Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 - June 1, 1968) was an American author, activist and lecturer. She was the first deaf and blind person to graduate from college. As a child Helen"s parents believed that she would never be able to speak or learn it was only her teacher, Anne Sullivan, that broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate.