Helen Keller

Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on June 27, 1880, she lost both sight and hearing after an illness at 19 months old. With the help of Anne Sullivan, she learned to communicate, studied at the Perkins Institution and other schools, and went on to graduate from Radcliffe College in 1904.

She became a prolific author and public speaker, writing works such as The Story of My Life and using her platform to advocate for blind and deaf people. She also spoke out on broader social and political issues, bringing unusual public attention to disability, education, and civil rights in the early 20th century.

For decades, she worked with the American Foundation for the Blind and traveled widely as a lecturer and advocate. She died on June 1, 1968, but remains a landmark figure in American literary and disability history.