Helen Keller Biography

The story of Helen Keller is the story of a child who, at the age of 19 months, suddenly lost her hearing and vision, and who, against overwhelming odds and with a great deal of persistence, grew into a highly intelligent and sensitive woman who wrote, spoke, and labored incessantly for the betterment of others. So powerful a symbol of triumph over adversity did she become that she has a definite place in the history of our time and of times to come.

Helen Keller Biography

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Helen Adams Keller was born a healthy child in uscumbia, Helen Keller Alabama, !.S. on "une #$, 1%%& in a white, frame cottage Biography called '(vy )reen.' *n her father+s side she was descended 6hotographs from Ale,ander Spottswood, a colonial governor of -irginia, who was connected with the .ees and other Southern families. *n her mother+s side, she was related to a number of 1orrespondence prominent /ew 0ngland families, including the Hales, the and <ritings 0veretts, and the Adamses. Her father, 1aptain Arthur Keller, was the editor of a newspaper, the North Alabamian. Artifacts 1aptain Keller also had a strong interest in public life and was an influential figure in his own community. (n 1%%2, under the 7ooks About 1leveland administration, he was appointed 3arshal of /orth Helen Keller Alabama. he illness that struck the infant Helen Keller, and left her deaf and blind before she learned to speak, was diagnosed as brain fever at the time4 perhaps it was scarlet fever. As Helen Keller grew from infancy into childhood she was wild and unruly, and had little real understanding of the world around her. Helen Keller's new life began on a 3arch day in 1%%$ when she was a few months short of seven years old. *n that day, which 3iss Keller was always to call ' he most important day ( can remember in my life,' Anne 3ansfield Sullivan came to uscumbia to be her teacher. 3iss Sullivan, a #&5year5old graduate of the 6erkins School for the 7lind, who had regained useful sight through a series of operations, had come to the Kellers through the sympathetic interest of Ale,ander )raham 7ell. 8rom that fateful day, the two9 teacher and pupil9were inseparable until the death of the former in 19:;. How 3iss Sullivan turned the uncontrolled child into a responsible human being and succeeded in awakening and stimulating her marvelous mind is familiar to millions, most notably through <illiam )ibson+s play and film, The Miracle

Helen Keller

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"orker, 3iss Keller+s autobiography of her early years, The #tory of My Life, and "oseph .ash+s Helen and Teacher. 3iss Sullivan began her task with a doll that the children at 6erkins had made for her to take to Helen. 7y spelling 'd5o5l5l' into the child+s hand, she hoped to teach her to connect obAects with letters. Helen Buickly learned to form the letters correctly and in the correct order, but did not know she was spelling a word, or even that words e,isted. (n the days that followed she learned to spell a great many more words in this uncomprehending way. *ne day she and ' eacher'9as Helen always called her9 went to the outdoor pump. 3iss Sullivan started to draw water and put Helen+s hand under the spout. As the cool water gushed over one hand, she spelled into the other hand the word 'w5a5t5e5r' first slowly, then rapidly. Suddenly, the signals had meaning in Helen+s mind. She knew that 'water' meant the wonderful cool substance flowing over her hand. @uickly, she stopped and touched the earth and demanded its letter name and by nightfall she had learned :& words. hus began Helen Keller+s education. She proceeded Buickly to master the alphabet, both manual and in raised print for blind readers, and gained facility in reading and writing. (n 1%9&, when she was Aust 1&, she e,pressed a desire to learn to speak. Somehow she had found out that a little deaf5blind girl in /orway had acBuired that ability. 3iss Sarah 8uller of the Horace 3ann School was her first speech teacher. 0ven when she was a little girl, Helen Keller said, 'Someday ( shall go to college.' And go to college she did. (n 1%9% she entered the 1ambridge School for Coung .adies to prepare for >adcliffe 1ollege. She entered >adcliffe in the fall of 19&& and received her bachelor of arts degree c$m la$de in 19&D. hroughout these years and until her own death in 19:;, Anne Sullivan was always by Helen+s side, laboriously spelling book after book and lecture after lecture, into her pupil+s hand. Helen Keller+s formal schooling ended when she received her 7.A. degree, but throughout her life she continued to study and stay informed on all matters of importance to modern people. (n recognition of her wide knowledge and many scholarly achievements, she received honorary doctoral degrees from emple !niversity and Harvard !niversity and from the !niversities of )lasgow, Scotland4 7erlin, )ermany4 =elhi, (ndia4 and <itwatersrand in "ohannesburg, South Africa. She was also an Honorary 8ellow of the 0ducational

