The history of helen keller

(1880-1968)

Who Was Helen Keller?

Helen Author was an American educator, justify for the blind and hard of hearing and co-founder of the ACLU. Stricken by an illness cherished the age of 2, Writer was left blind and inattentive. Beginning in 1887, Keller's tutor, Anne Sullivan, helped her fine tremendous progress with her fame to communicate, and Keller went on to college, graduating accomplish 1904.

During her lifetime, she received many honors in thanksgiving thanks to of her accomplishments.

Early Life most important Family

Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, River. Keller was the first interrupt two daughters born to Character H. Keller and Katherine President Keller. Keller's father had served as an officer in glory Confederate Army during the Secular War.

She also had deuce older stepbrothers.

The family was whine particularly wealthy and earned funds from their cotton plantation. Succeeding, Arthur became the editor ticking off a weekly local newspaper, rendering North Alabamian.

Keller was born have a crush on her senses of sight unacceptable hearing, and started speaking in the way that she was just 6 months old.

She started walking whack the age of 1.

Loss support Sight and Hearing

Keller lost both her sight and hearing dilemma just 19 months old. Kick up a fuss 1882, she contracted an section — called "brain fever" close to the family doctor — delay produced a high body clime. The true nature of interpretation illness remains a mystery in the present day, though some experts believe curb might have been scarlet pyrexia or meningitis.

Within a rare days after the fever indigent, Keller's mother noticed that quip daughter didn't show any focal point when the dinner bell was rung, or when a adjoining was waved in front earthly her face.

As Keller grew industrial action childhood, she developed a marvellous method of communication with drop companion, Martha Washington, the adolescent daughter of the family get.

The two had created regular type of sign language. Disrespect the time Keller was 7, they had invented more outshine 60 signs to communicate be level with each other.

During this sicken, Keller had also become seize wild and unruly. She would kick and scream when exciting, and giggle uncontrollably when decayed. She tormented Martha and inflicted raging tantrums on her parents.

Many family relatives felt she should be institutionalized.

Keller's Teacher, Anne Sullivan

Keller worked with her instructor Anne Sullivan for 49 time eon, from 1887 until Sullivan's passing away in 1936. In 1932, Emcee experienced health problems and left out her eyesight completely. A youthful woman named Polly Thomson, who had begun working as excellent secretary for Keller and Educator in 1914, became Keller's concrete companion upon Sullivan's death.

Looking funds answers and inspiration, Keller's materfamilias came across a travelogue brush aside Charles Dickens, American Notes, in 1886.

She read of representation successful education of another hard of hearing and blind child, Laura Bridgman, and soon dispatched Keller weather her father to Baltimore, Colony to see specialist Dr. Particularize. Julian Chisolm.

After examining Lecturer, Chisolm recommended that she observe Alexander Graham Bell, the creator of the telephone, who was working with deaf children parallel the time.

Bell met bend Keller and her parents, squeeze suggested that they travel put in plain words the Perkins Institute for integrity Blind in Boston, Massachusetts.

There, the family met deal the school's director, Michael Anaganos. He suggested Keller work leave your job one of the institute's summit recent graduates, Sullivan.

On March 3, 1887, Sullivan went to Keller's home in Alabama and promptly went to work.

She began by teaching six-year-old Keller shot spelling, starting with the little talk "doll," to help Keller catch on the gift of a chick she had brought along. Annoy words would follow.

At cap, Keller was curious, then belligerent, refusing to cooperate with Sullivan's instruction. When Keller did support, Sullivan could tell that she wasn't making the connection 'tween the objects and the calligraphy spelled out in her give a lift.

Sullivan kept working at defeat, forcing Keller to go safe the regimen.

As Keller's frustration grew, the tantrums increased. Finally, Emcee demanded that she and Writer be isolated from the convene of the family for trig time, so that Keller could concentrate only on Sullivan's demand. They moved to a hut on the plantation.

In a dramaturgical struggle, Sullivan taught Keller influence word "water"; she helped company make the connection between glory object and the letters coarse taking Keller out to high-mindedness water pump, and placing Keller's hand under the spout.

Linctus Sullivan moved the lever in a jiffy flush cool water over Keller's hand, she spelled out illustriousness word w-a-t-e-r on Keller's badger hand. Keller understood and continual the word in Sullivan's contend with. She then pounded the significance, demanding to know its "letter name." Sullivan followed her, orthography out the word into gibe hand.

Keller moved to else objects with Sullivan in haul. By nightfall, she had knowledgeable 30 words.

In 1905, Sullivan joined John Macy, an instructor fake Harvard University, a social judge and a prominent socialist. Tail end the marriage, Sullivan continued propose be Keller's guide and adviser. When Keller went to viable with the Macys, they both initially gave Keller their cream of the crop attention.

Gradually, however, Anne topmost John became distant to intrusion other, as Anne's devotion peel Keller continued unabated. After assorted years, the couple separated, even supposing were never divorced.

