Disability History

Seventy-eight years after the end of World War II, hospital trains are an oft-forgotten chapter in U.S. military history.

What Happened on the Trains That Brought Wounded World War II Soldiers Home?

The logistics of moving patients across the U.S. by rail were staggeringly complex

Braille signage will be added to rows and individual seats, as well as lavatories.

United Will Be the First U.S. Airline to Add Braille to Its Plane Interiors

The carrier announced that it will update its entire mainline fleet over the next three years

Woodrow Wilson and his second wife, Edith, in 1916

How Edith Wilson Kept Herself—and Her Husband—in the White House

A new book about the first lady reveals how she and the ailing President Woodrow Wilson silenced their critics

Judy Heumann was a leading voice in the fight for groundbreaking disability legislation.

What Made Judy Heumann, Mother of the Disability Rights Movement, an American Hero

The tireless activist, who died this weekend at 75, spent decades advocating for Americans with disabilities

Neal V. Loving in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1954

In 1946, a Black Pilot Returned to the Cockpit After a Double Amputation

Neal V. Loving, whose memoir will soon be released by Smithsonian Books, built his own planes, ran a flight school and conducted research for the Air Force

An illustration of Charles Byrne, whose bones were displayed at the Hunterian Museum in London for some 200 years

Why a London Museum Is Removing the Skeleton of an 'Irish Giant' From View

Charles Byrne asked for his body to be buried at sea. Instead, an anatomist bought his bones and displayed them to the public

Historian John Rice Irwin, linguist Carl Croneberg and historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall

Three Pioneering Scholars Who Died This Year

They believed that the stories of marginalized communities were worth chronicling

Pages from Plastic Surgery of the Face by Harold Gillies

Inside a Trailblazing Surgeon's Quest to Reconstruct WWI Soldiers' Disfigured Faces

A new book profiles Harold Gillies, whose efforts to restore wounded warriors' visages laid the groundwork for modern plastic surgery

Alice Ball was just 23 years old when she developed a method of making chaulmoogra oil—an early treatment for leprosy—more easily injectable.

The Trailblazing Black Woman Chemist Who Discovered a Treatment for Leprosy

After Alice Ball's death in 1916 at age 24, a white man took credit for her research

Sarah Biffin, Sarah Biffin, watercolor

Miniature by Sarah Biffin, 19th-Century Artist Born With No Arms or Legs, Exceeds Estimates at Auction

The painter forged a remarkable career as a disabled woman artist in 19th-century London

Restoration work on the western facade of the Parthenon in 2015

Why Proposed Renovations to Greece's Acropolis Are So Controversial

Scholars voiced concern about planned aesthetic changes and a lack of adequate accessibility measures for people with disabilities

Jessica Cox sitting in her Ercoupe.

The World's First Licensed Armless Pilot Is a Devoted Advocate for People Facing Similar Challenges

Jessica Cox, author of 'Disarm your Limits: The Flight Formula to Lift You to Success,' motivates people around the world to overcome their differences

The Rolling Devils pose for a team photo, c. 1947.

The Paralyzed World War II Veterans Who Invented Wheelchair Basketball

In the late 1940s, paraplegics popularized the sport—and changed the game for the disability rights movement

The patio at the Laurent House.

This Frank Lloyd Wright Home Was a Trailblazing Example of Accessible Design

The Laurent House in Rockford, Illinois, was built 40 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act became law

Reconstruction of the Sanctuary of Asclepius in Epidauros

Did the Ancient Greeks Design Temples With Accessibility in Mind?

Study suggests ramps found at ancient sites may have been used by people with disabilities, but some scholars remain skeptical

The loneliness and fear of operating behind enemy lines was a heavy burden. Some agents found they could trust no one except their own reflections. Undated self-portrait.

How a Spy Known as the ‘Limping Lady’ Helped the Allies Win WWII

A new biography explores the remarkable feats of Virginia Hall, a disabled secret agent determined to play her part in the fight against the Nazis

"Being Human" features some 50 works of art and artifacts

This London Gallery Is Working to Be One of the World's Most Accessible Museums

The Wellcome Collection's latest permanent exhibition focuses on design features and curatorial approaches suggested by individuals with disabilities

This photo taken on March 29, 2018 shows Michiko Sato, sister-in-law of Yumi Sato, who was sterilized as a teenager, talking during an interview with Agence France-Presse prior to a meeting with lawmakers in Tokyo.

Japan Offers Apology and Compensation to Victims of Forced Sterilization

Between 1948 and 1993, an estimated 25,000 people were sterilized to prevent them from having ‘poor-quality descendants’

Amputee Marine Sets Record for Rowing Across the Atlantic Ocean From Europe to South America

Lee Spencer smashed the previous record by 36 days, rowing his boat solo and unsupported from Portugal to French Guiana in just 60 days

"Untitled," a previously known James Castle work

Eleven Never-Before-Seen Artworks Found in the Walls of James Castle's House

The renowned Idaho Outsider artist was known for squirreling his drawings and sculptures away in the walls and ceiling of his Boise home

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