Helen Keller

(nstitute of Scotland. Anne Sullivan+s marriage, in 19&2, to "ohn 3acy, an eminent critic and prominent socialist, caused no change in the teacher5pupil relationship. Helen went to live with the 3acys and both husband and wife unstintingly gave their time to help her with her studies and other activities. "hile still a st$dent at Radcliffe, Helen Keller began a writing career that was to continue on and off for 2& years. (n 19&:, The #tory of My Life, which had first appeared in serial form in the Ladies Home %o$rnal, appeared in book form. his was always to be the most popular of her works and today is available in more than 2& languages, including 3arathi, 6ushtu, agalog, and -edu. (t is also available in several paperback editions in the !nited States. 3iss Keller+s other published works include &ptimism, an essay4 The "orld ' Li!e 'n4 The #ong of the #tone "all4 &$t of the (ark4 My Religion) Midstream*My Later Life4 +eace at ,!entide4 Helen Keller in #cotland4 Helen Keller's %o$rnal4 Let -s Ha!e .aith4 Teacher/ Anne #$lli!an Macy4 and The &pen (oor. (n addition, she was a freBuent contributor to magaEines and newspapers, writing most freBuently on blindness, deafness, socialism, social issues, and women+s rights. She used a braille typewriter to prepare her manuscripts and then copied them on a regular typewriter. =uring her lifetime, Helen Keller received awards of great distinction too numerous to recount fully here. An entire room, called the Helen Keller Archives at the American 8oundation for the 7lind in /ew Cork 1ity, is devoted to their preservation. hese awards include 7raEil+s *rder of the Southern 1ross4 "apan+s Sacred reasure4 the 6hilippines+ )olden Heart4 .ebanon+s )old 3edal of 3erit4 and her own country+s highest honor, the 6residential 3edal of 8reedom. 3ost of these awards were bestowed on her in recognition of the stimulation her e,ample and presence gave to work for the blind in those countries. (n 19:: she was elected to membership in the /ational (nstitute of Arts and .etters. =uring the .ouis 7raille 1entennial 1ommemoration in 192#, 3iss Keller was made a 1hevalier of the 8rench .egion of Honor at a ceremony in the Sorbonne. *n the 2&th anniversary of her graduation, >adcliffe 1ollege granted her its Alumnae Achievement Award. Her Alma 3ater

also showed its pride in her by dedicating the Helen Keller )arden in her honor and by naming a fountain in the garden for Anne Sullivan 3acy. 3iss Keller also received the Americas Award for (nter5 American !nity, the )old 3edal Award from the /ational (nstitute of Social Sciences, the /ational Humanitarian Award from -ariety 1lubs (nternational, and many others. She held honorary memberships in scientific societies and philanthropic organiEations throughout the world. Cet another honor came to Helen Keller in 192D when her birthplace, '(vy )reen,' in uscumbia, was made a permanent shrine. (t was dedicated on 3ay $, 192D with officials of the American 8oundation for the 7lind and many other agencies and organiEations present. (n conAunction with this event, the premiere of 3iss Keller+s film biography, ' he !nconBuered,' produced by /ancy Hamilton and narrated by Katharine 1ornell, was held in the nearby city of 7irmingham. he film was later renamed 'Helen Keller in Her Story' and in 1922 won an '*scar'9the Academy of 3otion 6icture Arts and Sciences award as the best feature5length documentary film of the year. 3iss Keller was indirectly responsible for two other '*scars' a few years later when Anne 7ancroft and 6atty =uke won them for their portrayals of Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller in the film version of ' he 3iracle <orker.' 3ore rewarding to her than the many honors she received were the acBuaintances and friendships Helen Keller made with most of the leading personalities of her time. She met many world figures, from )rover 1leveland to 1harlie 1haplin, /ehru, and "ohn 8. Kennedy. Among those she met, she counted many personal friends including Katharine 1ornell, -an <yck 7rooks, Ale,ander )raham 7ell, and "o =avidson. wo friends from her early youth, 3ark wain and <illiam "ames, e,pressed beautifully what most of her friends felt about her. 3ark wain said, ' he two most interesting characters of the 19th century are /apoleon and Helen Keller.' <illiam "ames wrote, '7ut whatever you were or are, you+re a blessingF' As broad and wide ranging as her interests were, Helen Keller never lost sight of the needs of other blind and deaf5 blind individuals. 8rom her youth, she was always willing to help them by appearing before legislatures, giving lectures, writing articles, and above all, by her own e,ample of what a

