Christopher Reeve was an American actor, film director, author, and activist, best known for playing the title character in the film Superman (1978) and three sequels. On May 27, 1995, Reeve broke his neck when he was thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia. The injury paralyzed him from the shoulders down, and he used a wheelchair and ventilator for the rest of his life. Despite his paralysis, Reeve became heavily involved in campaigns supporting handicapped children and paraplegics, testifying before a Senate subcommittee in favor of federal funding for stem cell research. He founded what became the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation in 1996 to promote research on spinal cord injuries. Reeve died from heart failure on October 10, 2004, at the age of 52, due to complications from a pressure wound that had become infected.