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#twitterstorians there is now a combat wheelchair for dungeons and dragons thanks to @mustangsart + many people are attacking the idea of disabled figures generally but especially with wheelchairs etc as not being historically accurate. Lets debunk this. List them below
"While it is uncertain as to what can be considered the first wheelchair, stone inscriptions from Ancient China and Greece suggest that wheelchair-type furniture has been used at least since the sixth century AD." https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/history-of-the-wheelchair/
"The earliest known representation of an indoor vehicle on wheels may be the child's bed pictured on a Greek vase from the sixth century B.C."
Kamenetz, H.L., 1969. A brief history of the wheelchair. Journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences, 24(2), pp.205-210.
Kamenetz, H.L., 1969. A brief history of the wheelchair. Journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences, 24(2), pp.205-210.
Stone slab of a Chinese sarcophagus from 525 AD. Based on Confucian Stories of Filial Piety with a young person beside what appears to be their grandfather in a chair with wheels.
Philip II, King of Spain (1527-98). Jehan Lhermite, a Flemish nobleman in his service designed and built in 1595 a wheelchair for the king who said, 'though it was but of wood, leather and ordinary iron, was worth ten times its weight in gold and silver'
It moved on 4 small wheels, had a reclining back with an elevated leg rest and foot board. It was adjustable due to curved metal bars with notches so the bag and leg rest could be fixed in place. The arms could also be adjusted.
Jean-Jacques de Renouard, Count of Villayer, invented the 'flying chair', which was simply a chair attached to a rope that travelled in a shaft via pulley between two floors.
Several of these chaises volantes were in use, but one day the Duchess of Bourbon got stuck between two floors and their use stopped.
In Nuremberg, Germany in 1588 Balthasar Hacker made a chair on wheels that could be converted into a bed and also used as a commode and Johann Hautsch built several self-propelled chairs in the 1640s
In Altdorf Germany, Stephan Farfler, a paraplegic watchmaker vehicle like a wheelchair in 1655 that was self propelled via cranks and cogs
Thomas Rowlandson depicts wheelchairs in use in Bath, such as in this image, 'The Pump Room' from a series of images called The Comforts of Bath in 1798
Many of my references come from this which is a good starting point for anyone interested.
Kamenetz, H.L., 1969. A brief history of the wheelchair. Journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences, 24(2), pp.205-210.
https://watermark.silverchair.com/205.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAArcwggKzBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKkMIICoAIBADCCApkGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMfwS34eeYV7wgwIQKAgEQgIICar88pChCtShXIMXdh1lP8ZoKgeYOq2G22N1JtYxLJu64Qn5YG20L7lU_-iCurchoCBvSPGQnIL6QAXySnA0MchxIcitH0iY-75UhCsSSrdFRYWs-MgjbzuARoz5AOaYHulmLZB-6w_Xy8WpkRrs0_OH9AvPFdI_8AW3RM6PQTlNZFh8XB2ZFZjaa-8U67TAOpku5pVoqRs4A6x4mkRhDqUkdpR_5Ca62DxRJ57g77HfoSvs1qCpvUMehP4Jg8Spn1gOof8rqippiXcAjVZrPY0Yx4w--rc2aVfNUKUwzS2NCfQ_mc35ic3vUNe1eIub-Qcjx9ETMbRWYGa6YShpChyEXU3X2u3V1Pv6tuUwNXceEDKYhAX_KdrLIG47r303zRiWJWdFSd3JuT0rJ9NI0K5B-dWZIbiHE6Dt5CweZ6XjSomXKYYe_ZEQFN8TJtgSBIOUoKzPIk5a_uOG_E5Evn1nhrynKItl0sUsRM13JFoXe8OtKGzqScfY66DUA6VnquLoibzYmG6Y-kFsQyh-bD986_3cKFbHnrU4hrXwKBvCTFrzLxjuYU-OZcFteT33p4fRrGzHDnlUk5pabp5bRGFlPZD5DECggcvtfFeHFwP7uQDofTGp0WvIHB6VwSXJgvhZ30DnhXbeeR4PAMA8e1eAJqPFIHabubpqTeLVAn0eaJH4xWVENLR3p7h53V-50qpcyWAQHzNNz8mEBbEKDElkzzZLm7vwtRnYuatTGlQG4azvd8dTBtC4_sXbaUlgH4WwbSdo_OJhtAekSesIqKcRJa4R9UqS5hgzmORt_yzTeptuR01vDCWDa4g
Kamenetz, H.L., 1969. A brief history of the wheelchair. Journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences, 24(2), pp.205-210.
