Louis Braille

Louis Braille was born on January 4, 1809 in Coupvray, France. His father owned a vineyard, and he had three older siblings. While just a toddler, Louis loved to play in his father's workshop. When he was three, he accidentally put out an eye with an awl. Even with the best doctor's care it couldn't be saved, and he also lost sight in his other eye.

Louis studied in Coupvray until he was ten. Because he was gifted, he was chosen to be one of the first students to attend the Royal Institute for Blind Youth. His instructor there, Valentin Hauy, had developed a complicated system of raised dots to help the students be able to read some things, but his system took a lot of space, and the material contained a minimal amount of information. Later, Louis would develop a new, simpler system based on this concept.

After Louis finished the school, he remained as the teacher's assistant. Eventually he became a full professor at the institute. He was also an accomplished musician, and he wrote several books about his Braille writing. He had always been sickly as a child, and his condition worsened in adulthood. He may have had tuberculous. He died in 1853, two days after turning forty-three. But he had left a remarkable legacy to the world.

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