Vol.9 Louis Braille, Inventor of Braille

This page introduces Louis Braille (1809-1852), the inventor of Braille, which comprises six dots.
Louis Braille's Early Life

Louis Braille was born almost 200 years ago, in 1809, in the village of Couboulet, France. 3-year-old Louis Braille tried to imitate his father, a saddler, one day in 1812 and accidentally stabbed himself in one eye with an awl. The inflammation spread to the other eye, and he became completely blind at the age of 5 years.

Braille’s parents ensured that their blind son continued with his education. His father created a tool with nails hammered into the shape of letters on a piece of wood, and Louis Braille learned letters by touching the heads of the nails with his fingertips.

Letters before Braille

Initially, Louis Braille attended village school, but to further his education, he enrolled in the Royal School for the Blind in Paris in 1819. The method used by students at the Royal School for the Blind was “raised letters,” in which the shape of a letter could be read by tracing a raised line. However, this method has certain limitations. For example, it takes time to finish reading a single word. In addition, some graduates said that they had forgotten how to read the raised letters once they graduated from school because the books did not exist outside of school.

 

In 1821, when Louis Braille was 12 years old, the military script developed by Charles Barbier (1767-1841) to communicate code in the dark was introduced in schools for the blind. These military scripts were composed of dots and lines, making them more compact than raised letters. However, they were complex, varied, and unable to express numbers or music*; therefore, they were not yet sufficient letters for the blind group.

 

* A method for writing music was essential at the time as music provided significant employment opportunities to blind students.

The Birth and Development of Braille

        Louis Braille and Braille

1809  Born in the village of Couboulet, France

1812  Stabbed one eye with an awl and went blind.

1819  Entered Royal School for the Blind

1821  Military script created by Charles Barbier was introduced at the Royal School for the Blind.

1825  Charles Barbier devised a new Braille system with improved military script.

1829  A new manual for the Braille system was published.

1837  Announced a further improved Braille system.

                   (Completion of Braille).

1840  The use of Braille was regulated at the Royal School for the Blind.

1852  Died of pulmonary tuberculosis

1854  Braille was officially adopted in France.

 

 

Louis Braille also used the military script devised by Charles Barbier, but he tried to improve it into a system that was easier for blind people to use and that could express numbers and music. Louis Braille, during breaks between school classes, engaged in discussions with his classmates while conducting experiments and research. In 1825, he devised the Braille system, which consists of six dots. Four years later, in 1829, he published an explanation of the braille system. Thus, Braille was born.

 

Louis Braille, who remained at the School for the Blind as a teacher after graduation, made further improvements and completed Braille in 1837. The Braille alphabet, created by Louis Braille, can express not only letters but also numbers, accents, and music, providing the blind with a means of performing literary activities and writing music scores.

 

In 1840, the newly appointed superintendent of the school for the blind restricted the use of braille in the school. However, owing to the practicality of Braille, this did not seem to last long.

 

In 1852, Louis Braille died of pulmonary tuberculosis at 43 years of age. It was not until two years later that Braille was officially adopted in France in 1854.

 

 

References:

“History of the Blind from the Middle Ages to the Present” by Gina Veigan, translated by Yukiko Kano, Fujiwara Shoten

“The Life of Louis Braille: The Method of a Genius” by C. Michael Meller, translated by Akira Kaneko, Miori Tanaka, and Yukiko Mizuno, Japan Braille Committee

“A Sparkle in the Darkness: Louis Braille Created Braille” by Mayalisa Diekman, translated by Mayumi Furuichi, illustrated by Yurika Morikawa, published by Shiohunsha.

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