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| Helen May Martin | |
|---|---|
 Helen May Martin, from a 1923 publication. | |
| Born | (1893-12-18)December 18, 1893 Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Died | June 13, 1947(1947-06-13) (aged 53) Merriam, Kansas |
| Occupation | Pianist |
Helen May Martin (December 18, 1893 – June 13, 1947) was an American pianist. Helen Keller called Martin "the most accomplished deaf and blind person in the world."
Early life
Helen May Martin was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the daughter of John Henry Martin, a salesman, and Helen Smith Martin, a teacher and milliner. She was deaf and blind from childhood. Her mother taught her music using tactile illustrations with dried beans. Martin graduated from the Kansas State School for the Deaf in Olathe, though students who were also blind had not previously been admitted. She later attended a music conservatories in Wichita and Cincinnati, with her mother helping to interpret spoken instruction into hand signs in Martin's palm.
Career
Martin began giving concerts for the public in 1922, in Olathe. She toured and performed in cities across the United States, for over twenty years, often sponsored by the Lions Club service organization. She was often presented as a "girl", though her concert career began when she was nearly thirty years old.
Martin collected sheet music in braille and other raised print systems, and memorized hundreds of compositions. She also played the harp, and used a typewriter. She listened to live and broadcast music while holding an empty metal can in her hands, to capture the vibrations.
Martin met Helen Keller in Lincoln. Keller scolded a reporter for calling Martin "a second Helen Keller," saying "She is not a 'second' to me, for she has done what I could never do; she has made of herself an accomplished pianist and musician.... She is the most accomplished deaf and blind person in the world."
Personal life
Martin lived in Merriam, Kansas with her mother and her sister Gertrude. Gertrude died in 1939. Helen May Martin died in Merriam in 1947, aged 53 years.
References
- ^ Ferris, Loraine. "Helen May Martin – Her Book of Life" Archived 2020-07-02 at the Wayback Machine Nebraska History 21(1940): 69-82.
- ^ "Helen May Martin". American Annals of the Deaf. 92 (4): 359–361. 1947. ISSN 0002-726X. JSTOR 44391940.
- "Blind and Deaf Girl a Concert Pianiste". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1922-05-14. p. 97. Retrieved 2020-07-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- Stevenson, Elwood A. (May 1923). "Helen May Martin Deaf-Blind". Outlook for the Blind. 17: 32–33.
- ^ Mason, Kay (1959-03-31). "Challenge in Life of Deaf-Blind Pianist". The Kansas City Times. p. 30. Retrieved 2020-07-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- Johnson, Robert C.; Snider, Bruce N.; Smith, Dorothy L. (1994). The Deaf Way: Perspectives from the International Conference on Deaf Culture. Gallaudet University Press. p. 499. ISBN 978-1-56368-026-7.
- ^ "Helen May Martin to Give Concert at Methodist Church Tuesday Evening, April 18". The Johnson County Democrat. 1922-04-14. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-07-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Helen May Martin and Ted Jones Give Concert". The Olathe Register. 1922-12-07. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Helen May Martin". Spring Hill New Era. 1923-04-19. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-07-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ MacDonald, A. B. (1933-04-09). "Visiting the Kansas Deaf and Blind Girl to Whom Miss Helen Keller Paid High Tribute". The Kansas City Star. p. 33. Retrieved 2020-07-02 – via Newspapers.com.
