Introduction to Braille
Even if you don’t need to learn braille by touch, it is a useful skill to learn braille by sight too. As well as fostering foster empathy and understanding towards people who are blind or visually impaired, it allows readers to engage more effectively with this community, whether it’s through writing notes, labeling items, or exchanging messages.
So… who invented it?
Louis Braille was a French educator and inventor who is best known for developing the braille system, a tactile reading and writing system used by people who are blind or visually impaired.
Louis Braille was born on January 4, 1809, in Coupvray, France. At the age of three, he accidentally injured his eye with a tool in his father’s workshop, leading to an infection that spread to his other eye, resulting in total blindness. Despite his visual impairment, Braille excelled in his studies. He attended the Royal Institute for Blind Youth (Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles) in Paris, where he later became a teacher.
While at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth, Braille began working on developing a system that would allow blind individuals to read and write independently. In 1824, at the age of 15, he introduced the braille system, which consists of raised dots arranged in cells, with each cell representing a letter, number, punctuation mark, or musical notation.
Initially, the braille system faced resistance from some educators and institutions. However, its efficiency and effectiveness gradually led to its widespread adoption. Braille’s system revolutionized education and communication for people who are blind, providing them with access to literature, information, and opportunities for education and employment.