Born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama, Helen Adams Keller became a well-known personality in the world after achieving successes in diverse fields despite being a deaf-blind.
Helen was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Later, she gained her name in literature, Political Activism and academics.
The story of Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, was made famous by Keller’s autobiography, The Story of My Life, and its adaptations for film and stage, The Miracle Worker.
Her birthplace in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, is now a museum and sponsors an annual “Helen Keller Day”.
Her birthday is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in Pennsylvania and, in the centenary year of her birth, was recognized by a presidential proclamation from Jimmy Carter.
Besides being a member of the Socialist Party of America and the Industrial Workers of the World, Helen campaigned for women’s suffrage, labour rights, socialism, antimilitarism, and other similar causes.
She was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame in 1971 and was one of twelve inaugural inductees to the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame on June 8, 2015.
In 2005 Indian Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and starring Rani Mukerji and Amitabh Bachchan, Black, revolves around a deaf-blind girl, and her relationship with her teacher who later develops Alzheimer’s disease. The film draws inspiration from Helen Keller‘s life and struggle.
On June 1, 1968, Helen Keller died in Westport, Connecticut, at the age of 87.
