Helen Keller was a prolific author and advocate for labor reform and women’s rights. After losing her hearing and sight from scarlet fever as a young child, Keller learned to finger spell from her lifelong teacher and friend Anne Sullivan. At age twenty, Keller enrolled at the Harvard-affiliated Radcliffe College where she wrote her best-selling work, The Story of My Life. She continued to speak and write about her own life, but she preferred speaking about political issues and current events. Keller advocated for women’s suffrage, access to birth control, and worker’s rights. She also became a lobbyist and public speaker for people with disabilities both in America and around the world.

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