Famous Women---H

 

Our famous H is :

Helen Keller (1880-1968)

Quick Facts:

She was born with the ability to see
and hear but at 19 months became
ill with "acute congestion of the
stomach and brain." This may
have caused her to lose her sight
and hearing.

Developed her own way to comm-
unicate and move around.

Anne Sullivan came into Keller's life
in 1886  when Keller was six. The then 
twenty year old woman who was also
visually impaired taught Keller how to
communicate by spelling words in her
hand.
The first word they worked on was d-o-l-l.
then m-u-g. Keller became frustrated due
to not understanding the connection
between word and object. A breakthrough
came along and Keller could not get
enough-wanting more object -word intro-
ductions.
Keller and Sullivan were together for 49
years. Their relationship evolved from
teacher to governess to companion.

Helen Keller was the first hearing and
visually impaired person to earn a
Bachelor of Arts degree.

She was an Author--wrote 12 books and
articles, one being her own autobiography.
The Story of My Life (1903)

Political Activist--campaigned for women's
suffrage, advocated for people with
disabilities, and had many discussions with politicians on many subjects.

Lecturer--She and Sullivan went to many
places where Helen talked of her life,
working with others and the joys she got
from that work.

Ms. Keller's birthday is commemorated
as "Helen Keller Day" in Pennsylvania
and was given a Presidential proclamation
on the 100th anniversary of her birth by
President Jimmy Carter.

Her birthplace in West Tuscumbia,
Alabama is now a museum.

Helen Keller taught the world that deaf
people and do the same things that hearing
people do.
She is an idol to those in the deaf community.



Tomorrow will introduce you to
Famous I.


~Keep on Dreaming~