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World Braille Day 2025: Louis Braille, who lost his sight at a very young age due to an accident, invented Braille.
World Braille Day 2025: Braille system was invented in the early 19th century. (Image: Shutterstock)
World Braille Day 2025: Braille is a tactile reading and writing system designed for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Developed in the early 19th century, the system consists of raised dots arranged in a rectangular cell, representing letters of the alphabet, numbers and even mathematical, musical and scientific symbols.
The Braille characters are embossed in a line on paper and are usually read by moving fingertips over the text. The Braille system was invented by a French educator named Louis Braille. He lost his sight at a very young age due to a mishap.
Born in 1809 in Coupvray, France, Louis Braille was just 15 when he developed the system of Braille inspired by a military night-writing code invented by a French army man, Charles Barbier de la Serre. The system was further refined for use in various purposes like literature and mathematics.
World Braille Day 2025 Theme
Every January 4th, World Braille Day is celebrated to honour Louis Braille’s legacy and contribution and to spread awareness of its importance as a tactile system of reading and writing for the blind or visually impaired.
The theme for 2025 World Braille Day is Celebrating Accessibility and Inclusion for the Visually Impaired.
History of World Braille Day
World Braille Day is an international event observed every January 4th to spread awareness of Braille and the significance of the independence of individuals. The United Nations recognised the day for the first time in 2019.
The event aims to raise awareness about the importance of Braille in promoting human rights for visually impaired individuals. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) chose the date for the event through a proclamation in November 2018.
Facts About Louis Braille
- Louis Braille was not born blind.
- He lost his sight at the age of three after he stabbed himself in the eye while playing with tools at his father’s shop.
- By the age of 5, he was completely blind.
- At the age of 10, Louis attended the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris, one of the first blind schools in the world.
- At the age of 15, Louis invented the system of Braille using raised dots.
- At age 20, he published the first Braille book titled Method of Writing Words, Music, and Plain Songs by Means of Dots for Use by the Blind and Arranged for Them.
- He passed away on January 6, 1852.
- Two years after he died, Braille was finally introduced at the Royal Institution.
- Louis Braille was also a musician, proficient in playing the organ and cello.
Importance of Braille
Braille is more than just a tactile script. It is a tool for empowerment, inclusion and dignity for visually impaired individuals.
The invention of Braille has opened up new opportunities for blind or visually impaired individuals. It enables them to read books, thus helping them to become literate as well as independent and increase their chances of employment.
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