Helen Keller, on the left, with the faithful help of teacher Annie Mansfield Sullivan, graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College at age 24 on September 1, 1904. This accomplishment was particularly remarkable because Keller had lost both sight and hearing at age 2 after contracting scarlet fever. Sullivan, who broke through Helen’s childhood isolation to teach her Braille and sign language, accompanied Helen to every class at Radcliffe, spelling lectures and books into her hand. After graduation, Keller embarked on a career of writing on behalf of woman suffrage, socialism and the rights of the handicapped. Helen Keller died on June 1, 1968, 32 years after the death of her beloved teacher, Annie Sullivan.