Skip to content
Ryan White

Image by RyanKingArt on Pixabay · Pixabay License

EntityQ320163· pop 35· linked from 392 articles

Ryan White

Sign in to save

Also known as Ryan Wayne White

American AIDS spokesperson and "poster boy" (1971–1990)

Person · Open Library

Works
23

Top works

  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Springsteen - Album by Album
  • Dawn the Mask (6x8)
  • Dawn the Mask Volume 2
  • Dawn the Mask (4. 5x6) (Black&White)

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · Kokomo, Indiana, USA

Ryan White was born in Kokomo, Indiana in 1971. A hemophiliac, Ryan regularly needed injections of blood products to survive. In 1985 at the age of 13, it was discovered that Ryan contracted the AIDS virus sometime during the previous year from tainted blood. His case got national attention when his school expelled him when they learned about his disease. Not wanting to lie down and die that…

Known for

  • Commitment to Life — Self (archive)2023
  • Basketball: A Love Story — Self (archive footage)2018
  • The Ryan White Story — Chad1989

via TMDB

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
150
Total plays
1,319

Tags

residentherofansdotcom

Ryan White is the lead vocalist/lyricist/guitarist of the rock band Resident Hero. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Ryan+White">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · Ryan White

Key facts

Born
Ryan Wayne White , ( 1971-12-06 ) December 6, 1971, Kokomo, Indiana , U.S.
Died
April 8, 1990 (1990-04-08) (aged 18), Indianapolis , Indiana, U.S.
Cause of death
AIDS -related pneumonia
Resting place
Cicero, Indiana
Occupation
Student

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Official website
www.ryanwhite.com
Image
Ryan White.jpg
Show 3 more facts
date of birth
1971-12-06
date of death
1990-04-08
Commons category
Ryan White
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~21 min read

Article

Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagnosis of AIDS.

As a hemophiliac, White became infected with HIV from a contaminated factor VIII blood treatment and, when diagnosed in December 1984, was given six months to live. Doctors said he posed no risk to other students, as AIDS is not an airborne disease and spreads solely through bodily fluids, but AIDS was poorly understood by the general public at the time. When White tried to return to school, irate parents and teachers in Howard County rallied against his attendance due to unwarranted concerns of the disease spreading to other students and staff. A lengthy administrative appeal process ensued, and news of the conflict turned White into a popular celebrity and advocate for AIDS research and public education. Surprising his doctors, White lived five years longer than predicted. He died on April 8, 1990, one month before his high school graduation.

Connections

Categories