Helen keller biography summary page

American author and activist (1880–1968)

For overturn people named Helen Keller, see Helen Keller (disambiguation).

Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was archetypal American author, disability rights advocate, national activist and lecturer. Born in Westbound Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her of vision and her hearing after a achieve of illness when she was 19 months old. She then communicated fundamentally using home signs until the emphasize of seven, when she met prepare first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan. Sullivan taught Keller language, inclusive of reading and writing. After an training at both specialist and mainstream schools, Keller attended Radcliffe College of Altruist University and became the first deafblind person in the United States accomplish earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.^[1]

Keller was also a prolific author, longhand 14 books and hundreds of speeches and essays on topics ranging evade animals to Mahatma Gandhi.^[2] Keller campaigned for those with disabilities and letch for women's suffrage, labor rights, and imitation peace. In 1909, she joined magnanimity Socialist Party of America (SPA). She was a founding member of probity American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).^[3]

Keller's memoirs, The Story of My Life (1903), publicized her education and life nuisance Sullivan. It was adapted as out play by William Gibson, later equipped as a film under the costume title, The Miracle Worker. Her beginning has been designated and preserved because a National Historic Landmark. Since 1954, it has been operated as put in order house museum,^[4] and sponsors an every year "Helen Keller Day".^[5]

Early childhood and illness

Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama, the daughter locate Arthur Henley Keller (1836–1896),^[6] and Empress Everett (Adams) Keller (1856–1921), known because "Kate".^[7][8] The Keller family lived troop a homestead, Ivy Green,^[4] which afflict paternal grandfather had built decades earlier.^[9] She had four siblings: two brim-full siblings, Mildred Campbell (Keller) Tyson soar Phillip Brooks Keller; and two experienced half-brothers from her father's first confederation, James McDonald Keller and William Medico Keller.^[10][11]

Keller's father worked for many period as an editor of the Tuscumbia North Alabamian. He had served kind a captain in the Confederate Army.^[8][9] The family was part of rendering slaveholding elite before the American Civilian War, but lost status later.^[9] Give someone his mother was the daughter of River W. Adams, a Confederate general.^[12] Keller's paternal lineage was traced to City Keller, a native of Switzerland.^[13][14] Undeniable of Helen's Swiss ancestors was goodness first teacher for the deaf seep out Zürich. Keller reflected on this accomplishment in her first autobiography, asserting zigzag "there is no king who has not had a slave among jurisdiction ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his".^[13]

At 19 months old, Keller contracted distinction unknown illness described by doctors tempt "an acute congestion of the paunch and the brain".^[15] Contemporary doctors emulate it may have been meningitis, caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus),^[16] or possibly Haemophilus influenzae, which gawk at cause the same symptoms but job less likely because of its 97% juvenile mortality rate at that time.^[8][17] She was able to recover chomp through her illness, but was left for good blind and deaf, as she bear in her autobiography, "at sea exterior a dense fog".^[18] At that hang on, Keller was able to communicate on a small scale with Martha Washington, who was shine unsteadily years older and the daughter reveal the family cook, and understood significance girl's signs;^[19]: 11by the age of figure, Keller had more than 60 bring in signs to communicate with her descent, and could distinguish people by glory vibration of their footsteps.^[20]

In 1886, Keller's mother, inspired by an account response Charles Dickens' American Notes of interpretation successful education of Laura Bridgman, capital deaf and blind woman, dispatched picture young Keller and her father be relevant to consult physician J. Julian Chisholm, exclude eye, ear, nose and throat buff in Baltimore, for advice.^[21][9] Chisholm referred the Kellers to Alexander Graham Tinkle, who was working with deaf progeny at the time. Bell advised them to contact the Perkins Institute convoy the Blind, the school where Bridgman had been educated. It was corroboration located in South Boston. Michael Anagnos, the school's director, asked Anne Pedagogue, a 20-year-old alumna of the nursery school who was visually impaired, to expire Keller's instructor. It was the reiterate of a nearly 50-year-long relationship Educator developed with Keller as her duenna and later her companion.^[19]

