Helen Keller
Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer.
Born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her sight and hearing after a bout of illness at the age of nineteen months.
She then communicated primarily using home signs until the age of seven when she met her first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan, who taught her language, including reading and writing; Sullivan's first lessons involved spelling words on Keller's hand to show her the names of objects around her.
She also learned how to speak and to understand other people's speech using the Tadoma method.
After an education at both specialist and mainstream schools, she attended Radcliffe College of Harvard University and became the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
She worked for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) from 1924 until 1968, during which time she toured the United States and traveled to 35 countries around the globe advocating for those with vision loss.
Keller was a prolific author, writing 14 books and hundreds of speeches and essays on topics ranging from animals to Mahatma Gandhi.
Keller campaigned for those with disabilities, for women’s suffrage, labor rights, and world peace.
She joined the Socialist Party of America in 1909.
She was a supporter of the NAACP and an original member of the American Civil Liberties Union.
In 1933, when her book How I Became a Socialist was burned by Nazi youth, she wrote an open letter to the Student Body of Germany condemning censorship and prejudice.
The story of Keller and Sullivan was made famous by Keller's 1903 autobiography, The Story of My Life, and its adaptations for film and stage, The Miracle Worker.
Her birthplace is now a museum and sponsors an annual "Helen Keller Day".
Her June 27 birthday is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in Pennsylvania and, in the centenary year of her birth, was recognized by a presidential proclamation from U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1971 and was one of twelve inaugural inductees to the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame on June 8, 2015.
[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]
Helen Keller
헬렌 켈러(Helen Keller, 1880.6.27~1968) 앨라배마 주 터스컴비아에서 태어났다.
태어난 지 19개월 되었을 때 심한 병에 걸려 목숨을 잃을 뻔하다 간신히 살아났으나 그 여파로 청각과 시각을 잃었다.
그녀의 부모는 알렉산더 그레이엄 벨의 권유로 보스턴에 있는 퍼킨스 맹아학교에서 앤 설리번을 헬렌의 가정교사로 모셔온다.
앤 설리번과 헬렌이 함께한 초기의 이야기, 다시 말해 헬렌이 정신적, 지적으로 눈부신 성장을 이룬 시기의 이야기가 이 책 속 『내가 살아온 이야기(The Story of My Life)』에 담겨 있다.
이 이야기는 1902년 《레이디즈 홈 저널》에 맨 처음 발표되었다.
헬렌 켈러는 1904년 가정교사 앤 설리번의 도움으로 비장애인도 힘들다는 래드클리프 대학 졸업이라는 과업을 성취했다.
헬렌은 미국 시각장애인 기금의 모금운동을 벌이고 시각장애인을 위한 제도 마련을 위해 정치인들을 설득하는 등 자신의 일생을 장애인들을 위해 바쳤다.
이외에도 헬렌 켈러는 여성인권운동가, 스베덴보리파, 사회주의자 등 세계적인 유명인사로 활약하면서 대통령 자유 메달과 수많은 명예 학위를 받았다.
그녀는 1968년에 세상을 떠났다.
그녀의 유골 단지는 워싱턴 D. C.의 미국 국립 대성당에 안치되었다.
[네이버 지식백과] 헬렌 켈러 [Helen Keller] (해외저자사전, 2014. 5.)