Fascinating facts about the invention of Braille by Louis Braille in 1824.

When history comes to mind, the first thing that people would think about is the political aspect of history; wars and presidents, for example. However, we must not forget the other aspects of history, as they too, have value, and play a part in shaping the world we live in today. One important aspect is the social aspect. This includes the various methods used to incorporate the disabled and different people, into society. One such example is the invention of Braille.

When Louis Braille was fifteen, he developed an ingenious system of reading and writing by means of raised dots. Today, in virtually every language throughout the world, Braille is the standard form of writing and reading used by blind persons. Braille is a tactile writing system used by blind people. Braille generally consists of cells of 6 raised dots conventionally numbered and the presence or absence of dots gives the coding for the symbol.

Some of the milestones Louis Braille faced are as follows:

1812 Louis becomes blind, the result of an accident while playing in his fathers shop.
1819 Louis sent to Paris to live and study at the National Institute for Blind Children. He learned to read by tracing raised wooden letters in large books, designed by school's founder, Valentin Haüy
1821 Louis learns about Sonography developed by Charles Barbier de la Serre, who actually invented the basic technique of using raised dots for tactile writing and reading.
1824 Louis had developed the system that we know today as Braille, employing a 6-dot cell and based upon normal spelling
1829 Louis published the Method of Writing Words, Music and Plain Song by Means of Dots
1852 His 6-dot method, became a world wide standard, helping the blind read books, clocks, wristwatches, thermometers, sheet music and even elevator buttons.