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Helen Keller's Early Life(Brief Family Background)
Helen Keller was born on June 27,1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Helen Keller was the first of two daughters born to Arthur H. Keller and Katherine Adams Keller. She also had two older stepbrothers. Keller's father had proudly served as an officer in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The family was not particularly wealthy and earned income from their cotton plantation. Later, Arthur became the editor of a weekly local newspaper, the North Alabamian. -
"Brain Fever"
At just the age of two years old, Keller had developed an illness called 'Brain Fever". This Illness caused her to loose her ability of sight and hearing.She was diagnosed by the family doctor.They're first noticed she had became deaf and blind when one evening,the dinner bell had rang and Helen hadn't came down.Her parents went upstairs and began to call her name and received no response.Then they began to wave they're hands in front of her eyes;once again,no response.She was just 19 months old -
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Challenges and Strengths/Obstacles faced and overcame
In 1890, Keller began speech classes at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf in Boston. She would toil for 25 years to learn to speak so that others could understand her. From 1894 to 1896, she attended the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York City. There, she worked on improving her communication skills and studied regular academic subjects.Keller became determined to attend college. In 1896, she attended the Cambridge School for Young Ladies, a preparatory school for women. -
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Challenges and Strengths/Obstacles faced and Overcame pt.2
By this time, Keller had mastered several methods of communication, including touch-lip reading, Braille, speech, typing and finger-spelling. With the help of Sullivan and Sullivan's future husband, John Macy, Keller wrote her first book, The Story of My Life. It covered her transformation from childhood to 21-year-old college student. Keller graduated, cum laude, from Radcliffe in 1904, at the age of 24. -
Significant Contributions-Social Activist
After college, Keller set out to learn more about the world and how she could help improve the lives of others. News of her story spread beyond Massachusetts and New England. She became a well-known celebrity and lecturer by sharing her experiences with audiences, and working on behalf of others living with disabilities. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Keller tackled social and political issues, including women's suffrage, pacifism and birth control. -
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Events leading to her Leadership role.
Getting and having a successful education(graduating).
Starting and helping co-found foundations for the people that are disabled or have disabilities.
Writing many Stories,novels,and her Autobiography.
How inspiring she was due to her story and success.She became a role model.
She won many Awards/Honors such as the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal in 1936, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, and election to the Women's Hall of Fame in 1965. -
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Significant Contributions-Starting Foundations
In 1915, along with renowned city planner George Kessler, she co-founded Helen Keller International to combat the causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition. In 1920, she helped found the American Civil Liberties Union. -
Quotes from Hellen Keller
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” “When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don’t see the one that has opened for us.” “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” -
Keller's Death
Keller died in her sleep on June 1, 1968, just a few weeks before her 88th birthday. During her remarkable life, Keller stood as a powerful example of how determination, hard work, and imagination can allow an individual to triumph over adversity. By overcoming difficult conditions with a great deal of persistence, she grew into a respected and world-renowned activist who labored for the betterment of others.