Helen Keller

Helen Adams Keller June 27 1880 June 1 1968 was an American author disability rights advocate political activist and lecturer Born in West Tuscumbia Alabama she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when she was 19 months old She then communicated primarily using home signs until the age of seven when she met her first teacher and lifelong companion Anne Sullivan Sullivan taught Keller language including reading and writing After an education at both specialist and mainstream schools Keller attended Radcliffe College of Harvard University and became the first deafblind person in the United States to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree She was named one of Time magazines 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century Keller worked for the American Foundation for the Blind AFB from 1924 until 1968 During this time she toured the United States and traveled to 35 countries around the globe advocating for those with vision loss Keller was also a prolific author writing 14 books and hundreds of speeches and essays on topics ranging from animals to Mahatma Gandhi Keller campaigned for those with disabilities for womens suffrage labor rights and world peace In 1909 she joined the Socialist Party of America She was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union Kellers autobiography The Story of My Life 1903 publicized her education and life with Sullivan It was adapted as a play by William Gibson and this was also adapted as a film under the same title The Miracle Worker Her birthplace has been designated and preserved as a National Historic Landmark Since 1954 it has been operated as a house museum and sponsors an annual Helen Keller Day Keller was inducted into the Alabama Womens Hall of Fame in 1971 She was one of twelve inaugural inductees to the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame on June 8 2015