10 Individuals in History Who Succeeded Against All Odds
6 Helen Keller went blind and deaf as a toddler but still was able to learn sign language. She also learned to speak, read lips with her hands, go to school, earn a bachelors degree (rare for any woman in her time), and became an author, political activist, and lecturer.
The story of Helen Keller, a deaf-blind American girl who overcame her disability to became a notable author and humanitarian, has inspired people throughout the world. But she was not always a deaf and blind person. Born on June 2, 1880, Keller was a healthy baby. When she was just 19 months old, she contracted an illness and lost both her hearing ability and her vision.
In 1886, six-year-old Helen Keller was allotted an instructor, 20-year old Anne Sullivan, who was herself visually impaired. In the beginning, when Sullivan began teaching her words, Keller couldn’t understand that every object has a unique word. So, she became frustrated.
One day, Sullivan took Keller’s hand and began pouring water on it while on her other hand began tapping out the alphabet code of the word “water.” As Sullivan repeated the process again and again, Keller realized the relationship between the cool water on her hand and the word. This ignited her interest and before nightfall, she had learned 30 more words.
After the breakthrough, Keller began learning and soon proved to be a gifted child. By the age of 10, she mastered Braille and the manual alphabet, and could even use a typewriter. By 16, she learned to speak well enough to enroll in school and then went to Radcliff College. She graduated cum laude in 1904. Soon, the little blind and deaf girl became one of the world’s most remarkable woman. She toured various countries delivering lectures, wrote books, and dedicated her life to improving conditions for deaf and blind people throughout the world.(1 ,2)
7 Karoly Takacs, a top pistol shooter of his time, was preparing for the Olympics when one day during a training session with his army squad, his right hand was mutilated by a hand grenade. Instead of giving up, he practiced with his left hand and won a gold medal at both the 1948 and 1952 Olympics.
In 1936, a Hungarian army sergeant, Károly Takács, wanted to take part in the 1936 Summer Olympics. Even though he was a world-class pistol-shooter, he was denied the opportunity as only commissioned officers were allowed to compete. His dream of competing in the Olympics began taking shape again when this rule was lifted. So, Takács began training for 1940 Summer Olympics.
In 1938, life threw a new setback his way. During a training exercise, a defective grenade blew up his right hand and cost him half his right forearm. After being released from the hospital, Takács began training in secret. With determination and hard work, he surprised his countrymen by winning the 1939 Hungarian National Pistol Shooting championship.
But Takács’ dream of competing in Olympics still remained unfulfilled as the 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games were canceled due to Second World War. His chance came during the 1948 Olympics where he won the gold medal in the 25-meter, rapid-fire pistol event. He again won the gold medal in the same category during the 1952 Olympics held in Helsinki. Takács’ amazing story of grit and determination won him a place on the list of “Olympic Heroes” of the International Olympic Committee.(source)
8 Orphaned at the age of four, Paul Revere Williams, a Black man, became one of the most important architects of the Los Angeles area during the time when it was becoming a megacity and when racial exclusion was the norm across the entire country.
Paul Revere Williams was born on February 18, 1894, in Los Angeles. He lost his father when he was just two years old. His mother died two years later. Four-year-old Williams was sent to a foster home. His foster mother devoted herself to his education. In his elementary school, he was the only African-American child and everyone mixed together with little prejudice.
Williams first got the hint of racial prejudice in his high school when his teacher advised him against taking up architecture as a career since he may face difficulty in attracting clients from the White community. But with a determined faith in his own talent, Williams went ahead and pursued architecture and gained professional experience in Los Angeles’ leading firms.
His outstanding achievement is also due to the fact that he mastered the skill of drawing upside down. He developed this skill so that his White clients, many of whom weren’t keen on sitting next to a Black person, could see the drawing while they sat on the other side of the table.
As Williams gained experience, his outstanding designs won him fame. He was the first Black architect who became a member of the American Institute of Architects. Williams designed the homes of numerous celebrities including Cary Grant, Lon Chaney, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, and Charles Correll.
He designed about 2,500 buildings during his lifetime, most of which are in Los Angeles. Even today, the houses that Williams designed are in such high demand that they don’t usually come up for sale, and even if they do, they are gone within seconds.(1,2)
9 After suffering from a massive stroke at the age of 43, Jean-Dominique Bauby became entirely speechless. His mouth, arms, and legs were paralyzed, and he could only blink, yet he wrote the number-one best-selling book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly which was later adapted to produce a multiple award-winning movie.
On 8 December 1995, the life of the suave and flamboyant editor of French “Elle” magazine, Jean-Dominique Bauby, changed. He suffered a massive stroke which sent him into a deep coma. Twenty days later, he woke up to the realization that he had changed physically. He could not move a single muscle except for his left eyelid. The doctors diagnosed it as “locked-in syndrome,” a condition in which Bauby’s brain was functioning normally while his body was now in a vegetative state.
Within the first twenty weeks after the stroke, Bauby lost 27 kilograms. But nothing could dampen the indomitable spirit of this Frenchman. Laying in his hospital bed, Bauby started communicating with his children and others by blinking his eyes. He began dictating the account of his life and dreams while being trapped in a vegetative body.
He dictated the letters of the words using the blink of his left eye which was then noted. Using this method, he composed and edited a complete book, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The book was published on 7 March 1997, and went on to become a bestseller and was later adapted into a critically acclaimed film.(1,2)
10 Abraham Lincoln faced many hardships during his childhood and a number of failures during his later years. These included losing jobs, failed businesses, demotion in the army, and losing elections eight times before he became the President of the United States.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, is considered as one of the greatest presidents in the history of US. His life, both before and after becoming president, is an inspiration for all.
When Lincoln was just nine years old, he lost his mother. In those times, he was considered lazy as he disliked physical labor which was associated with frontier life and preferred reading and writing. Lincoln left his father’s home in 1831. At the age of 23, he bought a general store on credit but sold his share as the business struggled.
In March 1832, he began his political career and campaigned for the Illinois General Assembly but finished eighth among thirteen candidates. Then he became interested in law. So, he started studying law books and observing court sessions. In 1834, he won a seat in the state legislature.
In 1835, Lincoln’s romantic interest, Ann Rutledge, died leaving him heartbroken, and he suffered a nervous breakdown. He picked himself up, and in 1836, he got admission to the Illinois bar and began practicing law. Between 1840 to 1845, Lincoln suffered numerous political defeats.
In 1846, he ran for Congress and won. In 1849, he tried for the position of Commissioner of the General Land Office but was rejected. Between 1850 to 1858, he lost numerous other elections. Finally, in 1860, his undaunted determination brought him success, and Abraham Lincoln became the president of United States.(source)