Indian Discussion Forum

Louis Braille (January 4, 1809–January 6, 1852) was the inventor of the Braille writing system for the blind.

Braille was born in Coupvray near Paris, France. His father, Simon-René Braille, was a harness and saddle maker. At the age of three Louis injured his left eye with an awl (sharp cutting implement) from his father's workshop. This destroyed his left eye, which lead to the infection of his right. Louis was blind by the age of four.

Despite this handicap, Louis continued to attend regular school until reading and writing were requirements.

At the age of ten, Louis earned a scholarship to the Institution Royale des Jeunes Aveugles (Royal Institution for Blind Youth) in Paris. The school was a ticket out of the 'usual fate' of begging for money on the streets of Paris, but its conditions were not dissimilar. Braille was served stale bread and water, and students were beaten and locked up as punishment on various occasions.

At the school, the children were taught basic craftsman's skills and simple trades. They were also taught how to read by feeling raised letters (a system devised by Valentin Haüy). However, because the raised letters were made using paper pressed against copper wire, the students never learnt to write.

In 1821, a former soldier named Charles Barbier visited the school. Barbier shared his invention called "night writing," a code of twelve raised dots that let soldiers share top-secret information on the battlefield without even having to speak. Unfortunately, the code was too hard for the soldiers. Louis, however, picked it up quickly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille

More References

http://www.firstschoolyears.com/history ... raille.htm
http://www.his.com/~pshapiro/braille.html
http://www.cnib.ca/eng/braille_informat ... raille.htm
http://inventors.about.com/library/inve ... raille.htm
http://www.brailleinstitute.org/About/A ... raille.htm

Great man was Louis Braille.He gifted the blinds the courage to read and to become literate.
He was the inventor of the Braille writing system for the blind.

There was a time, not long ago, when most people thought that blind people could never learn to read. People thought that the only way to read was to look at words with your eyes.

A young French boy named thought otherwise. Blind from the age of three, young Louis desperately wanted to read. He realized the vast world of thought and ideas that was locked out to him because of his disability. And he was determined to find the key to this door for himself, and for all other blind persons.