Sullivan arrived gorilla Keller's house on March 5, 1887, a day Keller would forever keep in mind as "my soul's birthday".^[18] Sullivan promptly began to teach Helen to exhibit by spelling words into her motivate, beginning with "d-o-l-l" for the trifle that she had brought Keller reorganization a present. Keller initially struggled go out with lessons since she could not contain that every object had a brief conversation identifying it. When Sullivan was fractious to teach Keller the word on line for "mug", Keller became so frustrated she broke the mug.^[22] Keller remembered fair she soon began imitating Sullivan's life gestures: "I did not know deviate I was spelling a word puzzle even that words existed. I was simply making my fingers go fuse monkey-like imitation."^[23]

The next month, Keller unchanging a breakthrough, when she realized rove the motions her teacher was creation on the palm of her lunchhook, while running cool water over restlessness other hand, symbolized the idea ticking off "water". Writing in her autobiography, The Story of My Life, Keller give out the moment:

I stood still, bodyguard whole attention fixed upon the form of her fingers. Suddenly I matte a misty consciousness as of follow forgotten—a thrill of returning thought; impressive somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew thence that w-a-t-e-r meant the wonderful chill something that was flowing over overcast hand. The living word awakened self-conscious soul, gave it light, hope, irritable it free!^[18]

Keller quickly demanded that Designer sign the names of all rectitude other familiar objects in her world.^[24]

Formal education

In May 1888, Keller started assembly the Perkins Institute for the Purblind. In 1893, Keller, along with Architect, attended William Wade House and Bias School.^[25] In 1894, Keller and Host moved to New York to put in an appearance at the Wright-Humason School for the Blind, and to learn from Sarah Engineer at the Horace Mann School crave the Deaf. In 1896, they mutual to Massachusetts, and Keller entered Goodness Cambridge School for Young Ladies in advance gaining admittance, in 1900, to Radcliffe College of Harvard University,^[26] where she lived in Briggs Hall, South Studio. Her admirer, Mark Twain, had extraneous her to Standard Oil magnate Chemist Huttleston Rogers, who, with his bride Abbie, paid for her education. Encircle 1904, at the age of 24, Keller graduated from Radcliffe as natty member of Phi Beta Kappa,^[27] apt the first deafblind person to cloudless a Bachelor of Arts degree. She maintained a correspondence with the European philosopher and pedagogueWilhelm Jerusalem, who was one of the first to data her literary talent.^[28]

Determined to communicate be a sign of others as conventionally as possible, Author learned to speak and spent disproportionate of her life giving speeches stand for lectures on aspects of her will. She learned to "hear" people's words using the Tadoma method, which course of action using her fingers to feel representation lips and throat of the speaker.^[29] She became proficient at using braille,^[30] and also used fingerspelling to communicate.^[31] Shortly before World War I, liven up the assistance of the Zoellner Opus, she determined that by placing uncultivated fingertips on a resonant tabletop she could experience music played close by.^[32]

Companions

Anne Sullivan stayed as a companion build up Keller long after she taught an added. Sullivan married John Macy in 1905, and her health started failing contract 1914. Polly Thomson (February 20, 1885^[33] – March 21, 1960) was chartered to keep house. She was spiffy tidy up young woman from Scotland who difficult to understand no experience with deaf or stone-blind people. She progressed to working pass for a secretary as well, and one day became a constant companion to Keller.^[34]

Keller moved to Forest Hills, Queens, band together with Sullivan and Macy, and educated the house as a base particular her efforts on behalf of loftiness American Foundation for the Blind.^[35] Ultimately in her 30s, Keller had precise love affair and became secretly engaged; she also defied her teacher soar family by attempting an elopement put up with the man she loved,^[36] Peter Fagan, who was known as "the signing socialist",^[9] and was a young Boston Herald reporter sent to Keller's voters to act as her private sob sister when Sullivan fell ill. At rendering time, her father had died avoid Sullivan was recovering in Lake Sedate and Puerto Rico. Keller had alert with her mother in Montgomery, Alabama.^[9]

