Famous People with Blindness or Visual Impairment
Explore the life stories of famous and accomplished people who are blind or visually impaired.
Who's Who Lists
Enrico Dandolo and the way history overlooks disability
BBC News columnist Finlo Rohrer challenges the way that disability is typically left out of historical documentation, from encyclopedia entries to staturary.
More about Enrico Dandolo appears below. See also the Perkins Archive collection of the depiction of blindness in art.
Famous People With Sight Problems
A list of famous people and mythical figures who were blind. Some names have hyperlinks with more information.
List of Famous Blind People, Islets of Hope for Persons with Diabetes
Simple lists of famous people from historical to contemporary times who are/were blind, subcategorized by congenital or later-onset blindness, blindness in one eye, painters, or fictional/mythological characters.
Famous Sight Impaired People, Disabled World
Brief profiles of famous people with visual impairment or blindness.
Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field
American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
The Hall of Fame is located in Louisville, KY on the grounds of APH.
Quiz: Ten Famous Blind People, Fun Trivia
Rate yourself on this quiz about people who did their greatest work after they became blind; in Flash or html.
Who are the Blind who Lead the Blind
Blind.net's list of persons in leadership positions within the widespread community of people who are blind or visually impaired.
Noteworthy Individuals
Esref Armagan
Turkish painter Armagan creates oil landscape using his fingers as brushes. His rich use of color and perspective characterize his work.
Craig Aucoin
Aucoin is a triathlete who returned to sports to regain the confidence and independence he had as a teenage athlete. Aucoin has now participated in 7 triathlons and a bicyle trek across Canada.
Lisa Banta
Goalball athlete and Silver Medalist Banta chats about the value of athetics and her unintentional discovery of her sport.
Richard Bernstein
Richard Bernstein is a Michigan civil rights attorney who has won numerous lawsuits on behalf of individuals with disabilities. Bernstein is also an ironman competitor, motivational speaker, and radio host.
Brandon Biggs
Biggs was awarded the 2010 "Yes I Can" Award in recognition of his accomplishments as a stage performer.
Blind Boys of Alabama
This singing group was formed in 1939 by students at the Alabama Institute and gained widespread popular appeal in the 1950s through crossover gospel hits. The founding members were founding members were Clarence Fountain, Jimmy Carter, George Scott, Velma Bozman Traylor, Johnny Fields, Olice Thomas, and the only sighted member, J. T. Hutton.
Andrea Bocelli
Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist Bocelli is as popular among mainstream music fans as he is among followers of opera.
John Bramblitt
Bramblitt's contemporary style of art features layers of brilliantly colored paint, close-up images, and reflections. Bramblitt describes his process as an "invisible method" that begins with tactile line outlines to define the spaces within each piece. Original works can be purchased from the website linked above.
Laura Bridgman
Known to be the first deafblind student who was formally educated, including learning to read and write, Bridgman was world-famous in her day, generations before Helen Keller. The Archives of the Perkins School for the Blind is pleased to share their digital collection of material related to Laura Bridgman's life.
Sean Brown
Sean Brown, goalball athlete, trains for the 2016 Paralympic Games at the Australian Institute of Sport. Fifteen year-old Sean contracted Stargardt disease as a toddler.
Molly Burke
Molly is the Youth Ambassador for The Foundation Fighting Blindess. At 18, Molly is already an accomplished athlete, and performer, as well as a former Miss Teen Canada contestant.
Maria Cartagena
Maria is well-known in the Tampa area as a former member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders. Today she supports the Foundation Fighting Blindness Visionwalk fundraiser through her Marching for a Cure team.
Theresa Chan (Theresa Poh Lin Chan)
Theresa Chan became well-known with the release of the 2005 film "Be With Me," directed by Eric Khoo. In the film, Ms. Chan plays herself in a dramatization of her experience as a deaf and blind woman in her native Singapore.
Ray Charles
The list of Ray Charles' awards and honors is beyond the scope of this page. This link to his official website leads you to a full biography, discography, merchandise, and other media.
