Helen Keller worked for the American Foundation for the Blind for more than 40 years. She was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on June 27, 1880, and became deaf and blind at 19 months. Few could have imagined the leading role she would go on to play in many of the significant political, social, and cultural movements of the 20th century. Until her passing in 1968, she worked unceasingly to improve the lives of people with disabilities. As caretakers of Helen Keller's archival collection and legacy, we are honored to share her history with you. Learn more about Helen Keller by exploring her letters, speeches, artifacts, and photographs in the Helen Keller Archive.
Image: Helen Keller with children in Adelaide, Australia, 1948
The American Foundation for the Blind is committed to promoting the life and legacy of Helen Keller. We are the proud caretakers of her archival collection of over 80,000 items including documents, photographs, photograph albums, press clippings, scrapbooks, architectural drawings, artifacts and audio-video materials.
Ever heard of Laura Bridgman? Bridgman is generally acknowledged as the first deaf-blind child to be successfully educated. Here's an interesting article from Slate about her life titled "The Education of Laura Bridgman. She was Helen Keller before Helen Keller. Then her mentor abandoned their studies."
This day in history (May 4th, 1897) New York City's five boroughs were consolidated. Helen Keller beautifully describes her love of the Big Apple in her 1929 biography "Midstream." Enjoy!
[Editor's note: The following post is authored by Keller Johnson-Thompson, Helen Keller's great-grandniece.]
[Editor's note: In light of Women's History Month, this post concludes our series of interviews with Helen Keller experts on the AFB Blog. The following Q&A comes courtesy of Helen Selsdon, Archivist at the American Foundation for the Blind, including the Helen Keller Archives.]
[Editor's note: In light of Women's History Month, we'll be running a series of interviews with Helen Keller experts on the AFB Blog. The following Q&A comes courtesy of Doreen Rappaport, author of the award-winning biography Helen's Big World.]
[Editor's note: In light of Women's History Month, we will be running a series of interviews with Helen Keller experts on the AFB Blog. First up: Keller Johnson-Thompson, Helen's great-grandniece.]
Over the past couple of months, we at AFB have received a number of correspondences regarding the announcement and promotion of various Helen Keller-related projects. While we can't always honor every request, we have been impressed with what has crossed our desks.