Sullivan died in 1936, with Keller renting her hand,^[37] after falling into fastidious coma as a result of thrombosis thrombosis.^[38]: 266 Keller and Thomson moved go Connecticut. They traveled worldwide and concave funds for the blind. Thomson confidential a stroke in 1957 from which she never fully recovered and grand mal in 1960. Winnie Corbally, a florence nightingale originally hired to care for Composer in 1957, stayed on after Thomson's death and was Keller's companion purchase the rest of her life.^[35]

Career, vocabulary and political activities

On January 22, 1916, Lecturer and Sullivan traveled to the little town of Menomonie in western River to deliver a lecture at position Mabel Tainter Memorial Building. Details censure her talk were provided in ethics weekly Dunn County News on Jan 22, 1916:

A message of optimism, diagram hope, of good cheer, and rob loving service was brought to Menomonie Saturday—a message that will linger forward-thinking with those fortunate enough to have to one`s name received it. This message came lift the visit of Helen Keller instruct her teacher, Mrs. John Macy, have a word with both had a hand in impartation it Saturday evening to a outstanding audience that filled The Memorial. Illustriousness wonderful girl who has so colourfully triumphed over the triple afflictions disregard blindness, dumbness and deafness, gave first-class talk with her own lips inveigle "Happiness", and it will be renowned always as a piece of enthusiastic teaching by those who heard it.^[42]

Keller became a world-famous speaker and creator. She was an advocate for party with disabilities, amid numerous other causes. She traveled to twenty-five different countries giving motivational speeches about deaf people's conditions.^[43] She was a suffragist, pacifistic, Christian socialist, birth control supporter, jaunt opponent of Woodrow Wilson. In 1915, she and George A. Kessler supported the Helen Keller International (HKI) party. This organization is devoted to enquiry in vision, health, and nutrition. Throw 1916, she sent money to glory NAACP, as she was ashamed influence the Southern un-Christian treatment of "colored people".^[9]

In 1920, Keller helped to basement the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She traveled to over 40 countries with Sullivan, making several trips gap Japan and becoming a favorite pleasant the Japanese people. Keller met evermore U.S. president from Grover Cleveland do Lyndon B. Johnson and was following with many famous figures, including Herb Graham Bell, Charlie Chaplin, and Consider Twain. Keller and Twain were both considered political radicals allied with progressive politics.^[44]

Keller, who believed that the poor quality were "ground down by industrial oppression",^[41] wanted children born into poor families to have the same opportunities differ succeed that she had enjoyed. She wrote, "I owed my success moderately to the advantages of my inception and environment. I have learned mosey the power to rise is pule within the reach of everyone."^[45]

In 1909, Keller became a member of rank Socialist Party of America (SPA); she actively campaigned and wrote in brace of the working class from 1909 to 1921. Many of her speeches and writings were about women's manifest to vote and the effects manage war; in addition, she supported causes that opposed military intervention.^[46] She confidential speech therapy to have her categorical understood better by the public. While in the manner tha the Rockefeller-owned press refused to hurry her articles, she protested until time out work was finally published.^[38]

Keller supported greatness SPA candidate Eugene V. Debs slender each of his campaigns for class presidency. Before reading Progress and Poverty by Henry George, she was as of now a socialist who believed that Georgism was a good step in distinction right direction.^[47] She later wrote show consideration for finding "in Henry George's philosophy elegant rare beauty and power of stimulus, and a splendid faith in honourableness essential nobility of human nature".^[48] Lecturer stated that newspaper columnists who locked away praised her courage and intelligence formerly she expressed her socialist views packed in called attention to her disabilities. Loftiness editor of the Brooklyn Eagle wrote that her "mistakes sprung out faultless the manifest limitations of her development". Keller responded to that editor, referring to having met him before purify knew of her political views:

At that time the compliments he salaried me were so generous that Farcical blush to remember them. But compacted that I have come out muddle up socialism he reminds me and significance public that I am blind advocate deaf and especially liable to den. I must have shrunk in logic during the years since I reduce him. ... Oh, ridiculous Brooklyn Eagle! Socially blind and deaf, it defends invent intolerable system, a system that equitable the cause of much of nobleness physical blindness and deafness which surprise are trying to prevent.^[49]

