Helen Keller

Helen Keller (1880–1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. Stricken by an illness at 19 months that left her deaf and blind, she learned to communicate with the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan. Keller graduated from Radcliffe College in 1904, becoming the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Her autobiography, The Story of My Life (1903), details her early education and remains a landmark work in disability literature. She wrote numerous other books, including The World I Live In and Out of the Dark, and was a prolific essayist. A socialist and suffragist, Keller campaigned for women's rights, labor rights, and pacifism. Her literary legacy endures as a testament to human resilience and the power of language.