International Day of Persons with Disabilities takes place every year on 3 December.
It's a day to mark the achievements of disabled people around the world as well as to promote the rights of people with disabilities.
More than one billion people in the world experience disability of some form, while one in every 10 children has a disability.
That's according to the United Nations, a worldwide organisation that brings countries together to talk about, and try to agree on, global issues.
Throughout history, people with disabilities have made huge contributions to society in the fields of art, music, science, literature and many more areas.
Read on to find out about some amazing people and the incredible things they've achieved.
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)
Frida Kahlo is considered to be one of Mexico's greatest artists and is known for her many paintings, especially self-portraits, as well as works inspired by nature and her Mexican heritage.
She is also one of the world's most celebrated and studied artists.
Kahlo is also known for painting about her experience of chronic pain.
She had polio as a child and was then involved in a bus accident as a teenager, which meant she had to undergo many surgical operations.
While recovering, she began to focus on painting.
Artists all over the world are inspired by her paintings and her style of painting, which were often very colourful and featured lots of flowers, plants and animals.
Stephen Hawking (1942-2018)
At an early age Stephen Hawking was passionate about science and the sky.
When he turned 21, while studying cosmology at university, he was diagnosed with a form of motor neurone disease.
The condition meant Hawking quickly lost the use of his legs, arms and eventually his voice. A special computer was built that spoke the words he wanted to say.
Hawking went on to become one of the world's most famous scientists and continued to write books, make speeches and work as a scientist at the University of Cambridge.
His ground-breaking work in physics and cosmology has helped to make complicated science accessible to everyone.
Helen Keller (1880-1968)
Helen Keller was a world-famous author as well as being one of the 20th century's leading advocates for individuals with disabilities.
She lost her sight and hearing when she was a baby due to an illness, before she had learnt to read or write.
But incredibly, with the help of teacher Annie Sullivan, Keller became a skilled writer and speaker and is one of the most well-known deafblind people in history.
She travelled around the world advocating for those with vision loss and was praised for her efforts to improve treatment of deaf and blind people.
Keller wrote 14 books and hundreds of speeches and essays over her career.
Stevie Wonder (born 1950)
American singer-songwriter and record producer Stevie Wonder is widely considered to be a music icon.
Even if you're not familiar with his name, you're guaranteed to have heard some of his music.
Many of his songs have been covered by other artists, and he has also collaborated with a number of famous singers, such as Ariana Grande.
Stevie Wonder became blind shortly after birth and began playing multiple instruments at an early age, including the harmonica, drums and the piano - which he is best known for.
The singer was only 11 years old when he was signed by the famous Motown Records - he earned the stage name Little Stevie Wonder on account of his youth and amazing talent.
He is one of the best-selling music artists in history, with sales of over 100 million records worldwide.
Dame Sarah Storey (born 1977)
Dame Sarah Storey is the most successful British Paralympian in history.
She has won an incredible 30 Paralympic medals, including 19 gold, over NINE different Games - she competed in her first Paralympic Games back in 1992 in the Spanish city of Barcelona.
What makes her feat even more impressive is that she has won Paralympic gold in two separate sports.
Storey was born without a functioning left hand and joined her first swimming club at the age of 10.
At 14, Storey began her Paralympic career as a swimmer and competed in swimming at four consecutive Paralympic Games.
However, in 2008, she switched from swimming to cycling - which is the sport she is now best known for.
Storey was made a Dame in the 2013 New Year Honours for her services to para-cycling.
Jodie Ounsley (born 2001)
You might recognise Jodie Ounsley but know her by a different name - Fury from Gladiators.
As well as being a huge star of the BBC show, Jodie is also a rugby player, athlete, and advocate for the deaf community who has been breaking boundaries from the very start.
She was born deaf and received a cochlear implant as a child, becoming one of the youngest people in the UK to undergo the procedure.
Jodie's rugby career saw her play professionally for a number of clubs, including Loughborough Lightning, Sale Sharks Women and Exeter Chiefs Women.
In 2019, she made sporting history as the first deaf female to play for a senior England rugby side and the world's first deaf female international rugby sevens player.
Away from rugby, Jodie is also British Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion and even a Guinness World Record holder.
In 2024, Jodie joined the BBC programme Gladiators as 'Fury' - becoming the first deaf Gladiator in the show's history.






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