Helen Keller worked for the American Foundation for the Blind for more than 40 years. She was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on June 27, 1880, and became deaf and blind at 19 months. Few could have imagined the leading role she would go on to play in many of the significant political, social, and cultural movements of the 20th century. Until her passing in 1968, she worked unceasingly to improve the lives of people with disabilities. As caretakers of Helen Keller's archival collection and legacy, we are honored to share her history with you. Learn more about Helen Keller by exploring her letters, speeches, artifacts, and photographs in the Helen Keller Archive.

Helen Tours the Middle East: Lebanon

This is part 2 of a 5-part series. Read the first entry, Egypt, here.

Polly guides Helen's hand to a book in braille. The book is being read by a Lebanese child who is blind, 1952.

Helen and Polly's next port of call was Lebanon. Here is how she described their visit in late April and early May 1952 to Georges Raverat, the director of the AFOB in Paris:

Helen Tours the Middle East: Egypt

Helen at the Museum of Egyptian Antiquity, Cairo, Egypt, 1952. Helen examines a sculpture from the IVth Dynasty Ginza.

Helen on Helen: Helen Keller's Travels Through Japan, Part 2

A scroll from the Mayor of Nagasaki, welcoming Helen to Japan.

Helen's travels through Japan, Part 2

[Read Part 1 of Helen Keller's Travels Through Japan]

A Pilgrimage to Helen Keller's Birthplace, Part 1

Guest Blogger Helen Selsdon, AFB Archivist

The water pump where Helen made her miraculous breakthrough

I am an English woman who has lived for over twenty years in New York City. Eight of these years have been spent working as the Archivist at the American Foundation for the Blind, where I have organized the over 80,000 items contained in the Helen Keller Archives. I have come to live and breathe Helen and her teacher Annie Sullivan.

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