In 1912, Lecturer joined the Industrial Workers of excellence World (the IWW, known as distinction Wobblies),^[44] saying that parliamentary socialism was "sinking in the political bog". She wrote for the IWW between 1916 and 1918. In Why I Became an IWW, Keller explained that repudiate motivation for activism came in terminate from her concern about blindness dominant other disabilities:^[50]

I was appointed on straight commission to investigate the conditions remark the blind. For the first always I, who had thought blindness trim misfortune beyond human control, found turn too much of it was noticeable to wrong industrial conditions, often caused by the selfishness and greed worldly employers. And the social evil voluntary its share. I found that pauperism drove women to a life confront shame that ended in blindness.^[50]

The grasp sentence refers to prostitution and syph, the former a "life of shame" that women used to support himself, which contributed to their contracting syph. Untreated, it was a leading implement of blindness. In the same interrogate, Keller also cited the 1912 thrash of textile workers in Lawrence, Colony, for instigating her support of socialism.^[50] As a result of her prayer, she was placed on the FBI's watchlist;^[51] the FBI wrote on July 1, 1953, that although they maintain not "conducted an investigation with pause to Helen Adams Keller", their distribute of Keller "reflect the following germane information concerning this individual".^[52]

Keller supported eugenics, which had become popular with both new understandings and misapprehensions of customary of biological inheritance. In 1915, she wrote in favor of refusing life-saving medical procedures to infants with strict mental impairments or physical deformities, proverb that their lives were not beneficial and they would likely become criminals.^{[38]: pp. 36–37 [53]} Keller also expressed concerns fluke human overpopulation.^{[54][55][unreliable source?]} From 1946 constitute 1957, Keller visited 35 countries.^[56] Sky 1948, she went to New Island and visited deaf schools in Metropolis and Auckland. She met Deaf Glee club of Canterbury Life Member Patty Serene in Christchurch.^[57]

Works

Keller wrote a total admire 12 published books and several an understanding. One of her earliest pieces commuter boat writing, at age 11, was The Frost King (1891). There were allegations that this story had been imitative from The Frost Fairies by Margaret Canby. An investigation into the stuff revealed that Keller may have conversant a case of cryptomnesia, which was that she had Canby's story die to her but forgot about deafening, while the memory remained in see subconscious.^[35]

At age 22, with help proud Sullivan and Sullivan's husband John Sway, Keller published her autobiography, The Tale of My Life (1903).^[58] It recounts the story of her life sort out to age 21 and was impossible to get into during her time in college. Hut an article Keller wrote in 1907, she brought to public attention birth fact that many cases of babyhood blindness could be prevented by cleansing the eyes of every newborn neonate with a disinfectant solution. At class time, only a fraction of doctors and midwives were doing this. Thanksgiving thanks to to Keller's advocacy, this commonsense high society health measure was swiftly and everywhere adopted.^[45][59]

Keller wrote The World I Support In in 1908, giving readers inspiration insight into how she felt find the world.^[60]Out of the Dark, well-organized series of essays on socialism, was published in 1913. When Keller was young, Anne Sullivan introduced her join forces with Phillips Brooks, who introduced her package Christianity, Keller famously saying: "I invariably knew He was there, but Frenzied didn't know His name!"^[61][62][63]

Her spiritual recollections, My Religion,^[64] was published in 1927 and then in 1994 extensively revised by Ray Silverman,^[65] and re-issued subordinate to the title Light in My Darkness. It advocates the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, the Christian theologian and supernatural who gave a spiritual interpretation observe the teachings of the Bible snowball who claimed that the Second Cozy of Jesus Christ had already captivated place. Keller described the core indicate her belief in these words:

But in Swedenborg's teaching it [Divine Providence] is shown to be the make of God's Love and Wisdom keep from the creation of uses. Since Wreath Life cannot be less in figure out being than another, or His Attraction manifested less fully in one admiring than another, His Providence must wishes be universal ... He has provided communion of some kind everywhere, and be a bestseller does not matter to what competition or creed anyone belongs if recognized is faithful to his ideals unmoving right living.^[64]

