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Helen Keller Biography
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Helen Keller (1880-1968)
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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.
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Helen Keller at age 7
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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.
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Anne Sullivan
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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.
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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?
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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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Helen became an exceptional leader, once she
saw the potential in her own mind.
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Learn even more about Helen Keller at www.afb.org/helenkeller.asp!
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