Who was Helen Keller?

Helen Adams Keller was born in Alabama in 1880. Keller's father was a Confederate Army Officer. Keller lost both her sight and hearing at just 19 months old. By age 6 she had developed a limited method of communication with the family cook. They eventually invented more than 60 finger signs to communicate with each other.

Her mother then took her to meet Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, who was working with deaf children at the time. Keller attended Perkins Institute in Boston where they found a teacher, Anne Sullivan. Sullivan began by teaching Keller many forms of communication.

By age 10 Keller began speech classes at a school for the Deaf in Boston. Then, Keller graduated from Radcliffe in 1904 at age of 24. Keller wrote her first book, 'The Story of My Life'. She became a celebrity and lecturer by sharing her experiences with audiences & advocating for the disabled.

In 1920, she helped found the ACLU & many other causes. From 1946-1957, she had traveled to 35 countries, lecturing. At age 75, Keller embarked on a five-month trek across Asia. In her speeches, she brought inspiration & encouragement to millions of people. The 1957 drama, 'The Miracle Worker' was based upon Keller's story.

Keller also received honorary doctoral degrees from Temple University and Harvard University plus universities in Glasgow, Berlin, Delhi, & South Africa. She was named an Honorary Fellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland. Keller died in 1968, at 88.