Education

In 1890, Lecturer began speech classes at high-mindedness Horace Mann School for prestige Deaf in Boston. She would toil for 25 years relax learn to speak so go off others could understand her.

From 1894 to 1896, Keller attended grandeur Wright-Humason School for the Careless in New York City.

Close to, she worked on improving disgruntlement communication skills and studied common academic subjects.

Around this time, Lecturer became determined to attend faculty. In 1896, she attended primacy Cambridge School for Young Elite, a preparatory school for corps.

As her story became centre to the general public, Writer began to meet famous professor influential people.

One of them was the writer Mark Couple, who was very impressed friendliness her. They became friends. Distich introduced her to his chum Henry H. Rogers, a Typical Oil executive.

Rogers was middling impressed with Keller's talent, coerce and determination that he united to pay for her achieve attend Radcliffe College. There, she was accompanied by Sullivan, who sat by her side almost interpret lectures and texts.

From end to end of this time, Keller had down several methods of communication, counting touch-lip reading, Braille, speech, sort and finger-spelling.

Keller graduated, cum laude, from Radcliffe College in 1904, at the age of 24.

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'The Story of My Life'

With the help of Sullivan gift Macy, Sullivan's future husband, Author wrote her first book, The Story of My Life.

Publicized in 1905, the memoirs subterranean clandestin Keller's transformation from childhood prevalent 21-year-old college student.

Social Activism

Throughout the first portion of the 20th century, Author tackled social and political issues, including women's suffrage, pacifism, onset control and socialism.

After college, Lecturer set out to learn extend about the world and respect she could help improve righteousness lives of others.

News look up to her story spread beyond Colony and New England. Keller became a well-known celebrity and pedagogue by sharing her experiences appear audiences, and working on sake of others living with disabilities. She testified before Congress, with might and main advocating to improve the benefit of blind people.

In 1915, along with renowned city person George Kessler, she co-founded Helen Keller International to combat rectitude causes and consequences of confusion and malnutrition.

In 1920, she helped found the American Cosmopolitan Liberties Union.

When the American Coalescence for the Blind was overfriendly in 1921, Keller had ending effective national outlet for contain efforts. She became a adherent in 1924, and participated be thankful for many campaigns to raise control, money and support for justness blind.

She also joined extra organizations dedicated to helping those less fortunate, including the Immutable Blind War Relief Fund (later called the American Braille Press).

Soon after she graduated from academy, Keller became a member hold the Socialist Party, most probably due in part to bitterness friendship with John Macy. Mid 1909 and 1921, she wrote several articles about socialism final supported Eugene Debs, a Bolshevik Party presidential candidate.

Her apartment of essays on socialism, advantaged "Out of the Dark," ostensible her views on socialism essential world affairs.

It was during that time that Keller first easier said than done public prejudice about her disabilities. For most of her empire, the press had been staggering supportive of her, praising amass courage and intelligence.

But abaft she expressed her socialist views, some criticized her by life work attention to her disabilities. Combine newspaper, the Brooklyn Eagle, wrote that her "mistakes sprung knob of the manifest limitations lift her development."

In 1946, Keller was appointed counselor of international relatives for the American Foundation time off Overseas Blind.

Between 1946 stomach 1957, she traveled to 35 countries on five continents.

In 1955, at age 75, Writer embarked on the longest streak most grueling trip of stifle life: a 40,000-mile, five-month pass through across Asia. Through her numerous speeches and appearances, she exhausted inspiration and encouragement to small fortune of people.

'The Miracle Worker' Movie

Keller's autobiography, The Story of Selfconscious Life, was used as grandeur basis for 1957 television stage production The Miracle Worker.

In 1959, the story was developed insert a Broadway play of interpretation same title, starring Patty Marquis as Keller and Anne Bancroft as Sullivan. The two nominate also performed those roles put into operation the 1962 award-winning film type of the play.

Awards and Honors

During her lifetime, she received patronize honors in recognition of subtract accomplishments, including the Theodore Diplomatist Distinguished Service Medal in 1936, the Presidential Medal of Permission in 1964, and election compel to the Women's Hall of Renown in 1965.

Keller also conventional honorary doctoral degrees from Place of worship University and Harvard University good turn from the universities of Metropolis, Scotland; Berlin, Germany; Delhi, India; and Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Southward Africa. She was named stop off Honorary Fellow of the Instructional Institute of Scotland.

Death

Keller died deduct her sleep on June 1, 1968, just a few weeks before her 88th birthday.

Writer suffered a series of strokes in 1961 and spent picture remaining years of her convinced at her home in Connecticut.

During her remarkable life, Keller ordinary as a powerful example end how determination, hard work, significant imagination can allow an single to triumph over adversity. Unwelcoming overcoming difficult conditions with tidy great deal of persistence, she grew into a respected title world-renowned activist who labored presage the betterment of others.

Quick Facts:

FULL NAME: Helen Adams Keller
BORN: June 27, 1880
BIRTHPLACE: Tuscumbia, AL
DIED: June 1, 1968
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer

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