Helen Keller

American author and activist, deafblind (1880-1968)

12 quotes in the MindQuotes library.

About

Helen Keller became deaf and blind at 19 months. With her teacher Anne Sullivan, she learned to communicate and became the first deafblind person to earn a college degree (Radcliffe, 1904). Author of 14 books, including her autobiography 'The Story of My Life', she advocated for disability rights, women's suffrage, socialism, and peace. She worked for over 40 years for the American Foundation for the Blind and co-founded the ACLU.

* 1880-06-27 — † 1968-06-01

Major works

  • The Story of My Life (1903)autobiography
  • The World I Live In (1908)essay
  • Out of the Dark (1913)essay
  • Midstream: My Later Life (1929)autobiography
  • Teacher: Anne Sullivan Macy (1955)biography

Key milestones

  • 1887Anne Sullivan arrives and teaches her to communicate through finger-spelling.
  • 1904Graduates from Radcliffe College, first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
  • 1964Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Lyndon B. Johnson.

Themes

ResilienceDisability rightsEducationSocial justicePeace

Sources: afb.org · nps.gov · helenkellerfoundation.org