12 Lesser Known Facts about Helen Keller

Of course, you know the story of Helen Keller, the remarkable woman who achieved the heights that still seems impossible for a deaf-blind person. She proved that nothing is impossible and no hurdle can stop a person with grit. But, there may be a lot of facts about her that you still don’t know. So, we decided to delve a little deeper into her life story. And, here we are with some fascinating and lesser-known facts about Helen Keller.

1. Helen Keller – the Globe Trotter

Helen Keller was a world famous person. She toured around the globe. She visited at least 39 countries on 5 continents. On many of her tours, she gave lectures, met world leaders and advocated for the rights of persons with disabilities.

2. Helen Keller had Many Celebrity Friends

Helen Keller met many celebrities including top leaders, scientists, authors and actors. Mark Twain, in fact, was a very good friend of her and so was Alexander Graham Bell though both of them were much older than her. She met every single US president from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson. She met queens, kings, presidents and prime ministers of many countries. She even had a photograph with the silent movie star – Charlie Chaplin.

3. Helen the Writer

She has written a dozen of books. ‘The Story of My Life’ is her autobiographical book but that’s not the only book written by Helen Keller. She has 12 published books in her name and she wrote several pieces for prominent publications.

4. Helen Keller Didn’t Mince Words

It is said that she was monitored by the FBI for her political views. She was very vocal about her political ideology and took a stand on many topics that were controversial at her time. Her books were burned by Nazis during WWII and it is said that she was monitored by the FBI for a significant period of her life.

5. Helen Keller Helped in Standardization of Braille

She helped in the standardization of Braille. There were at least five different raised print systems when Helen Keller was learning. She worked for the first-ever ‘World Council for the Blind’ and played a significant role in the standardization of Braille. In 1918 Braille became the universal standard.

6. Keller Got Engaged

Helen got secretly engaged to the man she loved but was forbidden from marrying. When Helen was 36 she fell in love with Peter Fagan who was at that time working temporarily as her secretary. Both of them got engaged secretly and planned to marry. But, they were forbidden from going any further with the relationship when Helen’s family came to know about them. Helen later regretted never marrying.

7. Hellen Keller was a Suffragist

Helen Keller was a radical socialist. Her being an advocate for disability rights is a well-known fact. But, not everyone knows that she was a suffragist, supported industrial worker rights as well as women’s right to birth control. She has created controversies on many occasions by writing on these issues. She even got into controversies by writing about the last judgment day and reincarnation of Jesus.

8. Helen Keller – the Eighth Wonder of the World

Helen along with her teacher Anne Sullivan worked in the vaudeville circuit for earning money. They were together doing lectures and had a career in writing but the income was not viable. So, in the 1920s they worked for four years in vaudeville where Helen Keller was presented as the ‘eighth wonder of the world’. She was also billed as the ‘brightest star of happiness and optimism’.

9. Introduced Akita Breed Dog to the USA

Helen Keller introduced the Akita dog breed to the US. She got an Akita breed dog as a present during her visit to Japan. A Japanese police officer gifted her an Akita dog that she took to the US with her. The dog died soon. The government of Japan gifted her another similar dog. She was the first person who took this variety of dogs to the US.

10. Helen was Accused of Plagiarism

Helen Keller was accused of Plagiarism for her first fictional work. The Frost King was Helen’s first work to be released. After the release of this fiction, Helen Keller and her teacher were criticized heavily for the alleged plagiarism of the book Frost Fairies written by Margaret Canby. Helen denied copying the story intentionally and consciously. And, she never tried her hand again in fiction writing.

11. Helen Keller Supported Eugenics

It might surprising or shocking but Helen Keller supported the idea of breeding out disease, disabilities and the so-called undesirable characteristics of the human race. She was in favor of refusing lifesaving drugs to infants born with severe physical or mental disabilities. She believed their life was not worth living and if such child grows up they will more likely become criminals.

12. Helen – the Oscar Winner

Helen Keller won the Academy Award, commonly known as Oscar Award. She received the award for appearing in a documentary based on her life story – Helen Keller in Her Story.