Helen Keller, American Author

Keller wearing graduation cap and gown, circa 1904. Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 - June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was 19 months old when she contracted an illness that left her deaf and blind. In 1887 Anne Sullivan, herself visually impaired and only 20 years old, became Keller's instructor. It was the beginning of a 49-year-long relationship. In 1904, at the age of 24, Keller graduated from Radcliffe, becoming the first deaf blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. A prolific author, Keller was well-traveled, and was outspoken in her anti-war convictions. She campaigned for women's suffrage, labor rights, socialism, and other radical left causes. In 1920 she helped to found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She met every US President from Cleveland to Johnson and was friends with many famous figures, including Alexander Graham Bell, Charlie Chaplin and Mark Twain. She died in her sleep in 1968 at the age of 87

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