13 Awesome And Inspiring Facts About Helen Keller

At the age of 2, Helen Keller (1880–1968) was taken ill and became both deaf and blind. She spent the rest of her life showing the world that it wasn't going to hold her back. 'When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don't see the one that has opened for us."

1. She met Alexander Graham Bell

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Helen's parents refused to accept that their daughter was cut off from the world. They took the then 7 year old Helen to see Bell who was working with deaf children at the time. He made a few suggestions for treatment which led to Helen meeting Anne Sullivan, the woman who would change her life

2. She learnt to read, write and speak

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There was no app for that back then. Most take these skills for granted, but Helen spent 25 years learning to communicate and talk with everyone through touch-lip reading, Braille, speech, typing and finger-spelling. Her teacher Ann Sullivan worked with her for 49 years.

3. She was friends with Mark Twain and had met the Queen as well as several U.S Presidents!

Via afb.org

As she advances became more well known, Helen became a bit of a celebrity. One of her fans was the famous author Mark Twain. Others included Charlie Chaplin

She met and wrote with numerous US Presidents. Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson

Now that is a name drop.

4. She helped introduce a dog breed into America

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Keller traveled to Japan and fell in love with the Akita. She is responsible for introducing the breed to the Americas. Her first dog that was an Akita, was a gift from a police officer in Japan.

She also loved Hot Dogs!

5. She was the world's first Deafblind person to attend and graduate from College

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A remarkable feat for a woman in 1902 of any standing

6. She was also the world's first Deafblind person to write a book.

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Her autobiography, The Story of My Life, was the first of 14 books she wrote in her lifetime.

7. She was a powerful Equal Rights advocate

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She was a founding member of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, the nation's first agency to provide services to adults who are blind.

Helen spent most of her life fighting for the rights of the vision impaired, including the campaigning for Braille as a standard communication tool and ensuring all blind people would have full access and rights as other citizens.

8. She loved music

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She could 'hear' and feel the vibrations of the music

9. Helen visited 39 countries

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Not only did she campaign in her home country, but she travelled the world raising funds and establishing schools for the deaf and blind.

During this time she also found time to visit veteran hospitals and speak with those injured in battle during World War II

10. She holds the highest civilian honour

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In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Keller the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her tireless work for people with disabilities.

Throughout her life she also received Brazil's Order of the Southern Cross, the Philippines' Golden Heart, Japan's Sacred Treasure.

In 1965 she was elected to the National Women's Hall of Fame at the New York World's Fair.

11. She is an Oscar Winner

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In 1956, a film on her life won Best Documentary Feature.

There have also been several films, plays and television series based on her life and books

12. Her face is on money

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In 2003, Alabama honored its native daughter on its state quarter. The Alabama state quarter is the only circulating US coin to feature braille.

13. She has several streets named after her

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There are streets named after Helen Keller in Zürich, Switzerland, in the USA, in Getafe, Spain, in Lod, Israel, in Lisbon, Portuga and in Caen, France.