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Ludwig Guttmann and the birth of the Paralympics

As this year’s Paralympics return to Tokyo, the city where they were first held in 1964, Lalita Kaplish and Christy Henshaw explore the remarkable life and legacy of neurosurgeon Ludwig Guttmann, who organised the first “paraplegic games” in 1948.

Words by Lalita Kaplishwords by Christy Henshaw

  • In pictures

About the authors

Black and white headshot of Lalita Kaplish, digital editor.

Lalita Kaplish

(she/her)

Lalita is a digital content editor at Wellcome Collection with particular interests in the history of science and medicine and discovering hidden stories in our collections.

Black and white photograph of Christy Henshaw.

Christy Henshaw

Christy Henshaw manages Wellcome Collection’s digitisation programme. She is constantly amused and mystified by the collections and works with her team to make them available freely to all.