 Helen Keller was born this day, June 27, 1880. At the age of two, she suffered an illness that left her both blind and deaf. Her parents took her to Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, who recommended the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston. There, at the age of seven, Ann Sullivan began tutoring her through the sense of touch, eventually teaching her to read Braille. She attended Radcliffe College, wrote several books, and was recognized for her efforts to help the blind.