The story begins in 1812 in France and a young boy called Louis Braille.
He lost his sight in one eye when he was three.
This was the culprit, a sharp tool called an awl
which he was playing around with in his father's workshop.
His eye got infected and the infection spread to the other eye.
By five, Louis Braille was completely blind.
But he was determined and he went on to win a scholarship at France's
Royal Institute for Blind Youth.
At the time the system for reading was pretty basic,
just raised letters on a page.
So he started working on a new code that would be quicker
and more efficient.
By the time he was 15, Braille's new system was basically complete.
And the first edition was published in 1829.
Braille's system was based on a military code called "night writing."
Invented by captain Charles Barbier, it was a system of embossed dots
and dashes that soldiers could read safely with their fingers
on the battlefield at night.
Braille simplified the system,
reducing the cells from 12 to 6 raised dots,
so that they were the ideal size for a fingertip to feel with one touch.
Braille created his raised dots using an awl, the same sharp tool
that had caused his blindness and a flat grill to keep the lines straight
and readable.
It's read from left to right like other European scripts.
Braille is not a language, it's a system of writing,
which means it can be adapted to different languages.
Braille codes have been developed for maths and scientific formulae.
Braille loved music and invented a system of Braille
for writing music too.
But the medical establishment was conservative and Braille's innovation
was slow to be adopted.
He died of tuberculosis aged 43, two years before his system was
finally taught at the institute where he'd been a student.
100 years later, he was reburied at the Panthéon in Paris
in honour of his work.
Though his local village insisted on keeping his hands.
Over time, the system did spread throughout the French speaking world.
By 1882 it was in use across Europe and had reached North America
by 1916.
A universal Braille code for English was formalised in 1932.
Braille has been revolutionary for many blind people around the world.
But with the rise of new technologies,
including computers that talk, literacy rates are on the decline.
In 1999, a second eponym was given to this extraordinary man.
A rare type of asteroid was named 9969 Braille by Nasa.
A timeless tribute, to a great human being.
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