new DelhiWorld Braille Day is an annual celebration celebrated on January 4 in honor of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille. braille system of reading and writing. The Braille system is a system of raised dots that enables blind or visually impaired people to read and write through touch. Louis Braille was born in Coupevre, France in 1809. When he was only three years old, he accidentally stuck a needle in his eye while playing with his father’s tools. The wound became infected and he eventually lost sight in both eyes.
Louis Braille lost his sight in childhood
Despite his blindness, Braille excelled in his studies and was a brilliant student. When he was ten, he was accepted into the National Institute for the Blind in Paris, the only school for the blind in France at the time.
While at the Institute, Braille became exposed to a system of reading and writing for the blind that had been developed by Captain Charles Barbier, a French army officer. Barbier’s system, known as “night writing”, used a series of raised dots to represent different letters and words. Braille recognized the potential of the system, but believed it could be improved.
Louis Braille developed the Braille system around 1824.
In 1824, Braille developed his own system of reading and writing for the blind, which he called the Braille system. His system used a combination of six raised dots arranged in a cell of two columns and three rows. Each dot had a specific meaning, and by using different combinations of dots, Braille was able to represent all the letters of the alphabet as well as numbers and punctuation marks.
The Braille system quickly gained widespread acceptance, and is today used by millions of people around the world who are blind or visually impaired. It has also been adapted for use in several different languages, including English, Spanish, French and German.
Braille is still used to annotate books and make life easier for the visually impaired even after 200 years. Braille is frequently used in everyday products, including payment terminals, shampoo bottles, and prescription packets, to allow blind people to interact.
World Braille Day is an important occasion to recognize the impact of Louis Braille on the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired. It is also a reminder of the importance of accessibility and the need to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to education, information and communication.
(With ANI inputs)