Helen Keller smiling

Who was Helen Keller?

Helen Keller is considered past many to be a leading figure of the twentieth century. When she was an infant, affliction robbed her of her vision and hearing. Thanks to the pioneering strategies developed by Perkins' start director, Samuel Gridley Howe, and the tenacity of Perkins alumna, Anne Sullivan, she became the earth'southward all-time known individual with deafblindness.

Today, she is withal regarded equally one of the most powerful and well-known advocates for people who are bullheaded and deafblind. Her books and speeches have inspired millions including many well-known individuals such every bit Conrad Hilton, founder of Hilton Hotels, Ronald Reagan and Eleanor Roosevelt. Through her tireless efforts, she transformed the way the world viewed people with disabilities.

Where was Keller born?

A very good for you baby, Keller was born June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, to retired Regular army Captain Arthur Keller and his 2nd wife, Kate. Keller had a younger brother, Phillips Brooks, and a sister, Mildred. Her father was a cotton wool plantation possessor and the editor of a popular news weekly, The N Alabamian. She lived a full life of 87 years, dying on June 1, 1968.

How did Keller become deafblind?

At the age of 19 months, Keller became very sick with a high fever, leaving her totally deaf and bullheaded. Doctors at that time diagnosed it as "brain fever." Experts today believe she suffered from scarlet fever or meningitis.

How did Keller communicate with others?

Past age vii, Keller had developed nigh 60 hand gestures to communicate with her parents and inquire for things. Notwithstanding, she was often frustrated by her inability to limited herself. With the assist of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, Keller learned the manual alphabet and could communicate by finger spelling.

Within a few months of working with Sullivan, Keller'southward vocabulary had increased to hundreds of words and simple sentences. Sullivan also taught Keller how to read braille and raised type, and to impress block letters. By age 9, Keller began to learn to speak and read lips, skills she continued to develop throughout her lifetime.

Who was Anne Sullivan?

Anne Sullivan was Keller'southward teacher, companion and friend for nearly fifty years. Sullivan was built-in Apr xiv, 1866 in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts, to poor Irish immigrants. At the age of 5, Sullivan contracted trachoma, a contagious conjunctivitis that attacks the eyes, and was left almost entirely blind. She later received several heart operations that restored some of her vision. After graduating course valedictorian from Perkins School for the Bullheaded in 1886, she moved to Tuscumbia, Alabama, to become Keller'south instructor. Sullivan remained with Keller until her death on Oct 20, 1936.

Where did Keller attend school?

Keller attended Perkins Schoolhouse for the Blind for 4 years. She then spent a year at the Cambridge School for Young Ladies to prepare for Radcliffe Higher. In 1904, she graduated cum laude from Radcliffe and became the beginning person with deafblindness to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Later, Keller was the beginning woman to be awarded an honorary degree from Harvard University. She also received honorary degrees from Temple Academy and the Universities of Glasgow, Scotland; Delhi, India; Berlin, Germany; and Witwatersrand and Johannesburg, South Africa.

What subjects did Keller report?

Keller was an avid reader and follower of politics and world events. Amid her favorite books were philosophy texts and volumes of poetry. She too enjoyed studying history and economics every bit well equally foreign languages including French, Latin and German.

After completing school, what did Keller do?

Keller used her instruction and influence to help meliorate the lives of others. She published several books and essays most her own life and views and spent much of her time lecturing and lobbying for important social issues including women'due south suffrage and assistance for people who were blind and deafblind. Keller also performed vaudeville and had a gustatory modality of Hollywood, making two movies about her life, "Deliverance" and "The Unconquered." Much of Keller's later on years were spent traveling around the world, raising money and awareness for the bullheaded and other social issues.

Did Keller ever marry?

No, although she was briefly engaged and had many admirers. Keller's teacher and lifetime companion Sullivan did marry, however, and Keller lived with Sullivan and her husband, John Macy.

Did Keller encounter anyone famous?

Keller made several famous friends and acquaintances. Among her friends were author Mark Twain and inventor Alexander Graham Bell. Keller likewise met Charlie Chaplin, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martha Graham, Republic of india's quondam Prime Government minister Nehru, the Queen of England, and 12 U.S. presidents, from Grover Cleveland to John F. Kennedy.

What kind of causes and charities did Keller advocate for?

Keller worked for a variety of causes during her life. She was an outspoken suffragist, an abet of worker's rights and an opponent of child labor, but she is best known for her commitment to improving the quality of life for people who are bullheaded and deafblind. Equally a student at Perkins, she initiated and ran fundraising campaigns to establish a Perkins kindergarten for the blind and to pay for the education of Tommy Stringer, a poor male child with deafblindness whom she met.

As an adult, she lobbied for programs for the prevention of incomprehension, laws for the education and protection of the blind and deafblind, likewise as state-assisted programs to help people with disabilities with job training and placement.

Did Keller receive whatsoever awards?

Keller received numerous awards throughout her life for her humanitarian efforts. In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Keller the highest American laurels, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. On the 50th anniversary of her graduation from Radcliffe College, she received the Alumnae Achievement Honor. Radcliffe also dedicated the Helen Keller Garden in her honour and named a fountain in the garden for her teacher Anne Sullivan. Keller later received Brazil's Order of the Southern Cantankerous, the Philippines' Gilded Heart, Nippon's Sacred Treasure, and in 1991, was named ane of the almost important people of the twentieth century by Life magazine.

Who assisted Keller after Sullivan died?

Afterward Sullivan passed abroad in 1936, Polly Thomson, who had worked in the Keller household since 1914, became Keller's aide. Thomson passed abroad in 1960 and Winifred Corbally, a nurse-companion, assisted Keller until Keller's decease in 1968.

How tin I learn more about Keller?

Keller published many manufactures, essays and books. Among them are 2 autobiographies, The Story of My Life and Midstream: My Later Life, and a biography of her life with Sullivan chosen Teacher: Anne Sullivan. She also published "Optimism: An Essay," "The Earth I Live in," "The Song of the Rock Wall," "Out of the Night," "My Religion," "Peace at Eventide," "Helen Keller in Scotland," "Helen Keller'southward Periodical," "Let Us Have Faith" and "The Open Door."

Among the many biographies are Helen and Teacher: The story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy by Joseph P. Lash and Helen Keller: A Life by Dorothy Herrmann.

In addition, the moving-picture show "The Phenomenon Worker" was released in 1962 and was remade for goggle box in 2000. "The Miracle Worker" chronicles many of the challenges and triumphs during Keller's youth. Anne Bancroft won an Oscar for All-time Actress for her portrayal of Sullivan. Patty Duke played the part of Keller and also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Both actresses also starred in the Broadway version.