Lucy Man Fai Ching
Author of One of the Lucky Ones, a memoir of her upbringing in China, Dr. Ching is also noteworthy for her work to improve education and rehabilitation opportunities for people with disabilities in Hong Kong.
E.Z. Cleghorn
Singer Cleghorn performed before the largest crowd of his career at a "Stand for Children" rally in front of an estimated 300,000 attendees. He is a regular performer in his home state of Georgia. Look for more videos like the one linked above on YouTube.
Chrissie Cochran
Singer/songwriter Chrissie Cochran is also host of The Attitude Test, a program of the Global Voice internet radio broadcast. Download her tunes here.
Kent Cullers
Astronomer and physicist Dr. Kent Cullers received his PhD from University of California-Berkley. He has devoted his career to NASA's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and was portrayed as a character in the film based on Carl Sagan's book Contact.
Mark K. DeMontis
Mark is the founder of Courage Canada, a joint effort with Accessible Media and CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) that sponsors hockey programs for youth with visual impairments.
Enrico Dandolo
Doge of Venice (a chief magistrate and principle leader) from 1192 - 1205. Dandolo was notable for reforms to the Venetian currency systems and approved financing the Fourth Crusade.
Matthew A. Dunn (D, Pennsylvania)
Overbrook School alumnus Dunn served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1933-1941, after having served the Pennsylvania state legislature for 6 years.
Leonhard Euler
In the 18th Century, Swiss mathematician Euler made significant contributions to the field of calculus, and authored Concerning the Inequalities in the Motions of the Planets, among other works in mechanics, optics, acoustics and physical astronomy.
Steven J Faulkner
Steven Faulker felt unable to fulfill his dream of a dental practice when he contracted retinitis pigmentosa in his 30s, but he was able to make a career as a rehabilitation counselor, specializing in career counseling for high school students with disabilities.
Jose Feliciano
Nine-time Grammy winner Feliciano has been a figure in popular music for over 30 years. His original recordings (in English, Spanish or a mixture of both) as well as his reinterpretations of the great standards, have earned him Billboard Magazine's Lifetime Achievment Award.
Morris Frank
Morris Frank was the founder of Seeing Eye, the first guide dog school in the United States, and one of its first students.
Haben Girma
Harvard Law Student Haben Girma balances her studies with her works as a civil rights advocate with Mobility International and DeafBlind Young Adults in Action.
Christine Ha (Master Chef)
Christine Ha took America by storm winning the 2012 installment of Fox's "Master Chef" culinary competition program. The link above connects to Ha's "The Blind Cook" blog. Christine's other websites can be found at http://www.christineha.com/
Michael Hingson
The author of Thunder Dog, Hingson is known worldwide as the man who escaped the North Tower on September 11, 2001, with the assistance of his guide dog Roselle. Hingson is available for speaking engagements on this experience as well as other topics.
Aldous Huxley
Writer and contemporary philosopher Huxley was temporarily blinded as a teenager, and asserted in later life that his sight had been regained through the Bates Method. Click here for a comprehensive portal to Huxley works, biography, and criticism.
Mary Ingalls
Mary Ingalls was the older sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House" series of books based on their family's experience as prairie settlers in the 1870s. The definitive website Laura's Prairie House contains material on the historical, and fictionalized Mary.
In 2012, American Printing House launched an online exhibit spotlighting Mary Ingalls' life and experiences.
Bill Irwin
Author Bill Irwin tells his story of completing the Appalachian Trail with his guide dog Orient in Blind Courage, released in 1992.
Marlene Jennings
The Honorable Marlene Jennings, MP is the official title of Canada's Liberal representative from NDG-Lachine. Ms. Jennings' political areas of concern are employment equity and communications for women, aboriginal peoples, and ethnic and racial minorities.
Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
Dr. Jernigan led the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) for 40 years. He is the longest-serving leader in that organization's history.
