Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard. She set an example for thousands of deaf and blind persons to conquer their handicaps and attain miraculous achievements.
Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880 at a plantation called Ivy Green in Tuscumbia. It was in Alabama state of the United States of America. Her father Captain Arthur H. Keller was a former officer of the Confederate Army. Her mother, Kate Adams Keller, was a cousin of Robert E. Lee. The Keller family originated from Switzerland. Helen Keller was not born blind and deaf. A mysterious disease left her deaf and blind.
The advent of Anne Sullivan was the greatest moment in the life of Helen Keller. The desire to express herself grew in her. Before the arrival of Miss Sullivan she used to communicate through few signs. Helen was a great fighter. She started learning to spell simple words lode ‘‘d-o-l-l’’, ‘‘pin’’, ‘‘hat’’ and few verbs like ‘‘sit’’, ‘‘stand’’ and ‘‘walk’’. She was thrilled when the mystery of language was revealed to her. She realised that everything had a name and each name gave birth to a thought. Through a slow and often painful process she progressed from learning to read to acquiring the skill of speaking. It was Miss Sullivan’s genius and Helen’s untiring devotion and patience that brought miraculous results.
Nothing could stop the deaf and blind girl from earning a bachelor degree from Harvard. But she had to wage a long struggle to get admission in Radcliffe College. She surprised the world when she became the first blind and deaf person to earn a bachelor degree. Helen Keller had a passion for reading. She loved ancient Greeks, Homer, Virgil, Shakespeare, Dickens. She was equally comfortable in French and German literature. Her pleasures and amusements were many and varied. She loved swimming, rowing, sailing and walking leisurely in the countryside. She loved visiting places. Her visits to Washington, Niagara and the World’s Fair broadened her knowledge and vision. Helen was fortunate to have the company of many great persons like Alexander Graham Bell, Mark Twain, Father Brooks and many others who shaped and made the story of her life.
