Who is Ed Roberts and what did he do?
Ed Roberts, in full Edward Verne Roberts (born January 23, 1939, San Mateo, California, U.S.—died March 14, 1995, Berkeley), American disability rights activist who is considered the founder of the independent-living movement. Roberts contracted polio at age 14 and was paralyzed from the neck down.
When was eded Roberts born?
Ed Roberts was born on February 24, 1942 in Miami, Florida, USA as Henry Edward Roberts.
What happened to Ed Roberts'wife?
Ed Roberts married Catherine Dugan in 1976, but the couple divorced in 1982. They shared custody of their son Lee together. In 1995, the National Museum of American History accepted the gift of Roberts' wheelchair as part of its collections documenting the disabilities rights movement.
How did Ed Roberts get his start in independent living?
He credited his mother with teaching him by example how to fight for what he needed. Ed Roberts is often called the father of the Independent Living movement. His career as an advocate began when a high school administrator threatened to deny him his diploma because he had not completed driver's education and physical education.
Where was Ed Roberts born?
San Mateo, CAEdward V. Roberts / Place of birthRoberts was born in San Mateo in 1939. When he was fourteen, he contracted polio and had to pause his high school studies. After surviving polio, Roberts was left paralyzed in most of his lower body except for several of his fingers. As he recovered, Roberts needed an iron lung or respirator.
Who was the father of the disability rights movement?
Ed RobertsEd Roberts, in full Edward Verne Roberts, (born January 23, 1939, San Mateo, California, U.S.—died March 14, 1995, Berkeley), American disability rights activist who is considered the founder of the independent-living movement. Roberts contracted polio at age 14 and was paralyzed from the neck down.
What did Ed Roberts do?
A civil rights leader for people with disabilities, Ed Roberts is recognized as the father of the independent living movement. After contracting polio at age 14 that left him paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator to breathe, he embarked on a path that changed the world.
When did Ed Roberts get polio?
He was a pioneering leader of the disability rights movement. Roberts contracted polio at the age of fourteen in 1953, spending eighteen months in hospitals and returning home paralyzed from the neck down.
What is Ed Roberts Day?
Every January 23rd we celebrate Ed Roberts Day to honor the man frequently called the father of the Independent Living movement. Ashley Eisenmenger. Disability Inclusion Training Specialist. [email protected]. At the age of 14, Ed Roberts contracted Polio, along with both his parents and all his siblings.
Who started the ADA?
On May 9, 1989 Senators Harkin and Durrenberger and Representatives Coelho and Fish jointly introduced the new ADA in the 101st Congress. From that moment, the disability community mobilized, organizing a multi-layered strategy for passage.
Who is Ed Roberts wife?
Personal life. Roberts was married to Eve Roberts, who was also a lawyer, until his death on January 14, 2022, at their home in the St. John's area, aged 81. They had two daughters, Catherine and Caroline.
What did Ed Roberts invent?
personal computerHenry Edward Roberts (September 13, 1941 – April 1, 2010) was an American engineer, entrepreneur and medical doctor who invented the first commercially successful personal computer in 1974.
What high school did Ed Roberts go to?
Burlingame High SchoolShe would later joke that Ed graduated from Burlingame High School twice. Born in 1939, Ed grew into a tall young man and passionate athlete. When Ed was 14, Zona's four boys fell ill, Ed most severely.
When did the disability rights movement start?
The disability rights movement consists of grassroots activities of disability activists that began during the 1960s alongside the civil rights and women's rights movements.
Was Judy Heumann born with a disability?
Judith Ellen "Judy" Heumann (born December 18, 1947) is an American disability rights activist. She is recognized internationally as a leader in the disability community....Judith Heumann.Judy HeumannSucceeded byPosition disestablishedAssistant Secretary of Education for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services16 more rows
Who were the leaders of the disability rights movement?
Disability Rights Leaders Dart, Justin Jr. Fay, Fred. Frieden, Lex. Heumann, Judy.
What was the disabled rights movement?
The disability rights movement is a global movement that advocates for and secures equal rights and opportunities for people who have disabilities. In the United States, and around the world, the movement has been successful in changing laws and social attitudes to make societies more inclusive.
When did the disability rights movement start?
