In 1885, Mark Twain and Helen Keller met for the first time. It was at a dinner party given by mutual friends in New York City. Keller was just shy of her seventh birthday, and Twain was in his early 50s. The two became fast friends, and would go on to meet several more times over the years.
Keller once said of Twain: He understood me better than any one else ever did.