Helen Adams Keller (1880–1968)
Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become widely known through the dramatic depictions of the play and film The Miracle Worker.
A prolific author, Keller was well-traveled, and was outspoken in her opposition to war. A member of the Socialist Party of America and the Wobblies, she campaigned for women's suffrage, workers' rights, and socialism, as well as many other leftist causes.
Quotes·Quotation by Helen Keller
Inspiration
¶ Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.
¶ The mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that "water" meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, joy, set it free!
Life
¶ So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good.
Optimist
¶ No pessimest ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an unchartered land or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.
...
@ One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. [Address to the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf at Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (8 July 1896), quoted in supplement to The Story of My Life]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helen_Keller