Helen Keller

For other people named Helen Keller, see Helen Keller (disambiguation).

Helen Keller
A woman with full dark hair and wearing a long dark dress, her face in partial profile, sits in a simple wooden chair. A locket hangs from a slender chain around her neck; in her hands is a magnolia, its large white flower surrounded by dark leaves.
Keller holding a magnolia, c. 1920
BornHelen Adams Keller
(1880-06-27)June 27, 1880
Tuscumbia, Alabama, U.S.
DiedJune 1, 1968(1968-06-01) (aged 87)
Easton, Connecticut, U.S.
Resting placeWashington National Cathedral
Occupation
  • Author
  • political activist
  • lecturer
EducationRadcliffe College (BA)
Notable worksThe Story of My Life (1903)
Signature

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. She then communicated primarily using home signs until the age of seven, when she met her first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan. Sullivan taught Keller language, including reading and writing. After an education at both specialist and mainstream schools, Keller attended Radcliffe College of Harvard University and became the first deafblind person in the United States to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.[1]

Keller was also a prolific author, writing 14 books and hundreds of speeches and essays on topics ranging from animals to Mahatma Gandhi.[2] Keller campaigned for those with disabilities, for women's suffrage, labor rights, and world peace. In 1909, she joined the Socialist Party of America (SPA). She was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).[3]

Keller's autobiography, The Story of My Life (1903), publicized her education and life with Sullivan. It was adapted as a play by William Gibson, and this was also adapted as a film under the same title, The Miracle Worker. Her birthplace has been designated and preserved as a National Historic Landmark. Since 1954 it has been operated as a house museum[4] and sponsors an annual "Helen Keller Day".[5]

  1. ^ "Deaf, Blind Woman to Get College Degree". The New York Times. June 6, 1983. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  2. ^ "Speeches, Helen Keller Archive at the American Foundation for the Blind". Archived from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  3. ^ Aneja, Arpita; Waxman, Olivia B. (December 15, 2020). "The Helen Keller You Didn't Learn About in School". Time. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  4. ^ "Helen Keller Birthplace". Helen Keller Birthplace Foundation, Inc. Archived from the original on February 22, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2005.
  5. ^ Kumar, Nitin (December 14, 2018). Gems of Wisdom: Quotes on Life, Love, Justice, Karma, Spiritualism. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-64429-355-3.