June 27, 1880
Helen Keller is born in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Her father's name is Captain Arthur Henley Keller and her mother is Kate Adams Keller.
February 1882
After being struck by illness, Helen loses both her sight and hearing. No one is ever sure exactly what disease she had, but some people think it was scarlet fever.
March 3, 1887
Anne Sullivan comes to the Keller home and begins teaching Helen letters by signing into her hand ("manual sign language").
April 5, 1887
Anne makes the "miracle" breakthrough, teaching Helen that everything has a name by spelling W-A-T-E-R into Helen's hand as water flows over her palm.
Fall 1889
Helen goes to Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston, her first formal education.
September 1900
Helen becomes a member of the freshmen class of 1904 at Radcliffe College.
1902
With the help of an editor, Helen writes The Story of My Life.
June 28, 1904
Helen becomes the first deaf-blind individual to earn a college degree, graduating with honors from Radcliffe.
Spring 1909
Helen joins the Suffragist movement, demanding the right to vote for women.
October 1924
Helen and Anne begin their work with the American Foundation for the Blind.
April 1930
Helen, Anne, and Polly Thompson travel abroad for the first time, visiting Scotland, Ireland, and England for over six months. This trip is only the beginning of Helen's travels overseas—she would eventually visit 39 countries!
October 1936
Anne Sullivan Macy dies.
January 1943
Helen visits blind, deaf, and disabled soldiers of World War II in military hospitals around the country.
September 1964
President Lyndon Johnson gives Helen the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
June 1, 1968
Helen Keller dies in her sleep.
