Prince Andrew, Duke of York, has always been dedicated to the research into the prevention and treatment of vision loss and eye disease. Prince Andrew has always pledged to help non-profit organizations in their quest to prevent blindness and vision impairment. This cause is very close to the prince’s heart as his late sister was a patron of Fight for Sight and other charities.
We tend to think of blindness as a disadvantage
But these 10 blind people prove that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. From becoming world-renowned surgeons to climbing Mount Everest, they have accomplished amazing feats. Read on to be inspired by their stories!
The Blind Schindler
Otto Weidt was a German shopkeeper who is best known for rescuing his employees from the Nazi regime. He did this by hiding them in his workshop and protecting them from being sent to concentration camps. Many of his employees were blind, and he made sure to give them specially-crafted tools so that they could continue working.
After the war, Otto Weidt was celebrated as a hero. He was featured in several news articles and even received an honorary award from the city of Berlin. His story is an inspiration to people of all ages, proving that one person can make a difference in the lives of others.
The World’s First Blind Doctor
Born in 1888, Jacob Bolotin was an American doctor and medical researcher. He is considered the first person with disabilities to earn a medical degree in the United States.
Bolotin was born without sight and with only one working arm. Despite these challenges, he became a successful doctor and researcher. He is best known for his work on tuberculosis, but he also made significant contributions to the fields of cardiology and ophthalmology.
Bolotin was an advocate for people with disabilities and worked hard to break down barriers that prevented them from achieving their full potential. He is an inspiration to all who face difficulties in life, showing that nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it.
The Most Famous Blind Girl In The World
Laura Bridgman was born in 1829 in Hanover, New Hampshire. She was a healthy baby, but at just two years old she contracted scarlet fever, she was the first child in recorded history to lose both her sight and hearing.
Bridgman is considered to be one of the first-ever educational cases of a child with multiple impairments. When she was nine years old, Charles Dickens visited her at the Peabody Education Center in Boston (which is now known as the Perkins School for the Blind). He wrote about her in his book American Notes.
She metalanguage to communicate with the world around her. In 1837, Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, a leading figure in the field of special education, came across Laura while looking for a test case to see if it was possible to teach language to someone who was blind and deaf. Dr. Howe believed that Laura could be taught Language just like any other child, and he set out to prove it. Through a series of convoluted methods (more on that below), he succeeded in getting Laura to learn how to read, write, and speak English.
The Inventor Who Created Cruise Control
Ralph Teetor was born in 1895 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, to parents who were both blind. His father, Joshua Teetor, was a Civil War veteran who had been blinded in the Battle of Chancellorsville. His mother, Emma Teetor, was also blind. Ralph himself was not born blind; however, at the age of five, he contracted an illness that left him completely blind.
Despite his blindness, Ralph went on to lead a very successful life. He graduated from high school and then went on to study engineering at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pittsburgh. He eventually found success as an inventor and automotive engineer. He is best known for inventing cruise control for automobiles.
The Man Who Hacked The Phone System
Joe Engressia was a blind person who, as a child, discovered he could whistle loudly on the phone in a way that made it sound like he was hanging up. This discovery led him to develop an uncanny talent for whistling on the phone and eventually became known as “the man who whistled too much.”
Due to his blindness, Joe had an unusually acute sense of hearing and was able to detect the frequencies of different phone lines. He also had an eidetic memory, which allowed him to remember long sequences of numbers. With all of these skills combined, Joe became a master at manipulating the telephone system and managed to make free calls by whistling into the phone or by using other clever techniques.
The Painter Who Can’t See His Own Art
The story of Esref Armagan is one of incredible perseverance in the face of adversity. He was born blind, yet through sheer force of will and determination, he has become one of the most accomplished painters in the world today.
Despite never having seen a single image in his life, Esref has developed an uncanny ability to recreate detailed images from memory. When painting, he relies on his other senses to guide him, working meticulously until the finished product perfectly captures the scene he envisioned. In this way, he is able to paint incredibly lifelike images that are staggering in their level of detail and realism.
As a result of his immense talent, Esref has earned international acclaim for his work.
The Blind Woman Who Can See Movement
Milena Channing is a blind woman who has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She didn’t start learning to dance until she was blind, and now she’s a professional ballroom dancer.
Dancing is an incredible form of exercise for people who are blind or visually impaired. It helps them stay physically active, and it also helps them improve their balance and coordination. Ballroom dancing is a particularly good form of exercise for the blind because it teaches them how to move in sync with another person. Milena Channing is a perfect example of how the blind can excel at anything they set their mind to.
The Explorer Who Climbed the Seven Summits
Erik Weihenmayer is one of the most inspiring people you could ever hope to meet. As the first blind person to climb the Seven Summits, he’s shown the world that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.
Born in Connecticut in 1968, Erik grew up skinny and small for his age. He loved adventures and was always looking for new challenges, but his parents worried about him constantly because of his visual impairment. As a young boy, Erik begged them to let him join the wrestling team even though they knew he would be at a disadvantage. But his persistence paid off, and he ended up having a successful career as a wrestler.
The Software Engineer
Although he was born with full vision, Craig Lundberg began to lose his eyesight at age 15 due to a degenerative eye condition. By the time he turned 18, he was completely blind.
But that didn’t stop Lundberg from pursuing his passion for computers. He learned how to code while in high school and went on to study computer science at Brown University. After graduation, he took a job as a software engineer at Microsoft.
Lundberg is one of a growing number of accomplished professionals who are blind people proving that visual impairments need not be a barrier to success.
The Blind Movie Critic
Tommy Edison is a blind movie critic and entrepreneur who has inspired many people with his positive attitude and zest for life, despite his disability.
Raised by supportive parents, Tommy never allowed blindness to prevent him from living a full and meaningful life. After becoming blind at the age of seven, he learned to navigate the world using Braille and white canes. He also learned to play several instruments, including the drums, which he played in a band called The Jazz Ambassadors.
In addition to his work as a movie critic (he’s reviewed over 1,500 films), Tommy is also the founder of The Blind Film Critic website, which provides information and reviews on movies for blind and visually impaired people.