Early Life
Blunkett was born on 6 June 1947 at Jessop Hospital, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, with improperly developed optic nerves due to a rare genetic disorder. He grew up in an underprivileged family and in 1959, he endured a family tragedy when his father was gravely injured in an industrial accident in which he fell into a vat of boiling water while at work as a foreman for the East Midlands Gas Board and died a month later. This left the surviving family in poverty, especially since the board refused to pay compensation for two years because his father worked past the retirement age, dying at age 67.
Blind since birth, Blunkett was educated at schools for the blind in Sheffield and Shrewsbury. He was never sent for assessment at the School for the Blind in Worcester, and instead attended the Royal National College for the Blind in Shrewsbury. He was apparently told at school that one of his few options in life was to become a lathe operator. Nevertheless, he won a place at the University of Sheffield, where he gained a BA honours degree in Political Theory and Institutions; one of his lecturers was Bernard Crick. He entered local politics on graduation, whilst gaining a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from Huddersfield Holly Bank College of Education. He spent a total of six years going to evening classes and day-release classes to get the qualifications needed to go to university. He worked as a clerk typist between 1967 and 1969 and as a lecturer in industrial relations and politics between 1973 and 1981.
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