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Helen is born
1880: Helen Keller was born on June 27, in Tuscumbia. Arthur Keller, a former officer in the Confederate army and Kate Adams were her parents. -
Helen loses sight and hearing
1881: At the age of 19 months, Helen was stricken with an acute illness, meningitis and she lost her sight and hearing ability due to a high fever. -
Helen needs a teacher
1886: Dr. Alexander Graham Bell recognized that Helen was exceptionally bright and he urged to find a teacher from the Perkins Institute for the Blind. -
Annie comes to teach
1887: Anne Sullivan became her teacher. Helen progressed with language rapidly under Anne's tutorage. -
Helen knows that words mean something.
1887: Helen becomes angry and throws a tantrum. Annie takes her outside to fill a pitcher with water, and Helen sudenly realizes what words are. -
Braille
1888-98: Helen Keller learned to read and write in Braille at the Perkins Institution and learned to speak at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf. She studied at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf, the Cambridge School for Young Ladies and to Radcliffe College -
Mark Twaine
1899: Mark Twain recognized her great spirit and intelligent despite her deafness and blindness. -
School for Helen
1900: Helen enrolled as a regular student in Radcliffe College with the help of Anne Sullivan. -
Helens first book
1903: Her first book, her autobiography The Story of My Life was published. -
Graduation
1904: Helen became the first blind/deaf person to graduate from Radcliffe College. -
Second book
1908: Her book, The World I Live In was published. -
HKI
1915: Helen Keller International (HKI) was founded. -
Helen meets Charlie
1919: Helen Keller met Charlie Chaplin, a world-famous personality in the entertainment world. -
Helen tours
1924: Helen conducted many tours and lectures in United States of America. She worked for improving education for the deaf, blind and mute. -
Challenging
1925: She successfully challenged Lions International, the largest fraternal organization of the world. -
Helen meets president
1926: Helen met President Calvin Coolidge. -
Another book
1927: Her popular book, My Religion was published -
And another book
Midstream: My Later Life at 49 was published in 1929. -
Braille
1932: Braille was accepted as the world's standard alphabet for the blind. It resulted from the great efforts by the Royal Institute for the blind in UK. -
Japanese
1937: Helen Keller developed a close friendship with the Japanese people. She delivered 97 lectures in 39 cities. -
Journal
1938: Helen Keller's Journal was published. -
Music
1941: Helen attended a performance at the Opera House in New York. She experienced music through vibrations. -
Military hospitals
1943-46: Helen Keller visited the military hospitals. She referred to it as the crowning experience of her life. -
Educating handicaps
1946-57: Helen visited 35 countries for the improvement in education of the handicapped people. The government started the schools for deaf and blind. -
India
1953: She met Winston Churchill and Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India. She was honored by the French government in the ceremony commemorating the birth of Louie Braille at Sorbonne, Paris. -
Ivy green shrine
1954: Helen's birthplace, Ivy Green in Tuscumbia, Alabama was made a permanent shrine. -
Oscar
1955: Helen Keller achieved an Oscar Award for the documentary movie made on her life. Her book Teacher-Anne Sullivan was published in the same year. -
Harvord
1956: Helen became the first woman to receive an honorary degree from Harvard University -
Another presedent
1960: She met President Eisenhower who became the first non-blind person to use the talking books during his recovery from heart attack. -
And another president
1961: Helen met President John F. Kennedy, the 10th. -
Stroke
1964: Helen Keller suffered from stroke and later retired from public life. She received an award the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson. -
Helen dies
1968: Helen Keller died at the age of 88 years. She was buried at Washington Cathedral, Washington, D.C.