American author and activist who was deaf and blind from infancy, learned to communicate with Anne Sullivan and campaigned for disability rights
Did you know?She was the first person with deafblindness to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in the United States.
Quick facts
Date of birth27 June 1880
Date of death1 June 1968
Age at death87
NationalityAmerican
BirthplaceIvy Green, United States
Occupationwriter, orator, essayist
Editor's Take:
Helen Keller's life showed the world what people with disabilities could achieve. Left deaf and blind by an illness before the age of two, she was locked in silence until her teacher, Anne Sullivan, spelled words into her hand. The breakthrough moment, when she understood that the water flowing over her hand had a name, became one of the most famous scenes in education. She went on to become an author, lecturer and campaigner for women's suffrage, workers' rights and people with disabilities. Her story, told in The Miracle Worker, continues to inspire.
Key Milestones
1887: Anne Sullivan becomes her teacher
1903: Publishes The Story of My Life
1904: Graduates from Radcliffe College
1964: Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. Born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when she was 19 months old.
