Louis Braille was a French inventor and educator born in January 4, 1809. He is known for his invention of the Braille that bears his name, which allows the visually impaired to write and read. The Braille system has remained unchanged from the time of the invention to this date. He was accidentally blinded during his childhood and, despite his disability, he went to school and excelled. He received a scholarship to study at the Royal Institute for the Blind Youth in France. He started developing his ductile code system while he was a student. His system was founded on the basis of military cryptography, which was developed by Charles Barbier.
Early life
He was born in Coupvray, a town about 20 miles east of Paris, on January 4, 1809. He was the youngest of a family of four and lived together in the rural countryside with his brothers on their family farm. His father was a highly respected pilgrim and used to make turns on horseback. From a young age, Braille used to play in the family’s laboratory and when he was 3 years old he suffered an accident in the laboratory which led to the loss of his vision. While trying to put an awl in the skin, he was struck by an awl on one of the eyes. Despite efforts to save his eye, the wound eventually infected the other eye as well. When he was 5 he lost his eyesight in both eyes. His parents, however, made him as a normal child and prospered under their care.
Career
Braille’s creativity and learning agility have impressed both his teachers and his priests. This earned him accommodation in higher education. He studied in his hometown until he was ten. He was then taken to Paris to study at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth, which was among the first schools created exclusively for blind children. In the institution, the children learned to read using a system created by the founder of the institution, Valentin Hauy. Hauy has devoted his whole life to helping the blind because he was a philanthropist and has made books turned into a library. The books were made of heavy embossed paper that had an imprint of embossed letters. Creating these books was boring and expensive. The books were also large and heavy for children. These books significantly helped Braille, but lacked depth. He was an ardent reader and read the books many times and was attentive to the instructions given in the school. After his studies he was retained as a teaching assistant and was promoted to full professor in 1833. For much of his time he remained at school to teach geometry, history and algebra. He also had a keen interest in the music that led him to excel playing cello and organ, and he played for churches in different parts of France. For much of his time he remained at school to teach geometry, history and algebra. He also had a keen interest in the music that led him to excel playing cello and organ, and he played for churches in different parts of France. For much of his time he remained at school to teach geometry, history and algebra. He also had a keen interest in the music that led him to excel playing cello and organ, and he played for churches in different parts of France.
More contributions
Louis Braille is credited with inventing the “braille” system. This is a series of six points used to replicate letters of the alphabet and numbers. He borrowed his idea from the creation of Charles Barbier, an army captain, although Barbier’s invention had twelve points and also used dashes. In 1824, by the time Braille was 15, he had finalized his creation. He published about 1829 and developed another edition of 1837 in which he omitted the hyphens.
