Johanna "Anne" Mansfield Sullivan Macy (1866 – 1936), also known as Annie Sullivan, was an American teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

 best known as the instructor and companion of Helen Keller

Helen Keller

Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....

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Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866 in Feeding Hills

Feeding Hills, Agawam, Massachusetts

Feeding Hills is a subsection of the town of Agawam, Massachusetts with its own zip code and post office. Line Street in Agawam is generally accepted by residents as being the pseudo-border. In the early- to mid-19th century, a ditch was dug here to separate the two sections...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. According to her "baptismal" certificate, her full name was Johanna Mansfield Sullivan; however, she was always called "Anne" or "Annie" since she was born . Her parents' names were Thomas Sullivan and Alice Cloesy Sullivan and they were Irish immigrants who couldn't read and had little money.