Mary Anne Fackelman · Public domain

Paralyzed from the waist down in a diving accident during his first year at Harvard Medical School, Krauthammer finished his degree, became a psychiatrist who helped shape the DSM-III, then moved into speechwriting for Vice President Walter Mondale before turning to political commentary full time. His Washington Post column, syndicated to more than 400 publications, won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary, and he became a fixture of televised political debate as a panelist on PBS's Inside Washington and Fox News's Special Report.