Helen Keller
A deaf blind Hero
Significance
Helen Keller, author, lecturer, crusader for the handicapped, journalist, Educater. Helen Keller leader and a deaf blind hero. Helen Keller was the first ever deaf- blind person to earn a bachelors degree in art. Helen Keller attended Radcliffe College for girls and studied there for four years. She Graduated from Radcliffe in honor role in 1904. Helen Keller campaigned for peoples rights like women's sufferage, labor rights, socialism and more. Many places were named after Helen like an elementary school for K-5, a hospital , a museum and much more. One of her quotes were "Alone we can do so little, Together we can do so much.
Childhood
Helen Keller was born physically "normal". Born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Helen became blind and deaf after seven months of an illness that they now think was scarlet fever. When Helen was little she would rush around the house by clinging to her mothers skirt and would feel the house to guide herself when she was outside. Helen had a bad temper and got angry quickly, she also got her way most of the time. Helen lived in her own little dark world, she communicated with her parents by making up her own signs. By age five she had made over fifty signs. Helen was also very intelligent, she started speaking at 6 months and walking at age 1. She is the daughter of Arthur H. Keller and Kate Adams who is related to John Adams. Helen's doctor told her to go see Dr. Alexander Bell who has worked with deaf people before and was also famous for creating the telephone. Helen liked Dr. Bell because he understood her signs . Bell told Helen's parents about Perkins Institution for the blind. There they contacted Anne Sullivan. Anne was disgusted at the way Helen behaved. At breakfast Helen walked around taking things from people's plates with her hands, when she got to Anne's plate she grabbed a sausage and Anne slapped it out of her hands. After seeing Helen behavior around her parents Anne talked to her parents about moving to the guest house. There Anne finally got to Helen. She had pumper water on to Helens hand then wrote on it W-A-T-E-R. Thats when Helen understood.
After Childhood
Helen attended Radcliffe college for women for four years than graduated in honors. Helen was the first deaf blind person to get a bachelors degree in art. She wrote many books like The Story of My Life, Optimism, The World I Lived in, The Song of the Stone Wall, Out of The Dark, and Midstream: My Later Life. Helen wrote from (1902-1930). Helen won an Oscar and an Academy award for a documentary about her life. She helped people who had become blind in the war. Anne was Helen's teacher for 54 years. When Anne was getting older she worried that when something happened to her Helen would be alone so she hired Polly. Polly once suffered from a stroke in the kitchen, Helen found her but couldn't call for help. It was two hours before the mail man came and could call for help, but Polly survived. Soon later Polly did die. Helen once said" walking through the dark with a friend, is better than walking on the light alone." Helen suffered from many strokes and spent the remaining years of her life at her cottage in Easton Connecticut. There Helen died in her sleep on June 1, 1968 just a few weeks before her 88th birthday.
Biggest Obstacle
Helens biggest obstacle was being blind and deaf. Helen has been deaf since she was two years old after an illness what they now think may have been scarlet fever. Even with this disability Helen never stopped. Helen knew that having a disability didn't mean she was dumb or couldn't do anything. This just ment that she had to worked harder. http://www.biography.com/people/helen-keller-9361967
After Death
Helen Keller is a smart, inspirational, understanding person who will be remembered forever. She has inspired people everywhere. I am glad I did my biography project on her because she is so inspiring and tells women everywhere and men that they can do anything even with obstacles. In other words Helen Keller lived.
Sources
sites.google.com, Perkins.org, Thehistoryofchicks.com, History.com, brainyquote.com, wikipedia.org, World Book, Bio.com, Helen Keller Christy DeViller, I am Helen Keller Grace Norwich.