Helen May Martin
Helen May Martin | |
|---|---|
 Helen May Martin, from a 1923 publication. | |
| Born | December 18, 1893 Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Died | June 13, 1947 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."[1]
Early life[edit]
Helen May Martin was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the daughter of John Henry Martin, a salesman, and Helen Smith Martin, a teacher and milliner.[2][3] She was deaf and blind from childhood.[4] Her mother taught her music using tactile illustrations with dried beans.[5] Martin graduated from the Kansas State School for the Deaf in Olathe,[6] though students who were also blind had not previously been admitted. She later attended a music conservatories in Wichita[1] and Cincinnati, with her mother helping to interpret spoken instruction into hand signs in Martin's palm.[5]
Career[edit]
Martin began giving concerts for the public in 1922, in Olathe.[7][8] She toured and performed in cities across the United States, for over twenty years, often sponsored by the Lions Club service organization.[5] She was often presented as a "girl", though her concert career began when she was nearly thirty years old.[7][9][10]
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.[1]
Martin met Helen Keller in Lincoln.[10] 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."[1]
Personal life[edit]
Martin lived in Merriam, Kansas with her mother and her sister Gertrude.[10] Gertrude died in 1939. Helen May Martin died in Merriam in 1947, aged 53 years.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Ferris, Loraine. "Helen May Martin – Her Book of Life" Nebraska History 21(1940): 69-82.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b c 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.
