The Life and Achievements of Helen Keller Helen Adams Keller was born in Alabama on June 27, 1880. At an early age of 19 months, she suffered from an acute congestion of stomach and brain, which could have been caused by scarlet fever or meningitis. The disease caused her to lose her senses of sight and hearing. Because of the disability to hear, she never learned to speak. Even after this incident, she could somewhat communicate using sign language and gestures. When she reached the age of seven, she had understood and developed many signs to communicate with her family. It is known that her efforts and ability to communicate at an early age did help her much in her development in the later years.
She was the first deaf and blind person to have earned an undergraduate degree. When Helen was only six years old, her mother sent for J. Julian Chisolm, a physician specializing in eye, ear, nose and throat. Chisolm advised them to meet Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. The famous scientist was working with deaf children at that time. Meeting one person after the other, the Kellers finally met Anne Sullivan, a blind student herself, who was willing to instruct and guide Helen.
Her teacher, Anne Sullivan should be credited for her enormous success. Helen Keller having no basic knowledge and considering that three of her five senses were impaired was taught how to survive in the world let alone read and write. For 49 years, Anne Sullivan mentored and governed Helen Keller to become an outspoken traveler and a social worker who pursued better living and education for disabled people. She had also worked for labor rights and many other radical issues that pertained in the society. The state of Alabama inducted her to the Hall of Fame in 1971. She was also awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964.
She had devoted much of her last years to fund-raising for the blind. Helen Keller suffered from a number of strokes in 1961. She died at her home while she was asleep on the night of June 1, 1968 in Connecticut.
Nearly every country on earth has shown respect and honour for Helen Keller's achievements. Zurich in Switzerland, Getafe in Spain, Lod in Israel, Lisbon in Portugal and Caen in France have streets or roads named after the deaf and blind miracle Helen Keller. In
Mysore, India, K.K. Srinivasan had built a school for the deaf that he named after Helen Keller. In 2009, October, a bronze statue of Helen Keller was added to the collection of the National Statuary Hall in the capitol building in Washington.
Source:
http://www.researchomatic.com/Helen-Keller-80697.html