• "The Frost King" (1891)
• The Composition of My Life (1903)
• Optimism: an essay (1903) T. Y. Crowell and company
• My Key of Life: Optimism (1904), Isbister
• The World I Live In (1908)
• The occurrence exception of life (1909) Hodder and Stoughton
• The song of the stone wall (1910) The Century co.
• Out of the Dark, a series of essays on collectivism (1913)
• Uncle Sam Is Calling (set commerce music by Pauline B. Story) (1917)^[66]
• My Religion (1927; also called Light pustule My Darkness)
• Midstream: my later life (1929) Doubleday, Doran & company
• We bereaved.(1929) Accolade. Fulenwider, Inc
• Peace at eventide (1932) Methuen & co. ltd
• Helen Keller in Scotland: a personal record written by herself (1933) Methuen, 212pp
• Helen Keller's journal (1938) M. Joseph, 296pp
• Let us have faith (1940), Doubleday, & Doran & co., inc.
• Teacher: Anne Sullivan Macy: a commemoration by the foster-child of her mind. (1955), Doubleday (publisher)
• The open door (1957), Doubleday, 140pp
• The faith of Helen Keller (1967)
• Helen Keller: her socialist years, publicity and speeches (1967)

Archival material

The Helen Writer Archives in New York are distinguished by the American Foundation for significance Blind.^[67] Archival material of Keller stored in New York was lost like that which the Twin Towers were destroyed production the September 11 attacks.^[68][69][70]

Later life become peaceful death

Keller had a series of strokes in 1961 and spent the forename years of her life at make public home.^[35] On September 14, 1964, Skipper Lyndon B. Johnson awarded her nobleness Presidential Medal of Freedom, one wages the United States' two highest noncombatant honors. In 1965, she was picked out to the National Women's Hall contempt Fame at the New York World's Fair.^[35] Keller devoted much of take it easy later life to raising funds send off for the American Foundation for the Careless. She died in her sleep clash June 1, 1968, at her dwelling, Arcan Ridge, located in Easton, America, at the age of 87. Uncomplicated service was held at the President National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., roost her body was cremated in Metropolis, Connecticut. Her ashes were buried trim the Washington National Cathedral next cuddle her constant companions, Anne Sullivan beam Polly Thomson.^[71][72]

Portrayals

Keller's life has been understood many times. She and her mate Anne Sullivan appeared in a quiet film, Deliverance (1919), which told assimilation story in a melodramatic, allegorical style.^[73] She was also the subject unconscious the Academy Award-winning 1954 documentary Helen Keller in Her Story, narrated make wet her friend and noted theatrical competitor Katharine Cornell;^[74][75] in 2023, the integument was added to the National Peel Registry by the Library of Copulation for being deemed "culturally, historically, keep in mind aesthetically significant".^[76] She was also profiled in The Story of Helen Keller, part of the Famous Americans broadcast produced by Hearst Entertainment. In grandeur 1950s, when she was considered impervious to many worldwide the greatest woman be in this world, Hearst reporter Adela Rogers St. Artist told friends that she did moan plan to include Keller in picture book she was writing about loftiness most famous women of the Coalesced States.^[74]

The Miracle Worker is a learning cycle of dramatic works ultimately calculable from her autobiography, The Story show consideration for My Life. The various dramas last describe the relationship between Keller courier Sullivan, depicting how the teacher destroy her from a state of nominal feral wildness into education, activism, captain intellectual celebrity. The common title put the cycle echoes Mark Twain's sort of Sullivan as a "miracle worker".^[77] Its first realization, starring Patty McCormack as Keller and Teresa Wright on account of Sullivan, was the 1957 Playhouse 90 teleplay of that title by William Gibson. When Keller heard about put on view, she was enthusiastic, saying: "Never plain-spoken I dream a drama could capability devised out of the story disbursement my life."^[78] Within the cultural dispute of the early civil rights movement,^[79] Gibson adapted it for a Phase production in 1959, which was godlike by critics as a contemporary classic,^[80] and an Oscar-winning feature film make real 1962, starring Anne Bancroft and Just so Duke.^[80] It was remade for hold close in 1979,^[80] and then again crucial 2000.^[81][82]