https://watermark.silverchair.com/205.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAArcwggKzBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKkMIICoAIBADCCApkGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMfwS34eeYV7wgwIQKAgEQgIICar88pChCtShXIMXdh1lP8ZoKgeYOq2G22N1JtYxLJu64Qn5YG20L7lU_-iCurchoCBvSPGQnIL6QAXySnA0MchxIcitH0iY-75UhCsSSrdFRYWs-MgjbzuARoz5AOaYHulmLZB-6w_Xy8WpkRrs0_OH9AvPFdI_8AW3RM6PQTlNZFh8XB2ZFZjaa-8U67TAOpku5pVoqRs4A6x4mkRhDqUkdpR_5Ca62DxRJ57g77HfoSvs1qCpvUMehP4Jg8Spn1gOof8rqippiXcAjVZrPY0Yx4w--rc2aVfNUKUwzS2NCfQ_mc35ic3vUNe1eIub-Qcjx9ETMbRWYGa6YShpChyEXU3X2u3V1Pv6tuUwNXceEDKYhAX_KdrLIG47r303zRiWJWdFSd3JuT0rJ9NI0K5B-dWZIbiHE6Dt5CweZ6XjSomXKYYe_ZEQFN8TJtgSBIOUoKzPIk5a_uOG_E5Evn1nhrynKItl0sUsRM13JFoXe8OtKGzqScfY66DUA6VnquLoibzYmG6Y-kFsQyh-bD986_3cKFbHnrU4hrXwKBvCTFrzLxjuYU-OZcFteT33p4fRrGzHDnlUk5pabp5bRGFlPZD5DECggcvtfFeHFwP7uQDofTGp0WvIHB6VwSXJgvhZ30DnhXbeeR4PAMA8e1eAJqPFIHabubpqTeLVAn0eaJH4xWVENLR3p7h53V-50qpcyWAQHzNNz8mEBbEKDElkzzZLm7vwtRnYuatTGlQG4azvd8dTBtC4_sXbaUlgH4WwbSdo_OJhtAekSesIqKcRJa4R9UqS5hgzmORt_yzTeptuR01vDCWDa4g
The earliest written evidence of a prosthetic is said to be the Rig Veda, an ancient, sacred poem of India written between 3500 and 1800 BC. It is about Warrior-Queen Vishpla
who lost her leg in battle and was fitted with a prosthesis fabricated in iron and returned to battle
who lost her leg in battle and was fitted with a prosthesis fabricated in iron and returned to battle
In 218 BC, the Roman general, Marcus Sergius, who led his
legion against Carthage (present-day Tunis) in the second Punic War sustained multiple injuries and had his hand amputated. A prosthesis made of iron was made so he could hold his shield and he went back to battle
legion against Carthage (present-day Tunis) in the second Punic War sustained multiple injuries and had his hand amputated. A prosthesis made of iron was made so he could hold his shield and he went back to battle
A really interesting intro to the history of prosthetics with examples going back to the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt in the reign of Amenhotep II in the fifteenth century BC with Mery, a priest of Amun who had a prosthetic toe https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1445-2197.2007.04330.x
In 1508, German mercenary Gotz von Berlichingen had a pair of iron hands made after he lost his right arm in the
Battle of Landshut. The hands could be manipulated through a series of releases and springs.
Battle of Landshut. The hands could be manipulated through a series of releases and springs.
Another piece that builds off of one I previously shared is this 
Bhuyan, D. and Kumar, K., 2019. A Brief History of Prosthetics and Orthotics of the Lower Body and Their Types.
https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/59404664/A-Brief-History-of-Prosthetics-and-Orthotics-of-the-Lower-Body-and-Their-Types20190526-72374-ms8gro.pdf?1558936951=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DA_Brief_History_of_Prosthetics_and_Ortho.pdf&Expires=1605634679&Signature=QD~ynoo1UZKsgeuN0DQHBdPQpcFEG4G9Z9tOXMT9TIZmXIpuT4YBtT6yCi3qlcdSxAr392a8pWsdSuA9wY9v-sTmsIXDx9HTcvfyXOq1QxDEGV2JjGQ8B7JWZolJkxO-Hrv4GwPRejY6AyhUtXWnKbYfyLVrn5SAnT8D8NMFIyoXZnvXyl~BZgO5se9XmbIF1HYMX0qnOF-9pKkzHm3s-evugFid6Djqf1j7x9YmaG2jnwEVbzhg6cnwo04OS6sDp5~Tr4MgG30aK661kpK6nqlCXyrljs8CS9BF5JMOhaZH2UwY6JM9C5I3lahfTImuyfxqpbHWAHf~n5jb5vFaig__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
Bhuyan, D. and Kumar, K., 2019. A Brief History of Prosthetics and Orthotics of the Lower Body and Their Types. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/59404664/A-Brief-History-of-Prosthetics-and-Orthotics-of-the-Lower-Body-and-Their-Types20190526-72374-ms8gro.pdf?1558936951=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DA_Brief_History_of_Prosthetics_and_Ortho.pdf&Expires=1605634679&Signature=QD~ynoo1UZKsgeuN0DQHBdPQpcFEG4G9Z9tOXMT9TIZmXIpuT4YBtT6yCi3qlcdSxAr392a8pWsdSuA9wY9v-sTmsIXDx9HTcvfyXOq1QxDEGV2JjGQ8B7JWZolJkxO-Hrv4GwPRejY6AyhUtXWnKbYfyLVrn5SAnT8D8NMFIyoXZnvXyl~BZgO5se9XmbIF1HYMX0qnOF-9pKkzHm3s-evugFid6Djqf1j7x9YmaG2jnwEVbzhg6cnwo04OS6sDp5~Tr4MgG30aK661kpK6nqlCXyrljs8CS9BF5JMOhaZH2UwY6JM9C5I3lahfTImuyfxqpbHWAHf~n5jb5vFaig__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
This is a bit of a throwback to the run up to #DisabilityHistoryMonth last year but i'd be remiss if I didn't mention Rosa May Billinghurst a disabled suffragette who rammed police with her wheelchair. https://twitter.com/mckee_felicity/status/1054120650078650369
Eliza Adelaide Knight is another amazing disabled suffragette who deserves a mention as well. https://twitter.com/mckee_felicity/status/1054132914718412800
