About the Archive

The Helen Keller Archive at the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is the world’s largest repository of materials about and by Helen Keller. Materials include correspondence, speeches, press clippings, scrapbooks, photographs, photograph albums, architectural drawings, audio recordings, audio-visual materials and artifacts.

The collection contains detailed biographical information about Helen Keller (1880-1968), as well as a fascinating record of over 80 years of social and political change worldwide. Keller was a feminist, a suffragist, a social activist, and a pacifist, as well as a prolific writer and published author.

Her impact reached far beyond the United States. She traveled to 39 countries as an advocate and global goodwill ambassador and met and corresponded with many of the leading figures of her time, including nine U.S. presidents, and prominent social activists, philanthropists, industrialists, writers, artists, and actors. The collection contains information on all these subjects and individuals as well as the countless ordinary men, women, and children who corresponded with her.

Thanks to the enormous generosity of the National Endowment for the Humanities, this digital archive is being made accessible to blind, deaf, deafblind, sighted, and hearing audiences alike. Please note that additional accessibility features are being constantly added. Please contact us at communications@afb.org if you experience any difficulties using the site. Thank you!