Braille History and Facts

About the Inventor

Louis Braille was born in the village of Coupvray, France on January 4, 1809. In 1821 Louis Braille met a soldier named Caption Charles Barbier who told Louis about a system known as "night writing". This system used 12 raised dots and dashes for alphabet letters to relay secret Army messages in the battlefield. Louis expanded on that idea and developed a cell of 6 dots, and between the ages of 12 to 15 he perfected the braille system. In 1829 Louis published his first braille book in which he explained about using the new braille system. This book was called "Method of Writing Words, Music and Plain Songs by Means of Dots for Use by the Blind".

Braille is not a language, but a code by which languages such as English or Spanish may be written and read.

What is a Braille Cell?

Braille consists of cells of six raised dots arranged in a grid of three dots vertically by two dots horizontally. The dots are conventionally numbered 1, 2, and 3 from the top of the left column and 4, 5, and 6 from the top of the right column.

How is Braille Made?

Braille transcription involves taking a piece of print material and rendering the content in the tactile writing and reading system named after its inventor Louis Braille.

There are two grades of braille; grade 1 (uncontracted braille) and grade 2 (contracted braille). In grade 1 braille, the dots in each cell represent a single letter. Grade 2 braille is a shortened or contracted form of braille--the dots in each cell can represent contractions, short forms of words, and even whole words. There are other braille codes that let people read and write just about anything from math problems, to music notes, to computer notation.

How many children in America are not taught to read?

The answer is 90 percent if the children are blind. Most Americans are shocked to hear this statistic. And we should be. The blind read and write using Braille, so why is our educational system failing to teach Braille to so many children? Why are these children being denied the opportunities that come with a proper education? What if you could not read and write? Where would you be today?

Important note:

There are three primary reasons for this educational crisis: (1) there are not enough Braille teachers; (2) some teachers of blind children have not received enough training; and (3) many educators do not think Braille instruction is even necessary.

About the Inventor
Louis Braille was born in the village of Coupvray, France on January 4, 1809. In 1821 Louis Braille met a soldier named Caption Charles Barbier who told Louis about a system known as "night writing". This system used 12 raised dots and dashes for alphabet letters to relay secret Army messages in the battlefield. Louis expanded on that idea and developed a cell of 6 dots, and between the ages of 12 to 15 he perfected the braille system. In 1829 Louis published his first braille book in which he explained about using the new braille system. This book was called "Method of Writing Words, Music and Plain Songs by Means of Dots for Use by the Blind". Braille is not a language, but a code by which languages such as English or Spanish may be written and read.

What is a Braille Cell?
Braille consists of cells of six raised dots arranged in a grid of three dots vertically by two dots horizontally. The dots are conventionally numbered 1, 2, and 3 from the top of the left column and 4, 5, and 6 from the top of the right column.

How is Braille Made?
Braille transcription involves taking a piece of print material and rendering the content in the tactile writing and reading system named after its inventor Louis Braille. There are two grades of braille; grade 1 (uncontracted braille) and grade 2 (contracted braille). In grade 1 braille, the dots in each cell represent a single letter. Grade 2 braille is a shortened or contracted form of braille--the dots in each cell can represent contractions, short forms of words, and even whole words. There are other braille codes that let people read and write just about anything from math problems, to music notes, to computer notation.