Anne Sullivan Anne Sullivan Johanna Mansfield Sullivan Macy (April 14, 1866 – October 20, 1936), better known as Anne Sullivan, was an American teacher, best known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller. At the age of five, Sullivan contracted trachoma, an eye disease, which left her blind and without reading or writing skills. She received her education as a student of the Perkins School for the Blind where upon graduation she became a teacher to Keller when she was 20. Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866, in Feeding Hills, Agawam, Massachusetts. According to her baptismal certificate, her
Anne Sullivan Keller described Sullivan's last month as being very agitated, but during the last week she was said to return to her normal generous self. Sullivan was cremated and her ashes were interred in a memorial at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. She was the first woman to be recognized for her achievements in this way. When Keller died in 1968, her ashes were placed in the Washington National Cathedral next to those of Sullivan. Sullivan is the main character in "The Miracle Worker", by William Gibson, originally produced for television in 1957, where she was portrayed by Teresa Wright.