01/23/2026
Today is Ed Roberts Day!
January 23rd is the birthday of Ed Roberts, lovingly and respectfully remembered as “the Father of the Independent Living Movement.” It is celebrated annually as “Ed Roberts Day.”
In 1953, at age 14, Ed Roberts and his family contracted polio. While his family recovered, Ed had to rely on an iron lung to survive. In 1962, wanting pursuing political science, Roberts was encouraged by his community college counselor, Jean Wirth, to apply to the University of California, Berkeley. Despite resistance from university administrators, who told him “they had tried cripples and it didn’t work," Ed sued for admission and won. He was the first quadriplegic to be accepted to Berkeley.
While attending UC Berkeley, Roberts helped create the Berkeley Center For Independent Living (CIL), a revolutionary concept and the first organization of its kind in the country, created to support people with disabilities living independently in the community. Roberts also helped other students with significant disabilities attend Berkeley. Known as the “Rolling Quads,” the group lived together in an unused ward at Cowell Hospital due to inaccessible dorms.
In 1964, Roberts earned his BA, and he received his MA two years later. While he was accepted as a Ph.D. student, he never completed his degree; however, he taught political science courses at UC Berkeley for six years. Roberts later directed California’s Department of Rehabilitation. In 1980 Roberts, alongside fellow activist Judy Heumann, co-founded the World Institute on Disability, a program that continues to educate students about disability. He was also a father and husband. Since his death, the state of California has memorialized Ed Roberts with a holiday in his honor. Every January 23rd is Ed Roberts Day.
