# 1824 - 1980 15c Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan
1980 15¢ Helen Keller
City: Tuscumbia, Alabama
Quantity: 153,975,000
Birth Of Helen Keller
Keller was born with the ability to see and hear but lost both senses when she was 19 months old to scarlet fever or meningitis. Over time she developed her own system of about 60 home signs. She could also identify people walking to a room by the vibrations in their footsteps.
When Keller was six, her mother read about the successful teaching of a deaf and blind woman in Charles Dickens’ American Notes. Her mother then consulted a doctor who led her to Alexander Graham Bell, who was working with deaf children at the time. Bell referred them to the Perkins Institute for the Blind, where they were introduced to 20-year-old Anne Sullivan. Sullivan was also visually impaired and agreed to become Keller’s teacher, marking the start of a 49-year-long friendship.
After suffering a series of strokes in 1961, Keller spent her final years at home but also worked to raise funds for the American Foundation for the Blind. In 1964, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Keller died on June 1, 1968
1980 15¢ Helen Keller
City: Tuscumbia, Alabama
Quantity: 153,975,000
Birth Of Helen Keller
Keller was born with the ability to see and hear but lost both senses when she was 19 months old to scarlet fever or meningitis. Over time she developed her own system of about 60 home signs. She could also identify people walking to a room by the vibrations in their footsteps.
When Keller was six, her mother read about the successful teaching of a deaf and blind woman in Charles Dickens’ American Notes. Her mother then consulted a doctor who led her to Alexander Graham Bell, who was working with deaf children at the time. Bell referred them to the Perkins Institute for the Blind, where they were introduced to 20-year-old Anne Sullivan. Sullivan was also visually impaired and agreed to become Keller’s teacher, marking the start of a 49-year-long friendship.
After suffering a series of strokes in 1961, Keller spent her final years at home but also worked to raise funds for the American Foundation for the Blind. In 1964, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Keller died on June 1, 1968