Alabama Women's Hall of Fame - Helen Adams Keller

Though blind and deaf from the age of nineteen months, with the help of her extraordinary teacher Anne Sullivan Macy, Helen Keller overcame every obstacle to become a renowned author and lecturer and a mighty inspiration not only to the afflicted but to all the world.

Learning to read, write, and speak--in several languages--she received her A.B. degree cum laude from Radcliff College and other degrees from Temple University; University of Glasgow, Scotland; University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; University of Delhi; Free University of Berlin; and Harvard University.

She lectured on behalf of the blind throughout the United States and the world and served on the Council on National and International Relations of the American Foundation for the Blind, Inc.

Miss Keller was the author of many books, but her autobiography, The Story of My Life, is in itself, a miracle. She wanted to share with everyone, especially the afflicted, the wonders that had come her way and to prove to all that there is hope even when life seems impossible. Compassion and understanding were among her gifts. There seemed no littleness in her soul--this woman who lived in darkness but who shone as a brilliant light for all to see.

Her book, and books about her, will help future generations to see and understand the courage and genius of the incredible Alabama woman who so deserved to be among the first to be inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.

In eulogy to "America's First Lady of Courage" presented to the U.S. Congress, it was said that "Miss Keller's personal victory over darkness and despair turned her life and ambitions to the service of others. With energy and stamina that were almost limitless, she strove to fulfill her dreams, 'that every blind child have an opportunity to receive an education . . . and every blind adult, a chance for training and useful employment' . . . and that deaf people would be helped. Although she was denied the light of day, Helen Keller cast more radiance of Heaven than any person on this earth."

--Original Material Summarized by Miss Ethel Sanders & Mrs. Lois Rainer Green Troy State University

Bibliography

Herrmann, Dorothy. Helen Keller: a Life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.

Kudlinski, Kathleen. Helen Keller: a Light for the Blind. New York: Viking Kestrel, 1989.

Logue, Mary. Trust: the Story of Helen Keller. Chanhassen, Mn: Child’s World, 1999.

Markham, Lois. Helen Keller. New York: F. Watts, 1993.

Nicholson, Lois P. Helen Keller: Humanitarian. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1996.

Peare, Catharine Owens. The Helen Keller Story. North Bellmore, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1991.

Silverman, Ray, ed. Light in My Darkness. West Chester, Pa.: Chrysalis Books, 2000.

Sullivan, George. Helen Keller. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2000.

Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968)