Presidential Medal of Freedom
Helen Adams Keller June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968 was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, was made famous by the Keller's autobiography, The Story of My Life, and its adaptations for film and stage, The Miracle Worker.
Her public profile helped de-stigmatise blindness and deafness, and she was viewed as a powerful example of someone overcoming difficult circumstances.
Helen Keller was an American educator, advocate for the blind and deaf and co-founder of the ACLU. Stricken by an illness at the age of 2, Keller was left blind and deaf. Beginning in 1887, Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, helped her make tremendous progress with her ability to communicate, and Keller went on to college, graduating in 1904. She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1971 and was one of twelve debut inductees to the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame on June 8, 2015.
