1. Helen Keller By Grace Norwich Vocabulary Scarlet Fever-(noun)an infectious disease with a sore throat, fever and red rash. Braille-(noun) a form of written language for blind people, in which characters are represented by patterns of raised dots that are felt with the fingertips Benefactor-(noun) a person who gives money or other help to a person or cause Plagiarism-(noun)the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own. Memior-(noun) a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources Helen in 1959 at 78 years old. It was the same year The Miracle Worker started on Broadway By Natalie Dougherty June 27, 1980 Helen was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Her parents were Arthur H. Keller and Katherine Adams Keller. Her father served as an officer in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The family earned income from their cotton plantation and weren’t wealthy. Helen was born with all her senses and could speak at 6 months old. 1882 In 1882 Helen got very sick with a high fever. Doctors called it “brain fever” but we now call it Scarlet Fever or Meningitis. Days after her fever broke, Helen’s mother noticed she didn’t hear the dinner bell or see her hand when she waved it across her face. Helen had lost her sight and hearing at 18 months old. March 3, 1887 The Kellers knew Helen was smart but they needed a teacher to help her. They hired Annie Sullivan who was a graduate of the Perkins School for the Blind. Annie was 20 years old and came from a poor background. She moved Helen and herself to a carriage house on the property to teach her without interruption from Helen’s parents. Helen learned to associate words with objects and Annie then taught her Braille. 1888-1894 Helen and Annie moved to the Perkins School for the Blind because Helen wanted to go to school. While at school Helen became famous and got a lot of publicity. Helen wrote a story for the director of the school and was accused of plagiarism. She admitted making a mistake and had to go before a jury. She was declared innocent but it took a long time for people to forgive her. Fall 1894 Helen moved to New York City to attend the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in 1894. Helen took classes in Math, English and History. Annie went with Helen to continue working on her lip reading and speaking skills. Helen insisted she was going to go to college. Her father had died with debt so Helen relied on benefactors such as John D. Rockefeller to support her and Annie. 1900-1904 Helen entered the Freshman class at Radcliffe College in 1900. While in college Helen published her book called “The Story of My Life”. She met her editor John Macy who helped her fix her book and articles in the Ladies’ Home Journal. Her book was published in 1903 to great reviews. Helen graduated college on June 28, 1904 as the first deaf-blind person in the country to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. 1905- 1924 Helen continued to live with Annie even after Annie married John Macy in 1905. Helen became a member of the Socialist Party and in 1913 published her book Out of the Dark. She also joined the NAACP to fight against segregation. Annie and John divorced in 1914 and Helen hired Polly Thomson to help out because Annie’s health was bad. Helen fell in love with Peter Hagan but her mother forbid them to marry. Helen and Annie became performers on Vaudeville and finally quit in 1924 1924-1962 Annie died in 1935 and was the first woman to be buried in the National Cathedral in Washington DC. Helen Keller met the Prime Minister of Japan in the biggest reception a foreigner had ever received. In 1959 The Miracle Worker made its Broadway debut and was so successful a movie was made in 1962. For her work on behalf of the blind and the deaf, she was widely honored and in 1964 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President Johnson. June 1, 1968 Helen Keller died at age eighty- seven in her home in Westport, Connecticut. Helen died peacefully in her sleep. A service was held at the National Cathedral in Washington DC. She was cremated and her remains are next to Annie and Polly.in the Chapel of Saint Joseph of Arimathea in Washington DC. Helen Keller in 1887. She was 7 years old and was not normally photographed on the left side because of a protruding eye.