In the 1980s, disability activists began to lobby for a consolidation of various pieces of legislation under one broad civil rights statute that would protect the rights of people with disabilities, much like the 1964 Civil Rights Act had achieved for Black Americans.
Who led the disability movement in India?
New Delhi: Javed Abidi, a pioneer of the cross-disability movement in India and an outspoken voice against discrimination of differently abled people in the global South, died on Sunday. He was 53.
What caused the disability rights movement?
The disability rights movement was spurred by a long history of discrimination against people with disabilities. They were often shut out of public life, denied educational and economic opportunities, and seen as less capable than people without disabilities.
What is Ed Roberts Day?
Since his death, the state of California has memorialized Ed Roberts with a holiday in his honor. Every January 23rd is Ed Roberts Day. [1] Sather Tower, also known as The Campanile, is a clock and bell tower on the campus of UC Berkeley. It can be heard across the campus.
Where did Ed Roberts teach?
University of California Berkeley campus where Ed Roberts was a student and where he taught.
What was Roberts' role in the disability movement?
As a hero in the United States’ disability rights movement, Roberts paved the way for people with physical disabilities to access higher education. Roberts was born in San Mateo in 1939. When he was fourteen, he contracted polio and had to pause his high school studies. After surviving polio, Roberts was left paralyzed in most ...
Why did Roberts refuse to graduate from school?
His school refused to allow him to graduate because he was unable to complete the driver’s education and physical education credits.
Did Roberts go to Berkeley?
Upon graduating from high school, Roberts was accepted to the University of California, Berkeley. [1] Unfortunately, administrators tried to reverse Roberts’ acceptance when they realized that he was quadriplegic. Representatives of the school claimed that the dorms on campus did not have the appropriate equipment or space to accommodate Roberts’ 800-pound iron lung and his wheelchair. Roberts insisted on enrolling in classes, though, and he became the first student at his university to use a wheelchair.
Did Ed Roberts have a degree?
In 1964, Roberts earned his BA, and he received his MA two years later. While he was accepted as a Ph.D. student, he never completed his degree; however, he taught political science courses at UC Berkeley for six years. Roberts later directed California’s Department of Rehabilitation. He also co-founded the World Institute on Disability, a program that continues to educate students about disability. Since his death, the state of California has memorialized Ed Roberts with a holiday in his honor. Every January 23rd is Ed Roberts Day.
Where was Roberts born?
Roberts was born on September 13, 1941 in Miami, Florida to Henry Melvin Roberts, an appliance repairman, and Edna Wilcher Roberts, a homemaker. His younger sister Cheryl was born in 1947. During World War II, while his father was in the Army, Roberts and his mother lived on the Wilcher family farm in Wheeler County, Georgia. After the war, the family returned to Miami , but Roberts would spend his summers with his grandparents in rural Georgia. Roberts' father had an appliance repair business in Miami.
Where did Roberts go to school?
After basic training, Roberts attended the Cryptographic Equipment Maintenance School at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Because of his electrical engineering studies at college, Roberts was made an instructor at the Cryptographic School when he finished the course.
What computer did Roberts develop?
Roberts then developed the Altair 8800 personal computer that used the new Intel 8080 microprocessor. This was featured on the cover of the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics, and hobbyists flooded MITS with orders for this $397 computer kit.
How many computers did Roberts sell?
Roberts told the bank that he expected to sell 800 computers, but he guessed that it would be around 200. Art Salsberg, editorial director of Popular Electronics, was looking for a computer construction project, and his technical editor Les Solomon knew that MITS was working on an Intel 8080-based computer kit.
What was Roberts' first computer?
Roberts's first real experience with computers came while at Oklahoma State University where engineering students had free access to an IBM 1620 computer . His office at the Weapons Laboratory had the state of the art Hewlett-Packard 9100A programmable calculator in 1968. Roberts had always wanted to build a digital computer and, in July 1970, Electronic Arrays announced a set of six LSI integrated circuits that would make a four-function calculator. Roberts was determined to design a calculator kit and got fellow Weapons Laboratory officers William Yates and Ed Laughlin to invest in the project with time and money.
What was Roberts' father's business?
