Birth of Christy Brown, Paraplegic Painter and Writer

Christy Brown, Irish writer, painter, and poet, is born in Dublin on June 5, 1932, with cerebral palsy. Despite severe physical challenges, he learns to write and paint using the toes of his left foot — the only limb over which he had full control. His autobiographical novel Down All the Days (1970) earns widespread acclaim for its raw honesty and literary power. His life story is later immortalized in the Oscar-winning film My Left Foot (1989), where he is portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis.