Massachusetts Educator Annie Sullivan, The Miracle Worker, Born on April 14, 1866

-


Annie Sullivan was known in her lifetime as the Miracle Worker for her work with the blind, including her prized student Helen Keller. 

The daughter of impoverished Irish immigrants. Annie was born on April 14, 1866 in Feeding Hills, Agawam, Massachusetts and died on October 20, 1936.  

When she was five, Annie contracted trachoma, an eye disease caused by bacteria, which caused her to become partially blind.  After her mother died in 1874, eight year old Annie and her brother Jimmie were sent to the Tewksbury Almshouse, known as the Poor House for indigent people.  Conditions were horrible, and her brother Jimmie died shortly after arriving.  

When state officials arrived to conduct an investigation of the almshouse, Annie convinced the commissioners to send her to the Perkins Institution in South Boston, which taught blind children to read, write and spell.  Annie entered the school in October 1880. 

After graduation, Annie was sent to Tuscumbia Alabama to teach a six year old blind child named Helen Keller. An epiphany came for Helen one summer day when Annie splashed water on Helen's hand, then spelled out the word 'water' over and over until Helen realized that everything had a name that could be spelled out. 

Keller later attended Radcliffe College in Cambridge, MA and became a nationally renowned leader for women's rights and a founder of the American Foundation for the Blind. The Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe houses the Helen Keller Collection. 

In 1960, Keller placed a plague in Braille and English at Radcliffe College, next to a small fountain, that reads, "In Memory of Annie Sullivan, teacher extraordinary." 

In 1985, the Town of Tewksbury installed a memorial, created by sculptor Mico Kaufman, in front of the Town Hall.  In 1992, a variation of the statue, along with a stone marker, was installed in Agawam, where Annie was born.  

Annie remained Helen's teacher until Annie's death in 1936. Their lives together were made into a film called The Miracle Worker, staring Anne Bancroft as Annie and Patty Duke as Helen.

For more information on Annie Sullivan, read an excellent biography from the Perkins School for the Blind. 

For more about women in Boston, visit the Women's Heritage Trail. 

For more information on Irish heritage in Massachusetts, visit IrishHeritageTrail.com.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Blazing the Trail" depicts early Irish filmmaking, showing on November 23 in Brookline

-
Image
The Boston Irish Film Festival is presenting a fresh new look at early Irish filmmaking with the presentation of Blazing the Trail: The Story of the Kalem Film Company in Ireland. The multimedia event takes place on Monday, November 23, 2009, at the historic Coolidge Corner Theater at 290 Harvard Street in Brookline, MA, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The project was created by film scholar and director Peter Flynn, founder of the Boston Irish Film Festival , and produced by Dawn Morrissey. They will show a selection of rarely-seen films from the early 20th century, as well as several short films that put the historical film in retrospect and modern context. Live music will be interspersed between the films to create an old-time Nickelodeon atmosphere. Musicians are pianist Peter Freisinger and vocalists Victoria Hayes and Liz Hayes. There is also a chance to win free tickets to this premier event through the Boston Irish Tourism Association . Tickets to the show are $9.75 and are availa
Read more

General Edward L. Logan, Namesake of Boston's Logan International Airport

-
Image
General Edward L. Logan (1875-1939), namesake of Boston’s Logan International Airport , died on July 6 1939 from a sudden 'heart ailment.'  His brother, Reverend Leo J. Logan, presided over the funeral mass at the Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston, with tributes by leading politicians like Senator David I. Walsh , former Massachusetts Governor and Boston Mayor James M. Curley and former Mayor John F. Fitzgerald .  Logan is buried at the Calvary Cemetery in West Roxbury.  A first generation Irish-American, military leader, civic leader and municipal judge with family roots in Galway and South Boston,  Edward was the oldest of nine children of Lawrence and Catherine (O’Connor), according to Michael Cummings of Milton, an expert on the Logan Family. Edward’s father Lawrence immigrated to Boston from Ballygar, County Galway, in 1858, and became a successful businessman at a young age when he became president of the Boston Brewing Company in South Boston.  The family resided a
Read more

Damian McGinty, former Celtic Thunder Star, Performs in Hartford and Providence this Fall

-
Image
Damian McGinty , the young singing star from Derry, Northern Ireland who performed with Celtic Thunder , is returning to New England in October as part of a national tour with  Ethan Bortnick . They will be performing in Hartford, CT on October 5, followed by two shows in Providence, RI on October 12, 2014. Find details here. McGinty was part of the original Celtic Thunder ensemble for several years, and left the band in 2012 when he won a coveted spot on the television show Glee .  Since then he has embarked on a solo career that has taken him around the world.  In 2013 McGinty was Cultural Ambassador for his home city of Derry, Northern Ireland . Find year round details on Celtic and Irish cultural activities at IrishMassachusetts.com .
Read more