Successful Deaf People

Some people surprised the world by overcoming their physical disabilities. There are a lot of successful people, who survived their physical shortcomings with their willpower and determination. There are physically challenged people who did far astonishing deeds than most of the completely healthy and physically blessed people. They are a true inspiration and motivation to other physically or mentally challenged people. Many among these successful people were deaf.

Earth is a completely different place for deaf people, when compared to the normal population. A physically challenged person, especially those who are blind or deaf, needs far more efforts and preparations to live in a world of prevailing rules of normal people. But there are truly admirable people who did great things despite their deafness. 

Here are some of the famous and eminent successful deaf people, who were successful in leaving their marks in the history by doing great things with their strength of will.

Successful Deaf People 

Ludwig van Beethoven: Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. By the age of 26, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. By the last decade of his life, he became almost totally deaf. But, most of his famous compositions were made during this time.

Louis Frisino: Louis Frisino is one of the most successful deaf people, who is a creative artist and painter. Frisino is interested more in painting realistic nature subjects, such as dogs, fish and ducks. He is also hired by people for doing paintings of personal pets using photographs.

Helen Keller: Helen Keller is perhaps the most famous and inspiring successful deaf people ever. She became deaf and blind when she was only 19 months old. With her strong will power, she achieved fame as a writer, humanitarian, and social activist.

Thomas Alva Edison: Thomas Alva Edison is one among the successful deaf people. Edison became deaf in early childhood due to scarlet fever and recurrent ear infections. He was an inventor, who developed many devices including the phonograph and light bulb. 

Linda Bove : Linda Bove is one of the famous and successful deaf people, who is an American actress. She played the part of Linda, the Librarian on the children's television program Sesame Street. Bove encouraged children to sign language as well. 

Johnnie Ray:John Alvin Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Ray developed a sole rhythm based style and a more conventional classic pop approach. He became partially at age of 13 after an accident during a Boy Scout event. 

Harold MacGrath: Harold MacGrath is one of the famous and successful deaf people, who is an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. With his willpower, he overcame his disability with his passion for letters. He became wealthy by his talent and travelled over the world.

Heather Whitestone McCallum: Heather Whitestone is the first and only deaf Miss America. She was one of the successful deaf people, who served the National Council on Disability and the Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education board.

Gertrude Ederle: Gertrude Ederle was an American competitive swimmer, who is certainly one of the inspiring successful deaf people. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. She spent the rest of her life teaching swimming to deaf children.

Laurent Clerc: Laurant Clerc was called "The Apostle of the deaf in America" and "The Father of the Deaf" by American deaf people. He was a co-founder of the first school for the deaf in North America. Clerc is one of the most successful deaf people in American history.