The Teen Who Changed the Lives of Millions of Blind People

For thousands of years, the ability of the blind to have a full share in social, political, and cultural life was limited by the lack of access to written or printed forms of information.

Although the work of many others contributed to his accomplishment, Louis Braille's invention of a tangible reading system and writing with six points revolutionized the way blind people perceived and contributed to the world.

Born on January 4, 1809, in Coupvery, France, Louis Braille lost sight at the age of three as a result of an injury. Educated at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, Braille was known as very intelligent and creative.

By the age of 15, he had developed the initial version of a vulnerable reading system and writing system later refined in an elevated cell, with six points of sixty - four possible combinations corresponding to the alphabet, markings, and key symbols. He later developed Braille systems for music and mathematics.

When Braille died in 1852 of tuberculosis at forty - three years of age, he did not realize that his invention would enable blind people and limited vision skills worldwide to read and write, as well as people with vision.

Almost two centuries later, the Braille system continues to be an invaluable instrument of teaching and communicating for the blind and adapted to languages worldwide. Today, there are about eighty - five Braille systems in the world based on Braille's invention.