Helen Keller

Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1880, she lost her sight and hearing at 19 months old after an illness. With the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan, she learned to communicate, studied at the Perkins School for the Blind, and later graduated from Radcliffe College.

She became a prolific writer and lecturer, publishing The Story of My Life and other books that introduced readers to her inner world and public work. Beyond the classroom and the page, she spoke widely on disability, education, and social justice, helping change public attitudes toward blind and deaf people.

Her influence reached far beyond the United States. She worked for decades with the American Foundation for the Blind and traveled internationally as an advocate, leaving a legacy that endures in both literature and disability rights history.