Roberts' father had an appliance repair business in Miami. Roberts became interested in electronics and built a small relay-based computer while in high school. Medicine was his true passion, however, and he entered University of Miami with the intention of becoming a doctor, the first in his family to attend college.
Did Roberts change his major?
The doctor suggested that Roberts get an engineering degree before applying to medical school, and Roberts changed his major to electrical engineering. Roberts married Joan Clark while at the university, and when she became pregnant Roberts knew that he would have to drop out of school to support his new family.
Who was Edward Roberts?
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Edward Verne Roberts (January 23, 1939 – March 14, 1995) was an American activist. He was the first student who relied on a wheelchair to attend the University of California, Berkeley. He was a pioneering leader of the disability rights movement.
How did Roberts die?
Roberts died on March 14, 1995, at the age of 56 from cardiac arrest.
What was the first student-led disability services program in the country?
Their success on campus inspired the group to begin advocating for curb cuts, opening access to the wider community, and to create the Physically Disabled Student's Program ( PDSP)—the first student-led disability services program in the country. Roberts flew 3,000 miles, from California to Washington, D.C., with no respiratory support, to attend a conference at the start-up of the federal TRIO program through which the PDSP later secured funding. The PDSP provided services including attendant referral and wheelchair repair to students at the University, but it was soon taking calls from people with disabilities with the same concerns who were not students.
How long did Roberts stay in hospital?
Roberts contracted polio at the age of fourteen in 1953, two years before the Salk vaccine ended the epidemic. He spent eighteen months in hospitals and returned home paralyzed from the neck down except for two fingers on one hand and several toes. He slept in an iron lung at night and often rested there during the day.
Where did Roberts fly to?
Roberts flew 3,000 miles, from California to Washington, D.C., with no respiratory support, to attend a conference at the start-up of the federal TRIO program through which the PDSP later secured funding.
When did Ed Roberts divorce Catherine Dugan?
Ed Roberts married Catherine Dugan in 1976, but the couple divorced in 1982. They shared custody of their son Lee together.
When was Roberts admitted to Berkeley?
Other Berkeley administrators supported admitting Roberts, and expressed the opinion that the University should do more. Roberts was admitted in 1962, two years before the Free Speech Movement transformed Berkeley into a hotbed of student protest.
Who is Ed Roberts' son?
Ed Roberts' son, Lee , was asked to share images from his dad's early life. He was able to visit with family members and lifelong friends of his dad.
Who was the leader of the disability rights movement?
He was a pioneering leader of the disability rights movement. Roberts contracted polio at the age of fourteen in 1953, spending eighteen months in hospitals and returning home paralyzed from the neck down.
Who was Ed Roberts?
Ed Roberts, described as the “father of independent living,” was the disability rights movement’s first major spokesperson. His mother Zona conceived him during her senior year of high school, briefly contemplating abortion.
Where is Ed Roberts Campus?
Shortly thereafter the community established the Ed Roberts Campus, a universally designed, transit-oriented space at Ashby BART Station in Berkeley (Leon).
What did Ed and friend do in the sixties?
Ed and friend at UC Berkeley football game. Later in his academic career, Ed’s stories display greater freedom in Berkeley of the sixties. He tells of experimenting with drugs, such as experiencing Telegraph Avenue while on acid with passersby wishing him a good trip.
What did Ed do for women?
Ed would engage pretty women to write notes on carbon paper for him, and read for classes using a mirror and a mouthstick. Exams were administered however was settled with the professors. Ed garnered much local media attention, and was featured in Parade magazine.
What did Ed do after he was a student?
Routinely pulled up stairs in his push chair to classes, Ed had a scare when his chair once failed and he almost tumbled down the stairs. From then on Ed chose classes based on accessibility, and if he needed to traverse stairs he made sure that four people carried him. Ed would engage pretty women to write notes on carbon paper for him, and read for classes using a mirror and a mouthstick. Exams were administered however was settled with the professors. Ed garnered much local media attention, and was featured in Parade magazine.
Who provided the microphone for Ed Roberts?
Young Ed Roberts in bed at home. A local women’s club, the Soroptomists (O’Hara), provided a telephone with a microphone and speakers for Ed to continue his schooling. Later Zona recognized in Ed the potential to attend school part-time. Despite Ed’s fear of people staring at him, Zona would not be swayed.
