Helen Keller

Birthday

Jun 27, 1880

Birthplace

Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA

Bio: Imagine that you couldn't see these words or hear them spoken. But you couldstill 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 wasborn over a hundred years ago!Meet Helen Keller, a woman from the small farm… More Bio: Imagine that you couldn't see these words or hear them spoken. But you couldstill 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 wasborn over a hundred years ago!Meet Helen Keller, a woman from the small farm town of Tuscumbia, Alabamawho taught the world to respect people who are blind and deaf. Her missioncame from her own life; when she was 1 1/2, she was extremely ill, and shelost 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 was7, her parents knew they needed help, so they hired a tutor named AnneSullivan.Helen Keller at age 7Anne was strict, but she had a lot of energy. In just a few days, she taughtHelen how to spell words with her hands (called the manual alphabet, whichis part of the sign language that deaf people use.) The trouble was, Helendidn'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 SullivanAnne 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 wasten by feeling her teacher's mouth when she talked. Often people found ithard to understand her, but she never gave up trying. Meanwhile, she learnedto read French, German, Greek, and Latin in braille! When she was 20, sheentered Radcliffe College, the women's branch of Harvard University. Herfirst book, called The Story of My Life, was translated into 50 languages.(She used two typewriters: one regular, one braille.) She wrote ten morebooks and a lot more articles! How did she find the time?Helen also did research, gave speeches, and helped raise money for manyorganizations, such as the American Foundation for the Blind and theAmerican Foundation for the Overseas Blind, which is now called Helen KellerWorldwide. From 1946 and 1957, she went around the world, speaking about theexperiences and rights of people who are blind. She wound up visiting 39countries on five different continents! Helen also inspired many works ofart, including two Oscar-winning movies, and received dozens of awards, suchas the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that an Americancivilian can receive. She died in her sleep in 1968.