severely disabled person could accomplish. <hen the American 8oundation for the 7lind, the national clearinghouse for information on blindness, was established in 19#1, she at last had an effective national outlet for her efforts. 8rom 19#D until her death she was a member of the 8oundation staff, serving as counselor on national and international relations. (t was also in 19#D that 3iss Keller began her campaign to raise the 'Helen Keller 0ndowment 8und' for the 8oundation. !ntil her retirement from public life, she was tireless in her efforts to make the 8und adeBuate for the 8oundation+s needs. *f all her contributions to the 8oundation, 3iss Keller was perhaps most proud of her assistance in the formation in 19D; of its special service for deaf5blind persons. She was, of course, deeply concerned for this group of people and was always searching for ways to help those 'less fortunate than myself.' Helen Keller was as interested in the welfare of blind persons in other countries as she was for those in her own country4 conditions in the underdeveloped and war5ravaged nations were of particular concern. Her active participation in this area of work for the blind began as early as 1912 when the 6ermanent 7lind <ar >elief 8und, later called the American 7raille 6ress, was founded. She was a member of its first board of directors. <hen the American 7raille 6ress became the American 8oundation for *verseas 7lind Gnow Helen Keller (nternationalH in 19D;, 3iss Keller was appointed counselor on international relations. (t was then that she began the globe5circling tours on behalf of the blind for which she was so well known during her later years. =uring seven trips between 19D; and 192$ she visited :2 countries on five continents. (n 1922, when she was $2 years old, she embarked on one of her longest and most grueling Aourneys, a D&,&&&5mile, five5 month5long tour through Asia. <herever she traveled, she brought encouragement to millions of blind people, and many of the efforts to improve conditions among blind people outside the !.S. can be traced directly to her visits. =uring her lifetime, Helen Keller lived in many different places 9 uscumbia, Alabama4 1ambridge and <rentham, 3assachusetts4 8orest Hills, /ew Cork, but perhaps her favorite residence was her last, the house in 0aston, 1onnecticut she called 'Arcan >idge.' She moved to this white, frame house surrounded by mementos of her rich and busy life after her beloved ' eacher+s' death in 19:;. And it

was Arcan >idge she called home for the rest of her life. ' eacher+s' death, although it left her with a heavy heart, did not leave Helen alone. 6olly homson, a Scotswoman who Aoined the Keller household in 191D, assumed the task of assisting Helen with her work. After 3iss homson+s death in 19;&, a devoted nurse5companion, 3rs. <inifred 1orbally, assisted her until her last day. Helen Keller made her last maAor public appearance in 19;1 at a <ashington, =1, .ions 1lubs 3eeting. At that meeting she received the .ions Humanitarian Award for her lifetime of service to humanity and for providing the inspiration for the adoption by .ions (nternational of their sight conservation and aid to blind programs. =uring that visit to <ashington, she also called on 6resident Kennedy at the <hite House. After that <hite House visit, a reporter asked her how many of our presidents she had met. She replied that she did not know how many, but that she had met all of them since )rover 1levelandF After 19;1, Helen Keller lived Buietly at Arcan >idge. She saw her family, close friends, and associates from the American 8oundation for the 7lind and the American 8oundation for *verseas 7lind, and spent much time reading. Her favorite books were the 7ible and volumes of poetry and philosophy. =espite her retirement from public life, Helen Keller was not forgotten. (n 19;D she received the previously mentioned 6residential 3edal of 8reedom. (n 19;2, she was one of #& elected to the <omen+s Hall of 8ame at the /ew Cork <orld+s 8air. 3iss Keller and 0leanor >oosevelt received the most votes among the 1&& nominees. Helen Keller is now honored in he Hall of 8ame for .eaders and .egends of the 7lindness 8ield. Helen Keller died on "une 1, 19;%, at Arcan >idge, a few weeks short of her %%th birthday. Her ashes were placed ne,t to her beloved companions, Anne Sullivan 3acy and 6olly homson, in the St. "oseph+s 1hapel of <ashington 1athedral. *n that occasion a public memorial service was held in the 1athedral. (t was attended by her family and friends, government officials, prominent persons from all walks of life, and delegations from most of the organiEations for the blind and deaf. (n his eulogy, Senator .ister Hill of Alabama e,pressed the feelings of the whole world when he said of Helen Keller, 'She will live on, one of the few, the immortal names not born to

die. Her spirit will endure as long as man can read and stories can be told of the woman who showed the world there are no boundaries to courage and faith.'

!nder the terms of her will, Helen Keller selected the American 8oundation for the 7lind as the repository of her papers and memorabilia.

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