The Wheelchair Historian

Why were disabled people usually found in the courts of kings and queens?

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2021/03/disability-in-royal-courts.html

Disability in Royal Courts Welcome to my latest blog post. Last week I looked at the interesting life of Jeffrey Hudson, the 17 th Century court dwarf. This week ...

Find out more about the amazing court dwarf, Jeffrey Hudson!
https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2021/02/jeffrey-hudson-court-dwarf-like-no-other.html

Jeffrey Hudson: A court dwarf like no other Welcome to my latest blog post. Last week I discussed how witchcraft relates to deformity. This week I will be shifting my focus to the ...

What do witches and disabled people have in common? Follow the link to find out!
https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2021/02/disability-and-witchcraft.html

Disability and Witchcraft Welcome to my latest blog post. Last week I discussed the idea of maternal impression and how women were blamed if their child was born wi...

Discover the role that women played in bringing monsters to this world. Also, for some reason statues were important too. 🤔https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2021/02/maternal-impressionimagination.html

Maternal Impression/imagination Welcome to my latest blog post. Last week I discussed the idea of monstrous births, focusing on 16 th Century Europe. This week I will ...

Are monsters real? Also, how are they related to disability? Follow the link to find out. https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2021/02/monsters-and-monstrous-births.html

Monsters and Monstrous Births Welcome to my latest blog post. Last week I discussed beliefs held about disabled people in the Medieval Period. I did this by examining s...

What did the people of the Middle Ages believe about disability? Maybe the Venerable Bede can provide some clues. https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-venerable-bede-and-disability-in.html

The Venerable Bede and Disability in the Middle Ages Welcome to my latest blog post. Recently, I have been discussing the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Specifically, their beliefs surrounding di...

The Greeks and Romans believed that being blind could give you supernatural powers. Follow the link to find out more.
https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2021/01/blindness-and-prophecy-in-ancient.html

Blindness and Prophecy in Ancient Greece and Rome Welcome to my latest blog post. If I remember correctly, last week I discussed how the ancient Greeks and Romans thought that the physic...

The Greeks and Romans believed that disabled people could be used to combat evil! Are disabled people really superheroes in disguise? Follow the link to find out more.
https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2021/01/disability-vs-evil-eye.html

Disability vs The Evil Eye Welcome to the latest post in my series on beliefs surrounding disability. Last week I discussed the Evil Eye and its effects. This week I...

It's now easier to email The Wheelchair Historian

Learn about the Evil Eye as well as how the Greeks and Romans perceived it.
https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-curse-of-evil-eye.html

The Curse of the Evil Eye Welcome to my latest blog post. As you may know, I am currently working my way through a series on beliefs surrounding disability. After a...

Who knew that New Year celebrations have such a long and varied history? https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-history-of-new-year-celebrations.html

The History of New Year Celebrations Welcome to my latest blog post. This week I will continue in the festive spirit and focus on the history of New Year celebrations. For onc...

There is nothing more Christmassy than the tale of poor Tiny Tim Cratchit from Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol'.

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/12/tiny-tims-troublesome-tale.html

Tiny Tim's Troublesome Tale Welcome to my special Christmas post. It took me a while to decide what I should write about. I wanted it to be festive, but also be a h...

I find the gods of ancient civilizations fascinating, but I think this guy is the Bes(t)! He is not as scary as he looks (or so I am told). https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/12/bes-dwarf-god.html

The trials and tribulations of being a disabled lover of history. https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/12/being-disabled-lover-of-history.html

Being a Disabled Lover.... of History Welcome to my latest blog post. I know I said I would be moving on to beliefs about disability this week. However, I fear I may have bitte...

Learn about the life of the real Elephant Man, Joseph Merrick!

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/12/joseph-merrick-aka-elephant-man.html

Joseph Merrick A.K.A. "The Elephant Man" Welcome to what will probably be my last post in my series on the 19th century freak show, for now at least. This week, we are leaving the...

Was William Henry Johnson A.K.A 'Zip the Pinhead' really a Pinhead? Follow the link to find out. https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/11/william-henry-johnson-aka-zip-pinhead.html

William Henry Johnson A.K.A. Zip the Pinhead Welcome to my latest blog post on disability as entertainment, specifically the freak show of the 19 th century. So far, I have discuss...

This week it's the turn of Chang and Eng Bunker: The original Siamese Twins. You will be amazed by what they were able to achieve! https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/11/chang-and-eng-bunker-original-siamese.html

Chang and Eng Bunker: The Original Siamese Twins Welcome to the latest post in my series on disability as entertainment. Recently, I have been focused on freak shows and that is set to ...

