Why Is Helen Keller Famous?

American author and political activist Helen Keller is not only an important figure, but also a role model in U.S history. Helen Keller is famous for a multitude of accomplishments as a deaf and blind person. She lost her sight and hearing at just over a year old, but despite this, was a strong humanitarian,

American author and political activist Helen Keller is not only an important figure, but also a role model in U.S history.

Helen Keller is famous for a multitude of accomplishments as a deaf and blind person. She lost her sight and hearing at just over a year old, but despite this, was a strong humanitarian, activist, and writer. She was the first deaf and blind person to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree and was a spokesperson for the less privileged, aiding the women’s suffrage movement and pacifism among other things.

Keller was seen as an idol and representative for people with disabilities. Read more to find out why.

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"I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but it is my chief duty and joy to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. It is my service to think how I can best fulfil the demands that each day makes upon me, and to rejoice that others can do what I cannot…I love the good that others do; for their activity is an assurance that whether I can help that whether I can help or not, the true and the good will stand sure." Excerpt from the Helen Keller essay titled, "Optimism," 1903. [Image Description: Three quarter length portrait of Helen Keller, possibly at her home in Wrentham, Massachusetts. Keller is standing, facing away from the viewer towards a bas-relief frieze that hangs on the wall beside her. She holds the stile and ear of an ornate wooden chair. She is wearing a light color dress that is gathered at the waist, has a bow at the back, half length sleeves and a boat neck. Her hair is gathered in a bun at the nape of her neck.] #HelenKellerArchive

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Keller’s Life Growing Up

Helen Keller was born in 1880, in Tuscambia, Alabama to Army veteran Arthur H. Keller and wife Katherine Adams Keller. 

She was not born with disabilities, but she contracted a serious illness just one year after her birth, leaving her both deaf and blind.

The illness was rumored to be either scarlet fever or meningitis. 

In the 18th century, most deaf or blind people were institutionalized, but Keller’s parents were financially capable of granting her the opportunity to learn to live normally. 

For most of the era, educational resources were not readily available to disabled people. 

Kellen therefore did not receive a formal education until she was 7 years old. 

She would communicate with her family by observing their facial expressions for five years; this was a very difficult period in the family’s life. 

Her mother eventually assigned Anne Sullivan, who had studied at Perkins School for the Blind, to Keller as her mentor. 

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#OTD March 3, 1887, Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan meet for the first time. From Helen's autobiography, The Story of My Life: "THE most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me. I am filled with wonder when I consider the immeasurable contrasts between the two lives which it connects. It was the third of March, 1887, three months before I was seven years old. On the afternoon of that eventful day, I stood on the porch, dumb, expectant. I guessed vaguely from my mother's signs and from the hurrying to and fro in the house that something unusual was about to happen, so I went to the door and waited on the steps. The afternoon sun penetrated the mass of honeysuckle that covered the porch, and fell on my upturned face. My fingers lingered almost unconsciously on the familiar leaves and blossoms which had just come forth to greet the sweet southern spring. I did not know what the future held of marvel or surprise for me. Anger and bitterness had preyed upon me continually for weeks and a deep languor had succeeded this passionate struggle." #HelenKellerArchive [Image Description: Full length photograph of Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller circa 1880-1892. They are next to each other. Sullivan appears to be either sitting or crouching. She manually signs with her left hand into Keller's right hand. Keller's left arm is around her teacher's neck. Both women wear dark, full Victorian dresses that are waisted and have full, wide skirts. Both dresses have high necks and long sleeves, Keller's dress has "leg of mutton" sleeves. The image might have been taken in a studio with a painted backdrop that includes an ornate colonnade.]

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Although Keller did not like the idea at first, she would soon warm up to Sullivan, who would become her lifelong guide and companion. 

Sullivan had been blind as a child, and had an operation to regain her sight. Yet, she lost her vision again in her later years, facing struggles similar to Keller’s. 

Keller was very intelligent, and quickly learned various skills from Sullivan. She learned the alphabet via tactile sensations, and read and wrote in Braille with a special typewriter.

She attended various prestigious educational institutions throughout her life, such as Radcliffe College where she graduated from.

Helen Keller’s Accomplishments

Before even graduating, Keller had completed and published two books that would foreshadow her career as a talented writer.

She published The Story Of My Life in 1902 and published the book Optimism just a year later. 

Shortly after, she was the first deaf and blind person to be awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Keller was an advocate for those with disabilities, and wrote several pieces for magazines and newspapers regarding blindness in children and its causes. 

She published over 12 books in her lifetime, and co-founded Helen Keller International foundation which was to help people with disabilities. 

The author and activist travelled to over 25 different countries to give speeches about her inspirational story. 

She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom as well as the Legion of Honour. 

Being a strong advocate for the Women’s Suffrage movement, she wrote various feminism pieces as well as pieces favoring socialism. 

She lived with Sullivan and her husband John Macy, who was a social critic and a Harvard University Instructor. Keller took inspiration from his views.  

Her autobiography, The Story Of My Life, became so famous that it was even adapted into a film titled The Miracle Worker.

In 1971, Keller was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Wall of Fame. 

She was recognized as an advocate for social and economic justice, often citing statistics that the poor were more likely to suffer from disabilities. 

Being an outspoken activist for people with disabilities, and having undergone her own hardships from being deaf and blind, Keller’s work inspired many.

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