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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Helen Keller
Annie Sullivan. Born Johanna Mansfield Sullivan she also had problems with vision and was a graduate of Perkins Institute for the Blind. It was Perkins Institute that recommended her to teach Helen. Helen always referred to her as 'Teacher'.
1880. Her actual date of birth was June 27, 1880.
No definite diagnosis. At 19 months of age, Helen contracted a disease that produced a high fever and left as mysteriously and suddenly as it had come. Helen had always said her doctor called it acute congestion of the stomach and brain. In those days congestion or flux could mean anything. There never was an exact diagnosis. Medicine was still fairly primitive by today's standards.
6 and 21. Arriving at Helen’s home in Tuscumbia on March 3, 1887, Annie had already seen her share of hard times. She and her brother were orphans and she watched him die a slow death at a young age. She had more than one eye surgery to help her own vision problems. Annie and Helen were seldom apart until Annie's death on October 20, 1936. They had almost become one person. In the words of one of Helen's biographers, 'It is impossible to write a book about Helen Keller that is not also a book about Annie Sullivan.'
water. After weeks and months of Annie trying to get through to Helen, Mr. and Mrs. Keller set a deadline for Annie's way of teaching to stop. It was near the end of this time period, when Annie was trying to teach Helen table manners, and she dragged Helen outside to the water pump, to fill up the jug Helen had spilled. It was at that moment, Helen finally made the connection, that all things had a name and the 'spelling' Annie had been doing on and with her hands, were the names of things. Nothing would ever be the same for both Helen and Annie from that point forward.
Alexander Graham Bell. Bell may be famous for inventing the telephone, but his life's work was with and for the deaf. Dr. Bell however, was the one who recommended Captain Keller go to the Perkins Institute for the Blind, to see if there was anyone there that could help Helen. That person of course, turned out to be Annie Sullivan. It was because of this, that Bell and Helen became life long friends.
Class of 1904, Radcliffe. Although Annie was always by Helen's side, most thought it wasn't fair for Annie to read any exams to her. Therefore, they were translated into braille so Helen could 'read' the exam and answer the questions alone. The fact she was blind and deaf made studying hard and tedious, but she graduated in four years, with honors, along with her classmates from her freshman year. To me, it is proof positive, that if anyone wants to do anything badly enough, they can and will find a way!
Louis Braille . Born in 1809, Braille was blind from the age of three. With the drive and desperation to be able to 'read' he eventually came up with the braille alphabet. The idea came from the French Army's code of dots and dashes, raised up off the paper so they could be read in the dark.
Annie. Annie married a man named John Albert Macy on May 2, 1905, but the marriage would not last. The final and permanent break-up was in 1934. There were many reasons, but the biggest contention was, Macy was living off of Helen's money.
87. After a series of small strokes, Helen retired from public life in 1961 and died on June 1, 1968. In her life she traveled the world, was a public speaker and a published author. Quite the accomplishments for anyone. Helen Keller showed the world, no matter the obstacle, you can go around it, over it, under it, or right through it. I think she did all four. What an amazing woman!
'Midstream' and 'The Story of My Life'. Helen wrote "The Story of My Life" during her Junior Year at college. Shortly afterword, she wrote "My Future as I See It". Decades later, she wrote "Midstream", the follow-up to "The Story of My Life", and after Annie Sullivan's death she wrote "Teacher, Anne Sullivan Macy".
1900. Helen began college in 1900 and finished in 1904. By getting a college education she proved the capabilities of the deaf, blind, and deaf-blind.
The American Foundation for the Blind. At first, Helen resented the idea because she was being asked to beg for support for The American Foundation for the Blind, but she gave in and for two seasons collected money for the organization.
Yes. Keller was briefly engaged to Peter Fagan. After Helen's engagement, many people started discovering that Helen had a marriage licence, so Helen denied it because of her desire for a private life, and she broke up with her fiance.
Adams . She was originally going to be named Helen Everett, but at her christening, her father told the minister her name was to be Helen Adams Keller.
Mildred . Helen and Mildred, Helen's younger sister, were very close, especially after their mother died. As a toddler, Helen became very jealous that Mildred was getting more attention from her mother (before Helen learned to sign) so she hurt her baby sister.
June 1, 1968. Helen died only 26 days from her 88th birthday in her home at Arcan Ridge.
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