Helen Keller
Who was Helen Keller?
American deafblind author, political activist, lecturer, scholar (1880-1968)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Helen Keller (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Helen Adams Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Ivy Green, Tuscumbia, Alabama. At nineteen months old, she came down with an illness—described by doctors then as 'brain fever,' possibly scarlet fever or meningitis—that left her blind and deaf. For the next few years, she used a system of improvised signs to communicate with her family but grew increasingly frustrated by her inability to fully interact with the world around her. Everything changed in 1887 when Anne Sullivan, a young teacher from the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, arrived at Ivy Green and began the challenging task of teaching Keller language. Sullivan's method of spelling words into Keller's hand laid the groundwork for a lifelong bond between them, and the famous moment at a water pump when Keller understood the spelled word 'water' as the liquid flowed over her hand is one of the best-known episodes in American educational history.
Before Fame
Keller's early childhood was marked by isolation due to losing her sight and hearing before she had learned to speak. Growing up in rural Alabama after the Reconstruction period, she described her early life as being in a fog of sensation without meaning. The intervention of Anne Sullivan, thanks to the efforts of Alexander Graham Bell and the Perkins School for the Blind, changed her life's direction completely. With Sullivan's help, Keller learned to read Braille, write using a special typewriter, and eventually speak aloud — a skill she worked on for years with teacher Sarah Fuller at the Horace Mann School. These early years of intense instruction paved the way for her later academic success and public career.
Key Achievements
- First deafblind person in the United States to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating from Radcliffe College in 1904.
- Authored fourteen books, including the influential autobiography The Story of My Life (1903), along with hundreds of essays and speeches.
- Co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1920.
- Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, one of the highest civilian honors in the United States.
- Campaigned internationally for disability rights, women's suffrage, labor rights, and pacifism, addressing audiences across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Did You Know?
- 01.Keller attended the Cambridge School for Young Ladies in Weston, Massachusetts, and later Radcliffe College, graduating cum laude in 1904 — the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in the United States.
- 02.Her early essay 'The Frost King' (1891), written at age eleven, was accused of plagiarism because it closely resembled a story by Margaret Canby; the incident caused a lasting crisis of confidence about her own memory and originality.
- 03.Keller was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union in 1920 and joined the Socialist Party of America in 1909, positions that drew considerable public criticism and led some newspapers to revise their previously glowing editorials about her.
- 04.She met every US president from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Johnson in 1964.
- 05.Keller learned to 'hear' music by placing her hand on a radio or piano to feel the vibrations, and she reportedly enjoyed symphonies experienced in this tactile manner.
Family & Personal Life
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Presidential Medal of Freedom | 1964 | — |
| National Women's Hall of Fame | 1973 | — |
| Alabama Women's Hall of Fame | 1971 | — |
| Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame | 2006 | — |
| Labor Hall of Honor | 2010 | — |
| Knight of the Legion of Honour | — | — |
| Order of St. Sava | — | — |
| Knight of the Order of the Southern Cross | — | — |
| Order of Bernardo O'Higgins | — | — |
| Order of the Sacred Treasure | — | — |
| Order of Merit | — | — |
| Order of the Southern Cross | — | — |
| Golden Plate Award | 1965 | — |