A Man of Vision

A Man of Vision

The Accident In 1809, Louis Braille was born in a small town in the country of France. One day, at the age of three, Louis hurt himself. While playing in his father's shoe workshop, he tried to make his own pair of shoes.

Louis picked up his father's sharp awl and bent over. The awl went into Louis's eye. His hurt eye became sick. Before long, the sickness spread to his second eye. And a short time later, Louis could not see. He was blind.

Still, Louis went to school with children who could see. But after two years, his parents took him out of school. They thought that there was nothing more for him to learn at school. He could not read or write. As with many other parents of blind children back then, Louis's parents thought he would end up on the street. So they moved Louis from his small town to the big city. He was ten years old.

School for the Blind Louis's parents sent him to a school for blind boys in the city of Paris, France. It was one of the first schools for blind people in the world. Louis learned many skills at this school. He learned how to weave branches together to make chairs. He learned how to sew leather to make slippers.

Louis also learned how to read. He felt raised letters on a sheet of paper. The paper was pressed against copper wires shaped like letters. This made a raised letter on the paper. Blind people could feel these letters. But the letters were difficult to read. Too many letters felt the same. Many letters had similar shapes. And the wire used to make these letters had to be shaped by people who could see. It seemed there had to be a better way for blind people to read.