The Real Helen Keller, Liz Crow and Ann Pugh
This documentary explores the adult life of Helen Keller, a passionate reformer and committed activist. 50min., in spoken English and British sign language; includes a link to the script in pdf format.
Dan Kelly
Medaling Swimmer Dan Kelly is a retired Paralympian. This link takes you to a video interview with WXII's reporter Nicole Ducouer.
Lee Chang-hoon
Lee reads the daily news for South Korean state television from his refreshable braille device and brailled pages.
Anil Lewis
In 2012, Anil Lewis was appointed to President Barak Obama's Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, which gives jobs to people who are blind (or have other significant disabilities) in the manufacture and delivery of products and services to the Federal Government.
Alan Lock
Former Royal Naval Officer Lock was part of the Polar Vision expedition team that reached the South Pole on foot in 2012.
April LuFriu
LuFriu chose to compete on the pageant circuit to raise awareness of retinitis pigmentosa, and the Foundation Fighting Blindness. After being crowned Mrs. America 2011, she went on to compete in the Mrs. World 2012 pageant, a title she has also won.
Peter Lundblad
Mr. Lundblad is a programmer with Internet giant Google.
Aaron Marsaw
Marsaw was granted a Rhodes Scholarship in 1995, in recognition of his outstanding academic achievements at Ontario's Laurentian University. Today, Marsaw is legal counsel to Canada's Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
Dr Marc Maurer
Dr. Maurer has led the National Foundation of the Blind (NFB) since 1986, and has been a leading member since his first role in the Student Division in 1971. Dr. Maurer has been instrumental in creating the Jernigan Institute, for developing innovative education, technologies, products, and services that support independence for the world's blind.
Tara Miller
Photographer Tara Miller specializes in commercial and family settings, but has a fondness for food styling and fine arts as well. View Miller's galleries at the link above.
John Milton
17th Century English poet, and author of Paradise Lost, is also the creator of "On His Blindness," a poem written late in his life.
Urban Miyares
The President of the Disabled Businesspersons Association is also a Vietnam era veteran who combines those experiences to bring veterans and business people together in activities like the National Summer Sports Clinic and the National Disabled Veterans Business Center.
Claud Monet
Link here to a website full of Monet's biography, work, writings, and historical sites. This site contains extensive graphics as well as text.
Jordan Mouton
Mouton competes in international judo competition and makes the Diamondback Judo Club her home base.
David Paterson
Former governor of New York David Paterson (D), began his career as a state senator, and became governor as Eliot Spitzer's successor. Paterson served as governor from 2008-2010
William H. Prescott
Considered by the field of history to be the first scientific historian in the United States. His field was Hispanic studies of the Middle Ages, including a definitive history of King Philip II. This link presents a full list of his written works.
Derek Rabelo
Brazialian surfer best known for taking on Hawaii's infamous Pipeline surf. Funds are being raised for a film about Rabelo's experiences. Derek Rabelo also has a Facebook page, in Portuguese.
Brilynn Rakes
Rakes is a member of the 2013 Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) competition on ABC-TV. She has been studying dance since age 8 and hopes to continue her formal education at the Boston Conservatory when she has graduated high school.
T.V. Raman
Raman is a computer scientist working at Google Research who specializes in accessibility research. He's developed a number of accessibility tools for computers, including the Emacspeak audio desktop.
Bob C. Riley
Bob Cowley Riley was a war veteran and educator before his political career began in the 1970s. he is famous for having served 11 days as acting governor for the state of Arkansas in 1975.
Damon Rose
Damon Rose is known to BBC audiences as the editor of Ouch! and a presenter on Blindkiss. This link takes you to Rose's personal blog "Do Your Worst."
Laurie Rubin
Mezzo-soprano Rubin is co-founder and co-artistic director of Musique a la Mode Chamber Music Ensemble in New York, as well as co-founder of Ohana Arts festival in Honolulu.
Marla Runyan
American track and field athlete, road runner and marathon runner who is a three-time national champion in the women's 5000 metres.
