Anne Sullivan
Anne Sullivan Macy (born as Johanna Mansfield Sullivan; April 14, 1866 – October 20, 1936) was an American teacher best known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller.[1]
This article is about the teacher and companion of Helen Keller. For other uses, see Anne Sullivan (disambiguation).
Anne Sullivan
October 20, 1936 (aged 70)
At the age of five, Sullivan contracted trachoma, an eye disease, which left her partially blind and without reading or writing skills.[2] She received her education as a student of the Perkins School for the Blind. Soon after graduation at age 20, she became a teacher to Keller.[2]
Awards[edit]
In 1932, Keller and Sullivan were each awarded honorary fellowships from the Educational Institute of Scotland. They were also awarded honorary degrees from Temple University.[15] In 1955, Keller was awarded an honorary degree from Harvard University,[12] and in 1956, the director's cottage at the Perkins School was named the Keller-Macy Cottage.[2]
In 2003, Sullivan was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[16]
Death[edit]
Sullivan had been seriously visually impaired for almost all of her life, but by 1901, after having a stroke at age 35, she became completely blind. On October 15, 1936, she had a coronary thrombosis, fell into a coma, and died five days later[17] at the age of 70 in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York, with Keller holding her hand.[18] Keller described Sullivan as being very agitated during her last month of life, but during the last week, she was said to return to her normal generous self.[19] Sullivan was cremated and her ashes interred in a memorial at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.[20] She was the first woman to be recognized for her achievements in this way. When Keller died in 1968, she was cremated as well and her ashes were interred alongside those of Sullivan.[21]
Media representation[edit]
In the 1919 film Deliverance she is played by Edith Lyle. Sullivan is the main character in The Miracle Worker by William Gibson, originally produced for television in 1957, in which she was portrayed by Teresa Wright.[22] The Miracle Worker then moved to Broadway and later was produced as a 1962 feature film. Both the play and the film featured Anne Bancroft as Sullivan.[23] Patty Duke, who played Keller on Broadway and in the 1962 film, later played Sullivan in a 1979 television remake.[24] Blythe Danner portrayed her in The Miracle Continues and Roma Downey portrayed her in the TV movie Monday After the Miracle (1998).[25] Alison Elliott portrayed her in a 2000 television movie.[26] Alison Pill played her on Broadway in the short-lived 2010 revival, with Abigail Breslin as Keller.
In 1980 the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp, honoring Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan.
