- Name: Helen Keller
- Date of Birth: June 27, 1880
- Place of Birth: Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA
Mini-bio:
Imagine that you couldn't see these words or hear them spoken. But you could
still talk, write, read, and make friends. In fact, you went to college,
wrote nearly a dozen books, traveled all over th...( read more)
still talk, write, read, and make friends. In fact, you went to college,
wrote nearly a dozen books, traveled all over th...( read more)
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Helen Keller mini-bio: Imagine that you couldn't see these words or hear them spoken. But you could
still talk, write, read, and make friends. In fact, you went to college,
wrote nearly a dozen books, traveled all over the world, met 12 U.S.
presidents, and lived to be 87. Well, there was such a person, and she was
born over a hundred years ago!
Meet Helen Keller, a woman from the small farm town of Tuscumbia, Alabama
who taught the world to respect people who are blind and deaf. Her mission
came from her own life; when she was 1 1/2, she was extremely ill, and she
lost both her vision and hearing. It was like entering a different world,
with completely new rules, and she got very frustrated. By the time she was
7, her parents knew they needed help, so they hired a tutor named Anne
Sullivan.
Helen Keller at age 7
Anne was strict, but she had a lot of energy. In just a few days, she taught
Helen how to spell words with her hands (called the manual alphabet, which
is part of the sign language that deaf people use.) The trouble was, Helen
didn't understand what the words meant—until one morning at the water pump
(like an outdoor water fountain) she got a whole new attitude.
Anne Sullivan
Anne had Helen hold one hand under the water. Then she spelled "W-A-T-E-R"
into Helen's other hand. It was electric! The feeling turned into a word.
Immediately, Helen bent down and tapped the ground; Anne spelled "earth."
Helen's brain flew; that day, she learned 30 words.
>From then on, Helen's mind raced ahead. She learned to speak when she was
ten by feeling her teacher's mouth when she talked. Often people found it
hard to understand her, but she never gave up trying. Meanwhile, she learned
to read French, German, Greek, and Latin in braille! When she was 20, she
entered Radcliffe College, the women's branch of Harvard University. Her
first book, called The Story of My Life, was translated into 50 languages.
(She used two typewriters: one regular, one braille.) She wrote ten more
books and a lot more articles! How did she find the time?
Helen also did research, gave speeches, and helped raise money for many
organizations, such as the American Foundation for the Blind and the
American Foundation for the Overseas Blind, which is now called Helen Keller
Worldwide. From 1946 and 1957, she went around the world, speaking about the
experiences and rights of people who are blind. She wound up visiting 39
countries on five different continents! Helen also inspired many works of
art, including two Oscar-winning movies, and received dozens of awards, such
as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that an American
civilian can receive. She died in her sleep in 1968.
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