April 03, 2022 |    Jennifer Thompson, Research Assistant, Project ENABLE

Throughout history, scientists have made incredible inventions and discoveries. When you think of famous scientists of the past and present, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, or Albert Einstein might come to mind. But did you know that each of these scientists had a disability? Thomas Edison was deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other. Nikola Tesla had an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Albert Einstein, arguably one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century, was dyslexic.

Below are brief biographies of just a few of the many scientists with disabilities whose inventions and discoveries have made our world a better place.

Florence B. Seibert was a biochemist. Florence was born in Pennsylvania on October 6, 1897. While she was a child, she caught Polio. As a result, she had mobility issues which affected her ability to walk without a limp. Florence earned her BA in 1918 in Chemistry and Zoology. She also earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1923.

During her graduate work with Dr. Lafayette Mendel, she worked to eliminate or alleviate bacterial contamination that took place during the creation of solutions to vaccines and injections. Because of this, patients had common symptoms such as sudden fevers or illnesses during or after an injection. Florence discovered a way to eliminate the contamination using special equipment and a procedure that would help make blood transfusions safer.

After spending a couple of years teaching at the University of Chicago, she took an assistant professor job at the University of Pennsylvania’s Henry Phipps Institute. It was at this institute that Florence created the purified protein derivative or PPD which would eventually become the basis for the standard tuberculosis test. She gained the full rank of professor in 1959 and in 1990 was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She died on August 23, 1991.

Ralph Braun was born on December 18th, 1940 in Winamac, Indiana. Ralph was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at age 6. Muscular dystrophy causes weakness and affects muscle mass. He began using a wheelchair at age 13. Ralph, sometimes known as the “Father of the Mobility Movement” credited his parents for his determination to have an education and career and to live an independent life.

The first invention he created was a motorized scooter called the Tri-Wheeler. Ralph created this type of wheelchair so that he could have more mobility and keep his job as an Inspector at a local factory. This caught the attention of people with disabilities and he began custom-making orders. This small shop eventually moved out of his parent’s garage and into a commercial location.

When the Chrysler Corporation developed the first full-sized minivan, Ralph came up with a way to allow for wheelchair users to be able to drive by creating the first wheelchair lift and establishing the Braun Corporation in 1972. What made his company different was that each wheelchair lift was customized to the user rather than developed to a set standard. Ralph was awarded the Champion of Change honor by the White House in 2012 for his contributions to improving the lives of people with disabilities. He passed away on February 8th, 2013.

Wanda Díaz-Merced, born in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, is an astrophysicist. When she was a child, Wanda liked to pretend she was an astronaut. She won a prize at a science fair which resulted in her wanting to continue in the field. Wanda began to lose her sight during her teenage years and lost it completely while she was an undergraduate studying Physics at the University of Puerto Rico.

One of Wanda’s friends played an audio recording of a solar flare for her which inspired her to study astronomy. She interned at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center in Maryland and then completed a Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Glasgow (Scotland) in 2013.

Wanda created a new way to look at space and stars, using a technique called “sonification” in her work. “Sonification converts visual data, such as the brightness or frequency of radiation, into audible data, such as pitch, volume, and rhythm.” [9] Using her research, Wanda was able to demonstrate that using a combination of visual and audio data helped detect Black Holes better than just using visual data.

George Washington Carver was born into slavery in New County, Missouri sometime in the mid-1860s. When he was a week old, George, his sister, and mother were kidnapped by a band of slave riders and were sold in Kentucky. His Master, Moses Carver hired a neighbor to find them but only ended up finding George. Moses and his wife raised George with their son and taught him to read and write.

When he was a child, George got sick from Whooping Cough and never quite recovered. He had trouble breathing and frequently had health issues. George was disappointed in the quality of schooling and moved often, eventually graduating from Minneapolis High School in Minneapolis, Kansas, in 1880. He became the first African American to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in 1864 at Iowa State University studying Botany. He also received his Masters's in Agriculture in 1896.