Who founded the World Institute on Disability?
Upon a regime change in California, Ed left his post at Rehab. He won the MacArthur “genius” grant, and co-founded the World Institute on Disability with Judy Heumann and Joan Leon. The institute served as a research and policy center focusing on the perspectives of individuals with disabilities. They successfully nationalized California’s In-Home Supportive Services Program national by adding the home service option of Medicaid, and fought for the ADA in 1990.
What is Ed Roberts Campus?
The Ed Roberts Campus is dedicated to fostering collaboration and improving the services and opportunities for people with disabilities locally and worldwide. Learn more at www.edrobertscampus.org.
How old was Ed Roberts when he contracted polio?
Ed was born in California and contracted polio when he was 14 years old, this caused him to be paralyzed from the neck down with the use of 2 fingers on one hand and a few toes. He required an iron lung or a respirator to breathe.
What was Ed's advocacy group?
While at UC Berkeley Ed and a few other students with disabilities lived in the Student Health Center, together they created an advocacy group called The Rolling Quads.
When did Ed Robertson start Ed's Up?
In 2006, Robertson began starring in Ed's Up for OLN Canada. The program covers his journeys by plane to various locations given to him only in the form of GPS coordinates. At these locations, he learns about and participates in a local occupation. The series premiered on November 1, 2006; Robertson filmed a second season in the summer of 2007, which premiered on November 7. A third season was filmed over the summer of 2008.
Where is Robertson from?
Robertson was born in Scarborough, Ontario . He is the youngest of five children, with two sisters, Lynn and Bonnie, and two brothers, Bill and Doug; He claims to have been named on a bet. His mother, Wilma, was a secretary for Imperial Oil, and his father, Earl, worked both as a shipping foreman for Honeywell, and as an egg grader. He believes that his conception was an "accident" because he is several years younger than his siblings, who were all born about one year apart. He credits this situation with allowing him to have the experience of being both in a big family, and an only child—once his siblings moved out of their home.
What happened to Robertson in 2008?
At 12:30 pm on August 24, 2008, Robertson was involved in a plane crash while piloting his amphibious Cessna 206, north of Bancroft, Ontario. He and his three passengers walked away from the crash with no apparent injuries. The Transport Canada Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Report (CADOR) indicated that the crash occurred after take-off from Baptiste Lake when Robertson apparently lost airspeed and settled into the trees approximately 300 metres in from the shoreline. The Transportation Safety Board handled the investigation. After several weeks, the TSB was unable to determine a cause of the crash, but cleared Robertson of any misconduct. Additionally, no evidence of mechanical problems was found. Investigator Ray Simpson reported that the investigation was unlikely to produce any further results, and had therefore been essentially closed. Simpson added that undetectable air currents could have been the cause of the crash, but there is no evidence for or against the possibility. He commended Robertson for being "outstanding" in his cooperation with the investigation.
What grade did Robertson go to school?
In grade four , Robertson entered the gifted program at Churchill Heights Public School. Robertson's first run-in with Steven Page, who was a year ahead in the same gifted program, was when he unknowingly "stole" Page's best friend. It would be several years before the two would really speak to each other.
What did Robertson learn to play?
He sang harmonies with his family and learned how to play guitar, which his father also played. Once he began playing guitar for other people, around grade five, he knew he wanted to be a performer. He was in several bands during his school days including a band that covered a collection of rock artists, such as Rush and Kim Mitchell .
When did Robertson start working?
Robertson began working part-time when he was 13 years old. He has bragged about being named employee of the month at his local Wendy's in July 1985 (he considers this his life's greatest accomplishment). He also answered phones at a CAA office. Robertson appeared in the music video for "All We Are" by Kim Mitchell from Mitchell's 1985 album Akimbo Alogo .
When did Robertson's mother die?
His mother died on December 13, 2008 at age 72, and his father died on June 10, 2011 at the age of 76. Robertson wrote the song "Moonstone" about his mother passing away. It was recorded during the All in Good Time sessions, and although it was not included in the basic album, it was released as a bonus track.
