“An inspirational compilation that will erase the words ‘I can’t’ from your vocabulary.”
—Kevin S. Bright, Executive Producer, “Friends”
“Undaunted by Blindness is a long overdue history of individuals who are blind who have made significant contributions to society in spite of their visual challenges . . . nothing short of empowering and inspirational.”
—Commissioner, Janet L. LaBreck
Massachusetts Commission for the Blind
“Clifford Olstrom has uncovered some fascinating personal histories—full of surprises and inspiration.”
—Rick Beyer, filmmaker and author of
The Greatest Stories Never Told history series
“A remarkable book about the lives of extraordinary people. These are profiles in courage—and determination.”
—Stuart E. Weisberg, author of Barney Frank:
The Story of America’s Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman
“Undaunted by Blindness fully illuminates the extraordinary contributions of scores of individuals for whom blindness was no impediment to greatness. They are artists and musicians, athletes and military leaders, writers and visionaries who changed the world by seeing things others could not.”
—Joseph P. Kahn, staff writer, The Boston Globe and
co-author of The Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy
For information and other educational books from Perkins School for the Blind, visit www.Perkins.org/publications
Undaunted By Blindness, Second Edition
by Clifford E. Olstrom
©2011 Clifford E. Olstrom. All rights reserved.
Every effort has been made to acknowledge commercial products mentioned in this publication whose names are trademarks or registered trademarks.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9822721-9-0
Published in eBook format by Perkins School for the Blind
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
This publication was funded in part by a grant from The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation of Reno, Nevada, in cooperation with Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, Massachusetts USA.
Acknowledgments
For ideas and assistance on this project, I’d like to thank Marilyn Rea Beyer, Rebecca Fater, Jan Seymour-Ford, Tuan Le, Patricia Nieshoff, Marianne Riggio, Gunilla Stenberg Stuckey, Ken Stuckey, Mary Zatta and a special thanks to Carl Augusto, Cindy Olstrom, and Ruth Olstrom.
To blind persons and
librarians everywhere
About the Author
Clifford E. Olstrom was born in 1945 in Lansing, Michigan. Olstrom attended Michigan public schools. He graduated from Western Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in 1967 and a master’s degree in Blind Rehabilitation in 1968. He was the supervisor of the Orientation & Mobility Department for the Bureau of Blind Services’ Rehabilitation Center in Daytona Beach, Florida from 1968 to 1969 and Orientation & Mobility Instructor in the Hillsborough County Public Schools in Tampa, Florida from 1969 to 1971.
From 1971 to present, Olstrom has been Executive Director of the Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind, a non-profit rehabilitation agency for persons who are blind or visually impaired.
Foreword
When I was a young boy, I was diagnosed with pre-senile cone dysfunction, a disorder that would lead to eventual blindness. My parents were devastated and could not imagine how I could live independently if I became blind. Like so many other people, they did not know anyone who was blind. They knew only two extremes: the less-than-flattering stereotypes about blind people or at the other end of the spectrum, a rare individual like Helen Keller. Those who are blind or visually impaired have often told me their biggest barrier is not vision loss itself, but society’s view of them as blind people.
Having worked in the blindness field my entire adult life, I’ve met thousands of people with vision loss. They are students attending mainstream schools who are more than capable of keeping up with or surpassing their sighted peers. They’re working nine-to-five jobs and doing them well.
They are raising families, volunteering in their communities and running marathons. Simply put, they’re going about their lives, but in a world made for the sighted. And they are proving every day that blind people can do virtually anything sighted people can, despite the obstacles.
This book will inform, inspire and sometimes surprise. The diverse individuals profiled in the pages that follow, demonstrate that people with visual impairments can achieve extraordinary things. I’ve had the privilege of meeting several of the people featured in this volume and they are indeed noteworthy. My hope is that in reading these four hundred concise biographies, parents of visually impaired children will have hope for their child’s future, employers will be motivated to hire workers with vision loss, teachers of the blind will have high expectations for their students’ success and blind people themselves will aspire to any dream.
Carl R. Augusto
President and CEO
American Foundation for the Blind
“THE ONLY LIMITS IN YOUR LIFE ARE THOSE YOU ACCEPT YOURSELF.”
— MILES HILTON-BARBER
BORN 1948, HARARE, ZIMBABWE
Introduction
The purpose of this book is to provide concise biographical information about four hundred notable blind persons. The people in this volume are but a small sample of the many thousands of notable blind persons in history. Most of the information about their lives comes from secondary sources. Where feasible some of the subject’s own words were used.
This book came about from a love of history and from inspiration I gained in 1968 reading Ishbel Ross’s book, Journey into Light (1951). Her book, subtitled The Story of the Education of the Blind, included biographical information about many interesting people who were blind. A few years later I began collecting biographical information on a few dozen blind people and conceived of a book containing the stories of about two hundred such persons. As research continued, the list of notable blind persons grew to over eight hundred. I selected the four hundred with the most available information about their lives and those whom I thought would be of the greatest interest to the reader.
A high percentage of those included were totally or nearly totally blind for the majority of their adult lives. However, there are also those who became blind late in life and those who had some useful vision their entire lives. All were considered legally blind, and those who became blind later in life had achievements or celebrity after becoming visually impaired. For the most part, I did not write about the notable’s romantic life, marriages, or families. I also did not include most awards and citations. Some exceptions were Grammy Awards, Knighthoods, Oscars, and Presidential Awards.
Although musicians and writers are the most common occupations of those listed, a wide variety of occupations are represented, including administrators, innovators, teachers, singers, politicians, songwriters, composers, athletes, poets, ministers, scientists, judges, physicians,