Today on the Google home page in the United States is a special Google Doodle, logo, for Ed Roberts. He was an American activists who fought for the right for those who were disabled.
He was born on January 23, 1939 and at the age of 14, he contracted polio. It left him paralyzed from the neck down, which left him in a "special wheelchair with a respirator during the day and slept in an 800-pound iron lung at night," Google wrote.
He was known as the father of the "Independent Living movement." He was initially denied his high school diploma because he was unable to complete Physical Education (PE) and Driver's Ed. But he fought and went on to get that diploma and be the first with sever disabilities to attend University of California, Berkeley. From there he led "Physically Disabled Students Program," which was the first of its kind in any university.
He truly led an inspirational life, which you can read about on his Wikipedia profile.
He died at the age of 56 on March 14, 1995 with MacArthur Fellowship award and many other recognitions.
Forum discussion at Google+.