Find out about the fascinating life of Charles Stratton, better known as General Tom Thumb. https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/11/charles-stratton-aka-general-tom-thumb.html

Charles Stratton A.K.A. General Tom Thumb Welcome to the latest post in my series on disability as entertainment. As you may know, I am currently focusing on the 19 th century f...

It turns out P.T. Barnum was much more than just a circus owner. Also, not as handsome as Hugh Jackman. Follow the link to learn more.
https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/11/pt-barnum-man-myth-legend.html

P.T. Barnum: The Man, The Myth, The Legend? Come one, Come all! Let me tell you about a magnificent creature famous throughout the American continent. Where he was born, the native...

I was trying to think of something clever to put here to entice readers, but I couldn't. I think the title 'The History of Halloween' is pretty self-explanatory. Happy Halloween! https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-history-of-halloween.html

The History of Halloween This week I will be discussing Halloween, because…. well…. it is Halloween. You may be wondering what the history of Halloween has to ...

Were the Freak Shows of the 19th century really The Greatest Show? Can we believe everything we see in a musical?
https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/10/disability-and-freak-shows-history.html

Disability and Freak Shows: A History Welcome to the latest post in my series on disability as entertainment. This week I will be discussing the history of freak shows, with ...

Matthias Buchinger thought that he was an entertaining performer, but he didn't have a leg to stand on. Follow the link to discover why. https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/10/matthias-buchinger-crippled-entertainer.html

Matthias Buchinger: The Crippled Entertainer Welcome to my latest post in my series on disability as entertainment. This week I will be looking at the German performer, Matthias Buc...

Was life really that bad for disabled slaves in Ancient Rome? You may be surprised.... or not.
https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/10/disability-as-entertainment-roman-slaves.html

Disability as Entertainment: Roman Slaves Welcome to my latest blog post on disability as entertainment. Following on from last weeks post on disability in the Roman arena, I wil...

Learn about combat between women and dwarfs. Also, see how cruel Commodus really was.

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/10/disability-as-entertainment-roman-arena.html

Disability as Entertainment: Roman Arena Welcome to my new series focusing on disability as entertainment. Throughout history, people with disabilities, especially physical defo...

Discover how a series of disabilities led to the downfall of a powerful royal family.
https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/09/habsburg-family-deformities.html

Habsburg Family Deformities Philip I of Castile (1478-1506) Welcome to the second instalment in my series on royal families and the genetic disabilities that they ...

Did Tutankhamun's disabilities cause his death?

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/09/tutankhamuns-ailments.html

Tutankhamun's Ailments This week I have decided to change things up a little. I am still looking at a historic figure, however, I am focusing on the closeness ...

An interesting account of what life with a disability was like in 18th Century England.

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/09/william-hay-esq-disabled-politician.html

William Hay, Esq. Disabled Politician By Unknown engraver - Google Books, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25372958 Over the last few posts, I h...

Did Franklin D. Roosevelt successfully hide the fact that he was a wheelchair user during his lifetime?

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/09/franklin-d-roosevelt.html

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) was the 32 nd President of the United States. He was in office for four terms and led the U.S. throug...

Did a disability change the course of European history?

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/08/kaiser-wilhelm-ii-of-germany.html

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany This week I will be examining an emperor with a dodgy arm, who had a bad relationship with his mother. Hold on…. have I already done this on...

Can we really believe what Shakespeare tells us?

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-disability-of-richard-iii.html

The Disability of Richard III King Richard III, panel by an unknown artist. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-III-king-of-England #...

Can a disabled person be an effective ruler? I guess you will have to follow the link to find out.

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/08/was-claudius-good-emperor.html

Was Claudius a Good Emperor? By Montarde - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16936276 As I showed in my previous post, the Roman ...

Rome had a Disabled Emperor? You learn something new every day!

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-roman-emperor-claudius.html

The Roman Emperor Claudius Bust of Claudius Photo By Marie-Lan Nguyen (2011), CC BY 2.5 Welcome to the first entry of my series on disabled historical figures. Over...

Is 'Disabled' an offensive term? Find out this and other 'Lame' facts.

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-history-of-disability-terminology.html

The History of Disability Terminology I feel that while discussing the history of disability, terminology is both important and controversial. After doing some research, I have...

Have you ever thought to yourself, 'who had the idea of adding wheels to chairs'? Well. Wonder no more!

https://wheelchairhistorian.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-history-of-wheelchairs.html

The History of Wheelchairs As I have decided to call myself The Wheelchair Historian, it is only logical that my first post should be about the history of the wheelc...