Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on 27 June 1880, and lost her sight and hearing after an illness at 19 months old. At seven she met her teacher and lifelong companion, Anne Sullivan, who taught her language, including reading and writing. She went on to Radcliffe College and became the first deafblind person in the United States to earn a college degree.
She wrote 14 books and hundreds of speeches and essays, including her autobiography, The Story of My Life (1903), and campaigned for people with disabilities, women’s suffrage, labour rights and world peace. She was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union. She died on 1 June 1968.