Profile of the Day: Helen Keller
On June 27, 1880, Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama.
Image: Helen Keller / Library of Congress
At just 18 months old, Keller contracted an illness that left her blind and deaf. During the early years of her childhood, Keller had very limited methods of communication and became very unruly. Her mother hired Anne Sullivan to help teach Keller. Sullivan began to teach Keller words by drawing the letters into her hands. After a frustrating beginning, Keller made a breakthrough when she made the connection between the water running over her hand and the letters spelling “water” in her other hand. With Sullivan’s help, she learned to communicate and blossom into one of the world’s greatest humanitarians. Her remarkable story and triumph over adversity continues to inspire people all around the world.
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