-
1.
The Perkins Institution was founded by Samuel Howe. It was the first residential institution for people with mental retardation. Over the next century, thousands were placed there many for their entire life. -
2.
Joel W. Smith presented Modified Braille to the American Association of Instructors of the Blind. The association rejected his system, continuing to endorse instead New York Point, which blind readers complain is more difficult to read and write. -
3.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in Buck v. Bell, ruled that the forced sterilization of people with disabilities was not a violation of their constitutional rights. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes compared sterilization to vaccination. By the 1970s, over 60,000 people with disabilities were sterilized in the U.S. -
4.
Passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act led to an enormous increase in the number of sheltered workshop program for blind workers. This was meant to provide training and job opportunities for blind and visually disabled workers, employment practices at workshops often led to the exploitation of workers at sub-minimum wages in poor conditions. -
5.
The Civil Rights Act is passed, outlawing discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, and creed (gender and disability were added later). The Ace covered public accommodations and employment, as well as in federally assisted programs. It became a model for future disability rights legislation. -
6.
The first handicap parking stickers were introduced in Washington, D.C.
Passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act authorized federal funds to provide for the construction of curb cuts. -
8.
The Baby Jane Doe case, like the 1982 Baby Doe case, involved an infant being denied needed medical care because of her disability. -
9.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed by President George Bush on 26 July. Disability rights activists attended the signing ceremony. The law mandated that local, state, and federal governments and programs be accessible, that businesses with more than 15 employees make “reasonable accommodations” for disabled workers, and that public accommodations such as restaurants and stores make “reasonable modifications” to ensure access for disabled members of the public. -
10.
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) was founded in Washington, D.C.
