About 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. At age five, Sullivan contracted trachoma which left her partially blind and without reading or writing skills. Sullivan 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. == Childhood == Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866, in Feeding Hills, Agawam, Massachusetts, United States. The name on her baptismal certificate was Johanna Mansfield Sullivan, but she was called "Anne" or "Annie" from birth. She was the eldest child of Thomas and Alice (née Cloesy) Sullivan, who had emigrated from Ireland to the United States during the Great Famine. At age five, Sullivan contracted the bacterial eye disease trachoma, which caused many painful infections and, over time, made her nearly blind. Growing up, Sullivan suffered poverty and physical abuse at the hands of her alcoholic father. When she was eight, her mother died from tuberculosis, and her father abandoned the children two years later for fear that he could not raise them on his own.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.