Henry Fawcett was a blind economist and politician, who lost his vision at age 25. Fawcett served in a number of important offices in his (relatively short) life, including Prof of Political Economy at Cambridge, Rector of Glasgow Uni, MP for Brighton, and Postmaster General. Fascinating guy! (2/2)

A photograph of a square gravestone inscribed with Henry Fawcett 1833 - 1844. Speak unto the people that they go forward. The gravestone is surrounded by brown gravel and there is an ornate iron fence behind it. The stone itself is decorated with rosettes in the corners, and the text in the middle is inside of a circle that is designed to look woven. Under the name and dates, there are leaf decorations, and at the bottom of the circle, a cross.

I am a lover of graveyards and, living in Cambridge, I am lucky enough to be able to visit the graves of interesting and impressive people on the regular. Today, for #DisabilityHistoryMonth, I'd like to share the beautiful gravestone of Henry Fawcett, buried in the churchyard in Trumpington. (1/2)

"But I don't need to know how your brain works".
A common comment, when autistic people talk about the need to explain that we're autistic.
Mmm.
Let's explain a bit of everyday life. Thread.
I am invited into a meeting with e.g. 7 people whose brains function in 'typical' ways/

A newspaper clipping: Blind Men Strike. Minimum Wage of £1 A Week Demanded. About forty blind workers are on strike at Bristol Blind Asylum, the men asking for £1 a week and the women for 13s. The strikers declare that while the officials are well paid the blind workers, for whom the institution is maintained, are so badly remunerated that outworkers have often to obtain parish relief to eke out their miserable doles." A date is written at the top in smudged ink: 13/3/12.

This year's #UKDHM theme is Disability Livelihood and Employment & that includes... strikes! Here are workers at the Bristol Blind Asylum going on strike to demand a pay increase in 1912. Here, blind workers did jobs like weaving baskets and mats to sell. It ran from the late 18thC to the 1960s.

Hello museum world! I used to be active on museum/heritage twitter, fell off for a bit, and now have finally joined this site. 😁🏳️‍🌈📚🌿

I'd love to connect with any other early career museum folks, anyone working on disability/inclusion, or just anyone who's passionate about heritage.