Full transcript
0:08The story begins in 1812 in France and a young boy called Louis Braille.
0:13He lost his sight in one eye when he was three.
0:17This was the culprit, a sharp tool called an awl
0:22which he was playing around with in his father's workshop.
0:25His eye got infected and the infection spread to the other eye.
0:30By five, Louis Braille was completely blind.
0:37But he was determined and he went on to win a scholarship at France's
0:41Royal Institute for Blind Youth.
0:47At the time the system for reading was pretty basic,
0:49just raised letters on a page.
0:52So he started working on a new code that would be quicker
0:56and more efficient.
0:58By the time he was 15, Braille's new system was basically complete.
1:03And the first edition was published in 1829.
1:08Braille's system was based on a military code called "night writing."
1:12Invented by captain Charles Barbier, it was a system of embossed dots
1:17and dashes that soldiers could read safely with their fingers
1:21on the battlefield at night.
1:23Braille simplified the system,
1:25reducing the cells from 12 to 6 raised dots,
1:29so that they were the ideal size for a fingertip to feel with one touch.
1:35Braille created his raised dots using an awl, the same sharp tool
1:40that had caused his blindness and a flat grill to keep the lines straight
1:44and readable.
1:46It's read from left to right like other European scripts.
1:49Braille is not a language, it's a system of writing,
1:53which means it can be adapted to different languages.
1:56Braille codes have been developed for maths and scientific formulae.
2:01Braille loved music and invented a system of Braille
2:04for writing music too.
2:08But the medical establishment was conservative and Braille's innovation
2:12was slow to be adopted.
2:14He died of tuberculosis aged 43, two years before his system was
2:20finally taught at the institute where he'd been a student.
2:24100 years later, he was reburied at the Panthéon in Paris
2:28in honour of his work.
2:30Though his local village insisted on keeping his hands.
2:35Over time, the system did spread throughout the French speaking world.
2:39By 1882 it was in use across Europe and had reached North America
2:44by 1916.
2:46A universal Braille code for English was formalised in 1932.
2:53Braille has been revolutionary for many blind people around the world.
2:57But with the rise of new technologies,
2:59including computers that talk, literacy rates are on the decline.
3:04In 1999, a second eponym was given to this extraordinary man.
3:09A rare type of asteroid was named 9969 Braille by Nasa.
3:16A timeless tribute, to a great human being.
3:23Thanks for watching! :)
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