George created different techniques to improve the soil. He urged farmers to rotate their crops, alternating between cotton, sweet potatoes, or legumes. The crops helped to improve nitrogen in the soil. In order to train the farmers in this new method, George created an expansion of the agriculture program at Alabama State. This new method resulted in farmers having improved cotton selection and an alternative to cash crops. George died on January 5th, 1943.  Minneapolis, Kansas, in 1880. He became the first African American to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in 1864 at Iowa State University studying Botany. He also received his Masters's in Agriculture in 1896.

George created different techniques to improve the soil. He urged farmers to rotate their crops, alternating between cotton, sweet potatoes, or legumes. The crops helped to improve nitrogen in the soil. In order to train the farmers in this new method, George created an expansion of the agriculture program at Alabama State. This new method resulted in farmers having improved cotton selection and an alternative to cash crops. George died on January 5th, 1943.

John (Jack) Robert Horner was born on June 15th, 1946 in Montana. He had a rough childhood. As a young boy, John was introverted and shy, not wanting to hang out with people his age. Part of this reason was that he had dyslexia. His classmates would often bully him. John described life in grade school, “...difficult, because everybody called me dumb, but I knew very early on that I could do things other students couldn’t do.” [8] He commented that school was hard because reading and writing were extremely slow for him. His mother’s support encouraged John to follow his projects which helped him gain awards for science fair projects.

In 1965, John flunked out of the University of Montana and was drafted into the Marines. He spent time working in reconnaissance in Vietnam. He served for two years and fourteen months before he returned and tried school again. John took Geology and Zoology classes that pertain to paleontology. He also took some archeology and microbiology classes. His advisor believed in him and helped him in his studies. However, he dropped out in 1972.

John didn’t give up on his dream job. He applied to a bunch of museums for any job that was willing to hire him. He accepted a position at Princeton University’s Natural History Museum as a Technician. After the museum noticed his knowledge, expertise, and dedication, he moved up to research assistant and eventually managed his own projects. It was during the mid-1970s that John, and a colleague, discovered the first concrete evidence that dinosaurs cared for their young. He also discovered and named the dinosaur, Maiasaura. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in science in 1986 for his contributions to the scientific community. John currently works at Chapman University as a Presidential Fellow. Fun fact, he served as a Technical Advisor for the Jurassic Park films and had a cameo appearance in Jurassic World!

Works Cited

1. “Braun Founder and CEO Passes Away at Age 72.” BraunAbility. https://www.braunability.com/us/en/about-us/ralph-braun/braun-founder-and-ceo-passes-away-at-age-72.html. Accessed March 27th, 2022.

2. Cowen, Amy. (2019). “STEM is for Everyone: Scientists with Disabilities.” Science Buddies. https://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/scientists-with-disabilities. Accessed March 13th, 2022.

3. “Examples of Black and African American College Graduates with Disability.” Black, Disabled,and Proud: College Students with Disabilities. https://www.blackdisabledandproud.org/examples-of-black-disabled-college-grads.html. Accessed March 20th, 2022.

4. “Famous People with Disabilities [A list of 650+]” ONGIG.  https://blog.ongig.com/diversity-and-inclusion/famous-people-with-disabilities/. Accessed March 13th, 2022.

5. “Famous Scientists with Disabilities.” University of Delaware. https://sites.udel.edu/seli-ud/famous-scientists-with-disabilities/. Accessed March 13th, 2022.

6. “Florence Seibert: TB Test.” Lemels N-Mit. https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/florence-seibert. Accessed March 20th, 2022.

7. History.com editors. (2021). “George Washington Carver.” History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/george-washington-carver. Accessed March 27th, 2022.

8. “Jack Horner, Paleontologist.” The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. https://dyslexia.yale.ed/story/jack-horner/. Accessed, April 3rd, 2022.

9. “Wanda Díaz-Merced.” National Schools’ Observatory. https://www.schoolsobservatory.org/careers/interested/computers/wanda-d%C3%ADaz-merced. Accessed March 27th, 2022.