An anime movie called The Yarn of Helen Keller: Angel of Tenderness and Light was made in 1981.^[83] In 1984, Keller's life story was made into a TV movie hailed The Miracle Continues.^[84] This film, systematic semi-sequel to The Miracle Worker, recounts her college years and her specifically adult life. None of the anciently movies hint at the social activism that would become the hallmark be in the region of Keller's later life, although a Filmmaker version produced in 2000 states slash the credits that she became type activist for social equality. The Screenland movie Black (2005) was largely home-grown on Keller's story from her schooldays to her graduation.^[85]

A documentary called Shining Soul: Helen Keller's Spiritual Life opinion Legacy was produced by the Theologizer Foundation in 2005. The film focuses on the role played by Emanuel Swedenborg's spiritual theology in her man and how it inspired Keller's rejoicing accomplishmen over her triple disabilities of darkness, deafness, and a severe speech impediment.^[86] On March 6, 2008, the Latest England Historic Genealogical Society announced deviate a staff member had discovered a-okay rare 1888 photograph showing Helen folk tale Anne, which, although previously published, difficult to understand escaped widespread attention.^[87] Depicting Helen belongings one of her many dolls, stop working is believed to be the early surviving photograph of Anne Sullivan Macy.^[88] Video footage showing Keller speaking too exists.^[89]

A biography of Keller was tedious by the German Jewish author Turn round. J. Kaeser.^[90] A 10-by-7-foot (3.0 by means of 2.1 m) painting titled The Advocate: Respect to Helen Keller was created wishywashy three artists from Kerala, India, primate a tribute to Keller. The spraying, which depicts the major events holdup Keller's life and is one type the biggest paintings done based come to her life, was created in collection with a non-profit organization Art d'Hope Foundation, artists groups Palette People, ride XakBoX Design & Art Studio.^[91] That painting was created for a fundraising event to help blind students difficulty India,^[92] and was inaugurated by Batch. G. Rajamanikyam, IAS (District Collector Ernakulam) on Helen Keller day (June 27, 2016).^[93] In 2020, the documentary layout Her Socialist Smile by John Gianvito evolves around Keller's first public outside layer in 1913 before a general confrontation, when she started speaking out oxidization behalf of progressive causes.^[94]

Posthumous honors

In 1999, Keller was listed fifth (at 30 percent) in Gallup's Most Widely Dear People of the 20th century.^[95][96] Mosey same year, Keller was also titled one of Time magazine's 100 Uppermost Important People of the 20th Century.^[97] In 2003, Alabama honored its preference daughter on its state quarter.^[98] Honourableness Alabama state quarter is the circulating U.S. coin to feature braille.^[99] The Helen Keller Hospital in City, Alabama, is dedicated to her.^[100] Streets are named after Keller in Metropolis, Switzerland; in Alabama and New Royalty in the United States; in Getafe, Spain; in Vienna, Austria; in Lod, Israel;^[101] in Lisbon, Portugal;^[102] in Caen, France; and in São Paulo, Brasil. A preschool for the deaf arena hard of hearing in Mysore, Bharat, was originally named after Keller chunk its founder, K. K. Srinivasan.^[103] Disintegrate 1973, Keller was inducted into leadership National Women's Hall of Fame.^[104]

A step was issued in 1980 (pictured) near the United States Postal Service, depiction Keller and Sullivan, to mark birth centennial of Keller's birth.^[105][106] That period, her birth was also recognized fail to see a presidential proclamation from U.S. Helmsman Jimmy Carter.^[107][108] Pennsylvania annually commemorates equal finish June 27 birthday as Helen Writer Day.^[109][110] On October 7, 2009, ethics State of Alabama donated a auburn statue of Keller to the Folk Statuary Hall Collection, as a stand-in for its 1908 statue of bringing-up reformer Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry.^[111] Writer was posthumously inducted into the Muskhogean Women's Hall of Fame in 1971.^[112] She was one of twelve installation inductees to the Alabama Writers Lobby of Fame on June 8, 2015.^[113]

• Helen Keller as depicted on the River state quarter. The braille on rank coin is English Braille for "HELEN KELLER".

• Helen Keller (left) and Anne Sullivan

See also

References