Sarah”
LUDWIG VAN
BEETHOVEN
•
Composer
•
Deaf while composing 9th
symphony
ORLANDO BLOOM
•
Actor
•
Dyslexia
CHRIS BURKE
•
Actor
•
1st person with Down Syndrome
to star in a weekly TV series
RAY CHARLES
•
Musician
•
Blind at age 7
CHER
•
Singer and Actress
•
Dyslexia
WINSTON CHURCHILL
•
British Politician
•
Learning Disability
TOM CRUISE
•
Actor
•
Dyslexia
CHARLES DICKENS
•
Author
•
Epilepsy
WALT DISNEY
•
Animator and Businessman
•
Learning Disability
THOMAS EDISON
•
Inventor
•
Learning Disability
•
Couldn’t read until 12 years old
ALBERT EINSTEIN
•
Mathematician and Physicist
•
Learning Disability
•
Didn’t speak until he was 3 years
old
MICHAEL J. FOX
•
Actor
•
Parkinson’s Disease
DANNY GLOVER
•
Actor
•
Dyslexia
WHOOPI GOLDBERG
•
Actress
•
Dyslexia
FRANCISCO GOYA
•
Spanish Painter
•
Deaf at age 46
BETHANY HAMILTON
•
Professional Surfer
•
Lost right arm in shark attack at
age 13
STEPHEN HAWKING
•
Physicist and Mathematician
•
ALS – Lou Gehrig’s Disease
•
Uses a wheelchair and computer
to speak
BRUCE JENNER
•
Olympic Athlete
•
Dyslexia
MAGIC JOHNSON
•
Athlete
•
Dyslexia
HELEN KELLER
•
Author and Activist
•
Blind and Deaf
JAY LENO
•
Comedian
•
Dyslexia
GREG LOUGANIS
•
Olympic Athlete
•
Dyslexia
JOHN MILTON
•
English Author/Poet
•
Blind at age 43
GEORGE PATTON
•
American General
•
Learning Disability
NELSON ROCKEFELLER
•
Former Vice President
•
Dyslexia
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
•
Former President – served four
terms
•
Paralyzed by Polio at age 39
HARRIETT TUBMAN
•
Abolitionist
•
Fractured skull lead to narcolepsy
•
Rescued hundreds of slaves on
Underground Tunnel
WERNER VON BRAUN
•
Rocket Scientist
•
Learning Disability
•
Failed many math tests in High
School
GEORGE WASHINGTON
•
First President
•
Learning Disability
•
Could barely write and had very
poor grammar
HEATHER
WHITESTONE
•
Author and Motivational Speaker
•
Deaf
•
Miss America 1995
HANK WILLIAMS
•
Musician
•
Spina Bifida
WOODROW WILSON
•
Former President
•
Dyslexia
HENRY WINKLER
•
Actor
•
Dyslexia
STEVIE WONDER
•
Musician
•
Blind