When you are looking for inspiration, it sometimes makes sense to look to historical figures. One such figure is Helen Keller - an undeniably inspiring person.

Inspirational Figures - Helen Keller

Helen Keller is a person who did not let major health issues stand in her way. She was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama in 1880. A little know fact about her is she was the second cousin of Robert E. Lee. Contrary to popular understanding, she did not suffer any health problems when she was originally born. It wasn't until she was 19 month of age that she started having problems.

At a little over a year and a half of age, Helen Keller started suffering serious health problems. The medical profession was not particularly advanced at that age, but she may have had Scarlet Fever or Meningitis. Regardless, doctors note she had severe congestion of the stomach and brain. She recovered from her health problems fairly quickly, but not before becoming deaf and blind. Instead of cowering in misery behind her situation, she went on to lead one of the most inspiring lives possible.

Despite her disabilities, Helen Keller almost immediately started battling them. By the age of seven, she had learned to communicate with her family in a rudimentary fashion by master 60 or so hand signs. Given this progress, her family sought out a school where she could be taught. None other than Alexander Graham Bell referred them to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston.

At the school, Keller was taught by Anne Sullivan, who was 20 years old and suffered partial vision loss. Anne Sullivan and Keller were a perfect match. Keller soon learned to communicate much better. She learned the Tadoma method of communication which involved the touching of the throat in combination with making sounds to communicate. She also learned to fingerspell alphabetically. Once she had the hang of it, she was consumed with her new communication skills to the extent she eventually learned to read in English, French, German, Latin and Greek. She eventually switched to a traditional education and became the first deaf blind person to graduate from Radcliff College in 1904. She graduated magna cum laude - the top of her class.

Upon graduating, Helen Keller was already an inspiring person beyond any dispute. With her teacher and now friend, Anne Sullivan, she would go on to many other amazing accomplishments.

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Bruno Baceli is with InspirationDaily.com - providing daily inspirational quotes.