Juan Sandoval
Sandoval is a right-handed relief pitcher. At the time of this posting, Sandoval is being considered by the Tampa Rays for their bullpen.
Lawrence Scadden
Early in his work in the field of assistive technology, Dr. Scadden worked with the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research to establish their Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center and later created the Research in Disability and Education program for the National SCience Foundation. Dr. Scadden is the author of Surpassing Expectations: Life Without Sight.
Rachael Scordis
Rachael has been a competitive sled dog musher since 1997, and in 2006 completed her first Iditarod.
Dale Sheldon
Sheldon has many accomplishments to his name, including auto mechanic, college student, county commissioner, and a stint in the CIA. Today, Sheldon creates sculptures in bronze on western themes inspired by his life in Montana.
Capt. Scott Smiley
Capt. Smiley is the author of Hope Unseen, a memoir of his recover from wounds in Iraq. Today, Captain Smiley serves as Executive Officer of the ROTC program at Gonzaga Unievrsity in Spokane, WA.
Jason Smyth
Paralympic track athlete Jason Smyth of Ireland competes in the T13 classification for visually impaired runners. Smith set 2 games records in the 100m at the 2012 London games.
Brad Snyder
Navy Lt. Brad Synder won Paralympic Gold in the 2012 London Paralympic Games in the 100-meter and 400-meter freestyle race. Click here to listen to NPR coverage of Brad Snyder's story.
Tom Sullivan
Actor, author, commentator, musician... Apollo Award-winner Tom Sullivan is a man of many talents, and a role model to many. Get to know Tom Sullivan through his Sullivan Live website.
Dr. Bill Takeshita
"Dr. Bill" as he is often known, developed the first pediatric low vision clinic at the Center for the Partially Sighted. The Dr. Bill Takeshita Foundation provides information and assistance to help children who are visually impaired. Hear Dr. Takeshita tell his story at the EG4 Conference (2010). 26 mins.
Art Tatum
Arthur "Art" Tatum Jr. was a Columbus School for the Blind graduate and jazz pianist, who gained fame in the 1940s as a Decca Records artist.
Sabriye Tenberken
Sabriye Tenberken Paul Kronenberg began serving children who had no access to braille instruction in the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1998. Today, their organization Braille Without Borders encompasses trade training and social projects that both cross borders and remove boundaries for people who are blind
Sue Townsend
Playwright and novelist Townsend is the creator of Adrian Mole, star of the Adrian Mole series of comic novels that made Townsend one of the top-selling authors of the 1980s.
Nobuyuki Tsujii
A brief PDF biography and fact sheet of the Japanese-born piano prodigy and Van Cliburn International Piano Competition winner.
Geerat J. Vermeij
Biologist Vermeij grew up in the Netherlands, and studied at Princeton University and Yale Unievrsity in the United States. This link leads you to Dr. Vermeij's author-page on Amazon.com
Jordan Verner
When gamer Verner commented online that he would love to beat "The Legend of Zelda" video game, fellow gamers took up the challenge to teach him the moves step-by-step. With those keystrokes, he did finally get to the game's end. We link you to his YouTube channel where he posts clips of his game-playing.
Doc Watson
Guitarist Doc Watson passed away in 2012. This website pays tribute to his talent and contains links to CDs and DVDs for purchase
Erik Weihenmayer
Erik Weihenmayer has been an elite outdoor athlete since his teen years, and captured the world's attention when he summited Mt. Everest in 2001. Weihenmayer has completed the quest of Seven Summits, the successful scaling of the highest peaks on all seven continents.
Stevie Wonder
Musician, composer, humanitarian Stevie Wonder entered the world stage at the age of 13 as part of the Motor Town Revue. In addition to his music career, he has been a vocal activist for civil rights, gun control, and the fights against AIDS and world hunger.
Kevan Worley
Founder of Worley Enterprises, leaders in food service, mess attendant, hospitality, vending, custodial and grounds maintenance support. Based in Colorado Springs.
