Helen Keller Day 2023: June 27 of each year is considered Helen Keller Day. Helen Adams Keller was a deaf American author, political activist, and lecturer. The day honors and celebrates the life, efforts and achievements of the wonder woman. An annual fashion show was held on June 27 the same day as a fundraiser in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania to help and support those in need.
Biography of Helen Keller
|
Name |
Helen Keller |
|
First and last name |
Helen Adams Keller |
|
Born |
June 27, 1880 |
|
Place of birth |
Tuscumbia, Alabama |
|
Nationality |
American |
|
father’s name |
Arthur Henley Keller |
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Mother’s name |
Catherine Everett (Adams) Keller |
|
Siblings |
Mildred Campbell (Keller) TysonPhillip Brooks KellerJames McDonald KellerWilliam Simpson Keller |
|
Education |
Radcliffe College (BA) |
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Job |
|
|
Notable work |
My Life Story (1903) |
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Marital status |
Not married |
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Couple |
Peter Fagan (Getting Married) |
|
Biggest Achievement |
Presidential Medal of Freedom National Women’s Hall of Fame |
|
Death |
June 1, 1968 |
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cause of death |
stroke |
|
Resting place |
Washington National Cathedral |
Early life
Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama to Arthur Henley Keller and Catherine Everett (Adams) Keller. She was diagnosed with a type of bacterial meningitis when she was just 19 months old and as a result, she was unable to see, hear or communicate. Alexander Graham Bell, a famous scientist and inventor who is credited with creating the first telephone, responded to the family’s request for guidance and advised them to admit her to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston.
They followed Bell’s advice and in 1887, Keller was taught by Anne Sullivan, a young teacher who also suffered from impaired vision. Sullivan used the technique of ‘teaching by touch’ and her skilled guidance calmed the seemingly uncontrollable Keller. She learned how to read and write in Braille as well as deaf-mute hand signals.
Articles, Books & Other Works
Keller moved to Forest Hills, Queens, with Sullivan and a hired housekeeper named Macy. She used her residency as a platform for her advocacy work on behalf of the American Foundation for the Blind. As a speaker and author, Keller became famous and supported people with disabilities. She has lectured about the conditions Deaf people face in 25 different countries. She opposed Woodrow Wilson and was a pacifist, radical socialist, birth control advocate, and suffragist. There are a total of 12 books that Keller has published, including the following:
- Ice King (1891)
- The Story of My Life (1903)
- Optimistic: an essay (1903)
- The Key to My Life: Optimism (1904)
- The World I Live In (1908)
- The Miracle of Life (1909)
- Song of the Stone Wall (1910)
- Out of the Dark, a series of essays on socialism (1913)
- Uncle Sam Is Calling (set to music by Pauline B. Story) (1917)
- My Religion (1927; also called Light in My Darkness)
- Midstream: My Later Life (1929)
- We grieve.(1929)
- Peace in the Evening (1932)
- Helen Keller in Scotland: personal profile written by herself (1933) Methuen, 212pp
- The Diary of Helen Keller (1938)
- Let Us Have Faith (1940)
- Teacher: Anne Sullivan Macy: her adopted child’s tribute in her mind. (1955)
- The Open Door (1957)
- Helen Keller’s Faith (1967)
- Helen Keller: The Socialist Years, Her Writings and Speeches (1967)
Personal life
Keller was in his late 30s when Sullivan’s health began to deteriorate. Keller brings in Peter Fagan, a private secretary, whom she loves and intends to run away from. Young Boston Herald reporter Peter Fagan is a socialist in spelling. The couple’s plan finally collapsed when her family vehemently opposed it because they believed that disabled women should not get married. As a result, Keller moved to Montgomery, Alabama with her mother.
Awards & Achievements
She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the two highest civilian awards given by the United States, on September 14, 1964 from President Lyndon B. Johnson. At the 1965 New York World’s Fair, she was selected for induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. In the last years of her life, she devoted most of her time to raising funds for the American Foundation for the Blind.
Here are some of her posthumous honors:
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In 1980, to commemorate Keller’s 100th birthday, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp featuring Sullivan and Keller.
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Keller was included in Gallup’s list of the most admired people of the 20th century in 1999.
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One of Time magazine’s 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century in 1999, Keller.
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By putting braille on U.S. currency in 2003, Alabama honored its native daughter in its state.
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She was honored by the Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama.
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KK Srinivasan established Helen Keller-themed preschool for deaf children in Mysore, India.
- The State of Alabama donated a bronze statue of Keller to the National Monument Collection in 2009.
Helen Keller Day celebrates resilience, raises disability awareness, inspires others, advocates for education, and promotes human rights and social justice. It serves as a reminder of the importance of education and the need to make it accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities. Because her experience highlights the importance of inclusivity, accessibility and equal opportunity for people with disabilities. By dedicating a day to Helen Keller, we promote understanding and empathy for people with disabilities.
Important dates in June 2023
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: pagasa.edu.vn