Overview
Early life
Roberts was born on September 13, 1941 in Miami, Florida to Henry Melvin Roberts, an appliance repairman, and Edna Wilcher Roberts, a registered nurse. His younger sister Cheryl was born in 1947. During World War II, while his father was in the Army, Roberts and his mother lived on the Wilcher family farm in Wheeler County, Georgia. After the war, the family returned to Miami, but Roberts would spend his summers with his grandparents in rural Georgia. Roberts' father had an …
Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems
Roberts worked with Forrest Mims at the Weapons Laboratory, and both shared an interest in model rocketry. Mims was an advisor to the Albuquerque Model Rocket Club and met the publisher of Model Rocketry magazine at a rocketry conference. This led to an article in the September 1969 issue of Model Rocketry, "Transistorized Tracking Light for Night Launched Model Rockets". R…
Calculators
Roberts's first real experience with computers came while at Oklahoma State University where engineering students had free access to an IBM 1620 computer. His office at the Weapons Laboratory had the state of the art Hewlett-Packard 9100A programmable calculator in 1968. Roberts had always wanted to build a digital computer and, in July 1970, Electronic Arrays announced a set of six LS…
Altair 8800 computer
Roberts decided to return to the kit market with a low cost computer. The target customer would think that "some assembly required" was a desirable feature. In April 1974, Intel released the 8080 microprocessor that Roberts felt was powerful enough for his computer kit, but each 8080 chip sold for $360 in small quantities. Roberts felt that the price of a computer kit had to be under $400; t…
Altair BASIC
Bill Gates was a student at Harvard University and Paul Allen worked for Honeywell in Boston when they saw the Altair computer on the cover of Popular Electronics. They had previously written software for the earlier Intel 8008 microprocessor and knew the Intel 8080 was powerful enough to support a BASIC interpreter. They sent a letter to MITS claiming to have a BASIC interpreter for the 8080 mi…
Sale to Pertec
In 1976, MITS had 230 employees and sales of $6 million. Roberts was tiring of his management responsibilities and was looking for a larger partner. MITS had always used Pertec Computer Corporation disk drives and on December 3, 1976, Pertec signed a letter of intent to acquire MITS for $6 million in stock. The deal was completed in May 1977 and Roberts' share was $2–3 million. The Altair products were merged into the Pertec line, and the MITS facility was used to produce …
Medical doctor
In late 1977 Roberts returned to rural Georgia and bought a large farm in Wheeler County where he had often visited his grandparents' home in his youth. He had a non-compete agreement with Pertec covering hardware products, so he became a gentleman farmer and started a software company. His age could have thwarted his dream of becoming a medical doctor, but nearby Mercer University started a medical school in 1982. Roberts was in the first class and graduated …
Overview
Edward Verne Roberts (January 23, 1939 – March 14, 1995) was an American activist. He was the first student who relied on a wheelchair to attend the University of California, Berkeley. He was a pioneering leader of the disability rights movement.
Biography
Roberts contracted polio at the age of fourteen in 1953, two years before the Salk vaccine ended the epidemic. He spent eighteen months in hospitals and returned home paralyzed from the neck down except for two fingers on one hand and several toes. He slept in an iron lung at night and often rested there during the day. When out of the lung he survived by "frog breathing," a technique for forcing air into the lungs using facial and neck muscles.
Awards and recognition
• 1984 MacArthur Fellows Program
• In 1995, the National Museum of American History accepted the gift of Roberts' wheelchair as part of its collections documenting the disabilities rights movement.
• In 2010 California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill by State Senator Loni Hancock (D-09) that declared January 23 of every year (Roberts' birthday) a day of special significance.
See also
• Independent Living
• List of disability rights activists
Sources
• Brown, Steven E. (2000). "Zona and Ed Roberts: Twentieth Century Pioneers" (PDF). Disability Studies Quarterly. 20 (1): 26–42. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
• Kent, D.; Quinlan, K.A. (1996). Extraordinary People with Disabilities. Extraordinary People. Children's Press. ISBN 978-0-516-26074-7. dissertation.
External links
• Ed Roberts Campus
• World Institute on Disability Founders
• Ed Roberts tribute from the Center for Independent Living at the Wayback Machine (archived April 19, 2005)
• The story about Ed's wheelchair being donated to the Smithsonian at the Wayback Machine (archived March 23, 2005)