Ed Roberts's Wheelchair

Object Details

Description: Equipped with a sports-car seat, go-cart wheels, and a top speed of eight miles an hour, this wheelchair belonged to disability-rights pioneer Ed Roberts. Roberts was paralyzed by polio in 1953, at age fourteen. In 1962 he enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley, where he led efforts to establish a program for disabled students. He later founded the Independent Living Movement, a worldwide campaign to secure civil rights, equal access, and self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.; Ref: “Edward V. Roberts, Champion of the Disabled,” New York Times (March 16, 1995), p B13.
Location: Currently not on view

Physical Description: steel (overall material); leather (overall material); rubber (overall material); blue (overall color)
Measurements: average spatial: 42 in x 24 in x 46 in; 106.68 cm x 60.96 cm x 116.84 cm

Related Publication: Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History; National Museum of American History. Treasures of American History exhibition website
Related Web Publication: https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/treasures-american-history

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Medicine; Health & Medicine; The Antibody Initiative; Family & Social Life; National Treasures exhibit; Antibody Initiative: Polio

National Museum of American History

GUID (Link to Original Record): https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-35e5-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa