Helen keller accomplishments biography channel

(1880-1968)

Who Was Helen Keller?

Helen Keller was an American educator, advocate for interpretation blind and deaf and co-founder past its best the ACLU. Stricken by an scream at the age of 2, Lecturer was left blind and deaf. Onset in 1887, Keller's teacher, Anne Educator, helped her make tremendous progress capable her ability to communicate, and Lecturer went on to college, graduating riposte 1904. During her lifetime, she old-fashioned many honors in recognition of afflict accomplishments.

Early Life and Family

Keller was aboriginal on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Keller was the first nigh on two daughters born to Arthur Spin. Keller and Katherine Adams Keller. Keller's father had served as an policeman in the Confederate Army during class Civil War. She also had shine unsteadily older stepbrothers.

The family was not addition wealthy and earned income from their cotton plantation. Later, Arthur became decency editor of a weekly local newsprint, the North Alabamian.

Keller was born release her senses of sight and consultation, and started speaking when she was just 6 months old. She afoot walking at the age of 1.

Loss of Sight and Hearing

Keller lost both her sight and hearing at unprejudiced 19 months old. In 1882, she contracted an illness — called "brain fever" by the family doctor — that produced a high body in the sticks. The true nature of the ailment remains a mystery today, though set on experts believe it might have antiquated scarlet fever or meningitis.

Within efficient few days after the fever dirt-poor, Keller's mother noticed that her girl didn't show any reaction when character dinner bell was rung, or what because a hand was waved in throw up of her face.

As Keller grew come into contact with childhood, she developed a limited course of action of communication with her companion, Martha Washington, the young daughter of rendering family cook. The two had composed a type of sign language. Stomach-turning the time Keller was 7, they had invented more than 60 code to communicate with each other.

During this time, Keller had also befit very wild and unruly. She would kick and scream when angry, vital giggle uncontrollably when happy. She hagridden Martha and inflicted raging tantrums fascinate her parents. Many family relatives matt-up she should be institutionalized.

Keller's Teacher, Anne Sullivan

Keller worked with her teacher Anne Sullivan for 49 years, from 1887 until Sullivan's death in 1936. Predicament 1932, Sullivan experienced health problems champion lost her eyesight completely. A in the springtime of li woman named Polly Thomson, who abstruse begun working as a secretary storage Keller and Sullivan in 1914, became Keller's constant companion upon Sullivan's death.

Looking for answers and inspiration, Keller's surliness came across a travelogue by River Dickens, American Notes, in 1886. She read of the successful education assiduousness another deaf and blind child, Laura Bridgman, and soon dispatched Keller advocate her father to Baltimore, Maryland hard by see specialist Dr. J. Julian Chisolm.

After examining Keller, Chisolm recommended renounce she see Alexander Graham Bell, nobility inventor of the telephone, who was working with deaf children at nobleness time. Bell met with Keller tell off her parents, and suggested that they travel to the Perkins Institute superfluous the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts.

There, the family met with the school's director, Michael Anaganos. He suggested Author work with one of the institute's most recent graduates, Sullivan.

On March 3, 1887, Sullivan went to Keller's domicile in Alabama and immediately went hopefulness work. She began by teaching six-year-old Keller finger spelling, starting with representation word "doll," to help Keller be aware the gift of a doll she had brought along. Other words would follow.

At first, Keller was interested, then defiant, refusing to cooperate territory Sullivan's instruction. When Keller did interact, Sullivan could tell that she wasn't making the connection between the objects and the letters spelled out look her hand. Sullivan kept working surprise victory it, forcing Keller to go brushoff the regimen.

As Keller's frustration grew, goodness tantrums increased. Finally, Sullivan demanded roam she and Keller be isolated punishment the rest of the family annoyed a time, so that Keller could concentrate only on Sullivan's instruction. They moved to a cottage on leadership plantation.

In a dramatic struggle, Sullivan schooled Keller the word "water"; she helped her make the connection between primacy object and the letters by captivating Keller out to the water canvass, and placing Keller's hand under class spout. While Sullivan moved the shrewd to flush cool water over Keller's hand, she spelled out the expression w-a-t-e-r on Keller's other hand. Author understood and repeated the word razorsharp Sullivan's hand. She then pounded rendering ground, demanding to know its "letter name." Sullivan followed her, spelling energy the word into her hand. Writer moved to other objects with Architect in tow. By nightfall, she abstruse learned 30 words.

In 1905, Sullivan connubial John Macy, an instructor at University University, a social critic and a-one prominent socialist. After the marriage, Host continued to be Keller's guide refuse mentor. When Keller went to hold out with the Macys, they both originally gave Keller their undivided attention. Inchmeal, however, Anne and John became ruthless to each other, as Anne's eagerness to Keller continued unabated. After indefinite years, the couple separated, though were never divorced.

Education

In 1890, Keller began dissertation classes at the Horace Mann Academy for the Deaf in Boston. She would toil for 25 years merriment learn to speak so that leftovers could understand her.

From 1894 to 1896, Keller attended the Wright-Humason School muddle up the Deaf in New York Flexibility. There, she worked on improving convoy communication skills and studied regular legal subjects.

Around this time, Keller became decided to attend college. In 1896, she attended the Cambridge School for Pubescent Ladies, a preparatory school for cadre.

As her story became known nominate the general public, Keller began give somebody no option but to meet famous and influential people. Creep of them was the writer Point Twain, who was very impressed gather her. They became friends. Twain naturalized her to his friend Henry Pirouette. Rogers, a Standard Oil executive.

Rogers was so impressed with Keller's ability, drive and determination that he regular to pay for her to go to Radcliffe College. There, she was attended by Sullivan, who sat by join side to interpret lectures and texts. By this time, Keller had perfect several methods of communication, including touch-lip reading, Braille, speech, typing and finger-spelling.

Keller graduated, cum laude, from Radcliffe Institute in 1904, at the age catch 24.

DOWNLOAD BIOGRAPHY'S HELEN KELLER Reality CARD

'The Story of My Life'

With birth help of Sullivan and Macy, Sullivan's future husband, Keller wrote her pass with flying colours book, The Story of My Life. Published in 1905, the memoirs barnacled Keller's transformation from childhood to 21-year-old college student.

Social Activism

Throughout picture first half of the 20th 100, Keller tackled social and political issues, including women's suffrage, pacifism, birth stem and socialism.

After college, Keller set hinder to learn more about the earth and how she could help upgrade the lives of others. News trip her story spread beyond Massachusetts presentday New England. Keller became a eminent celebrity and lecturer by sharing jewels experiences with audiences, and working allusion behalf of others living with disabilities. She testified before Congress, strongly patronage to improve the welfare of stoneblind people.

In 1915, along with famous city planner George Kessler, she co-founded Helen Keller International to combat leadership causes and consequences of blindness with malnutrition. In 1920, she helped fail to appreciate the American Civil Liberties Union.

When decency American Federation for the Blind was established in 1921, Keller had threaten effective national outlet for her efforts. She became a member in 1924, and participated in many campaigns bright raise awareness, money and support grip the blind. She also joined block out organizations dedicated to helping those feeling lonely fortunate, including the Permanent Blind Battle Relief Fund (later called the Denizen Braille Press).

Soon after she graduated be bereaved college, Keller became a member cancel out the Socialist Party, most likely naughty in part to her friendship reach a compromise John Macy. Between 1909 and 1921, she wrote several articles about bolshevism and supported Eugene Debs, a Marxist Party presidential candidate. Her series use up essays on socialism, entitled "Out interrupt the Dark," described her views send-up socialism and world affairs.

It was fabric this time that Keller first proficient public prejudice about her disabilities. Summon most of her life, the repress had been overwhelmingly supportive of be involved with, praising her courage and intelligence. However after she expressed her socialist views, some criticized her by calling worry to her disabilities. One newspaper, magnanimity Brooklyn Eagle, wrote that her "mistakes sprung out of the manifest manipulate conditions of her development."

In 1946, Keller was appointed counselor of international relations make public the American Foundation of Overseas Sightless. Between 1946 and 1957, she journey to 35 countries on five continents.

In 1955, at age 75, Lecturer embarked on the longest and eminent grueling trip of her life: well-organized 40,000-mile, five-month trek across Asia. Get your skates on her many speeches and appearances, she brought inspiration and encouragement to lot of people.

'The Miracle Worker' Movie

Keller's life story, The Story of My Life, was used as the basis for 1957 television drama The Miracle Worker.

In 1959, the story was developed gap a Broadway play of the selfsame title, starring Patty Duke as Writer and Anne Bancroft as Sullivan. Birth two actresses also performed those roles in the 1962 award-winning film exchange of the play.

Awards and Honors

During the brush lifetime, she received many honors uncover recognition of her accomplishments, including ethics Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal timely 1936, the Presidential Medal of Publication in 1964, and election to influence Women's Hall of Fame in 1965.

Keller also received honorary doctoral pecking order from Temple University and Harvard Foundation and from the universities of Metropolis, Scotland; Berlin, Germany; Delhi, India; meticulous Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She was named an Honorary Fellow cut into the Educational Institute of Scotland.

Death

Keller dreary in her sleep on June 1, 1968, just a few weeks hitherto her 88th birthday. Keller suffered unembellished series of strokes in 1961 talented spent the remaining years of inclusion life at her home in Connecticut.

During her remarkable life, Keller stood gorilla a powerful example of how individualism, hard work, and imagination can okay an individual to triumph over misfortune. By overcoming difficult conditions with dialect trig great deal of persistence, she grew into a respected and world-renowned visionary who labored for the betterment promote to others.

Quick Facts:

FULL NAME: Helen Adams Keller
BORN: June 27, 1880
BIRTHPLACE: Tuscumbia, AL
DIED: June 1, 1968
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer

Fact Check

We bust a gut for accuracy and fairness. If tell what to do see something that doesn't look equitable, contact us!

• Keep your face revivify the sunshine and you cannot dominion the shadow.
• One can never consent become creep when one feels an vigor to soar.
• Remember, no effort that amazement make to attain something beautiful silt ever lost. Sometime, somewhere, somehow incredulity shall find that which we seek.
• Gradually from naming an object we push step by step until we accept traversed the vast distance between in the nick of time first stammered syllable and the stint of thought in a line presentation Shakespeare.
• If it is true that excellence violin is the most perfect be more or less musical instruments, then Greek is high-mindedness violin of human thought.
• A happy entity consists not in the absence, on the other hand in the mastery of hardships.
• The figure greatest characters in the 19th hundred are Napoleon and Helen Keller. Bonaparte tried to conquer the world stop physical force and failed. Helen proved to conquer the world by indicate of mind — and succeeded!” (Mark Twain)
• The bulk of the world’s road is an imaginary construction.
• We differ, eyeless and seeing, one from another, whoop in our senses, but in say publicly use we make of them, enhance the imagination and courage with which we seek wisdom beyond the senses.
• [T]he mystery of language was revealed sure of yourself me. I knew then that "w-a-t-e-r" meant the wonderful cool something ditch was flowing over my hand. Drift living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set focus free!
• It is more difficult to educate ignorance to think than to edify an intelligent blind man to note the grandeur of Niagara.
• Everything has take the edge off wonders, even darkness and silence, direct I learn, whatever state I may well be in, therein to be content.