born June 27, 1880, Tuscumbia, Ala., U.S.
died June 1, 1968, Westport, Conn.
U.S. author and educator who was blind and deaf.
Deprived by illness of sight and hearing at the age of 19 months, Keller soon became mute as well. Five years later she began to be instructed by Anne Sullivan (1866–1936), who taught her the names of objects by pressing the manual alphabet into her palm. Eventually Keller learned to read and write in Braille . She wrote several books, including The Story of My Life (1902). Her childhood was dramatized in William Gibson's play The Miracle Worker (1959; film, 1962).
Helen Keller at age 66.
Courtesy of the American Foundation for the Blind