Hello everybody and welcome back to another edition of Global History Hub! I'll be your host, Mr. Nations, your tour guide to this massive world we all call home! On today's edition of Historical Figure Wednesday, we'll be taking a look at the life of Helen Keller. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's dive straight into it!
Helen Keller was an American educator, advocate for the blind and deaf and co-founder of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). Having fallen victim to an illness at the age of 2, Keller was left both blind and deaf. Beginning in 1887, Anne Sullivan, Keller's teacher, helped her make tremendous progress with her ability to communicate, and before long, Keller went to college, graduating in 1904. During her lifetime, she received many honors in recognition of her accomplishments.
Keller was born on June 27th, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Keller was the first of two daughters born to the Keller couple. They owned a cotton plantation, but it didn't bring in a particularly spectacular amount of money. Keller was born with all her senses, but lost sight and hearing at the very young age of two years old. As a result, her parents needed to develop a limited method of communication so that she could learn to function without her parents. At the same time, she became wild and unruly, often pitching fits when angry and giggling uncontrollably when happy. Members of her family though she should be institutionalized.
Anne Sullivan was a beacon of hope for Keller, who would work with with Keller for 49 years until her death in 1937. Sullivan began training Keller to communicate with others, but it was apparent that Keller wasn't making much progress. Frustrated, Sullivan demanded that she and Keller be isolated from the rest of the family so they could practice alone. This seemed to work and Keller's communication skills increased dramatically.
Keller progressed swiftly through school, and wanted to attend college. She attended the Cambridge School for Young Ladies. Keller tackled social and political issues, including women's suffrage, pacifism, birth control and socialism. She died in the year 1968, peacefully in her sleep.
Helen Keller:
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