Helen Keller Biography

Are you familiar with the amazing life of Helen Keller? At only 19 months old, Helen Keller was struck with a sudden illness that left her deaf and blind. For years, she lived in a world of darkness and silence without any way to express herself. With hopes of one day being able to communicate with their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Keller enrolled Helen in the Perkins Institute for the Blind where she met her teacher Annie Sullivan.

Helen was very eager to learn how to communicate with people and Annie Sullivan, who was also blind, helped her accomplish this. Helen’s big breakthrough in communication came one day when she made a connection between the word water and water itself. This was accomplished when Annie poured water into the palm of Helen’s hand while spelling out ‘w-a-t-e-r’ in her other hand. It wasn’t too long after this initial breakthrough that Helen began reading raised letters and eventually Braille (raised dots). Eventually Helen was able to read Braille in 5 different languages (English, French, German, Greek and Latin). She even learned to speak using the Tadoma method (a way to interpret speech by touching the lips and throat of others as they speak).

In 1904, Helen Keller was only 24 years old when she became the first blind and deaf person ever to graduate from a University. She went on to become a world famous speaker, author and advocate for people with disabilities. In 1915 she founded HKI (Helen Keller International), a non-profit organization for preventing blindness and malnutrition. As a firm believer in human rights, Helen Keller helped to found the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) in 1920. Much of her later life was devoted to raising funds for the American Foundation for the Blind and Overseas Blind. She eventually traveled to over 39 countries including Australia, South America, Europe, Africa and Japan to lecture and raise awareness on the rights of people with disabilities.

Helen Keller received many awards for her courage and leadership. On September 14, 1964, President Lynden B. Johnson awarded Helen Keller the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest honors awarded to an American civilian. The following year, she was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame. Helen Keller’s amazing journey came to an end when she passed away on June 1, 1968, only 26 days before her 88th birthday.