Robert Sampson (March 4, 1925 – December 3, 2006) was a vice president at

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

. He was diagnosed with

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

at age 5, and used a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

for most of his life. Sampson, a lawyer, was an advocate for disabled persons. He served the President's Commission on Employment of the Handicapped under five American presidents. His efforts helped lead to architectural improvements in access for the disabled, such as wheelchair ramps. Sampson partnered with

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

to raise money for the treatment of

. A

Boeing 747-400 The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...

, tail number N116UA, is named after him.

References

* * * 1925 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American lawyers Deaths from muscular dystrophy People from Evanston, Illinois {{US-activist-stub