Helen Keller

Helen Keller (1880–1968) was an American author, lecturer, and advocate for people who were blind. Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, she became deaf and blind after an illness at 19 months. With the instruction and lifelong support of Anne Sullivan, Keller learned to communicate and pursued higher education. She graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College in 1904, becoming the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Keller wrote extensively on disability, education, social issues, and her own experiences. Her published works include The Story of My Life (1903), Optimism (1903), The World I Live In (1908), My Religion (1927), Helen Keller’s Journal (1938), Let Us Have Faith (1940), Teacher, Anne Sullivan Macy (1955), and The Open Door (1957).